Wind Energy in Morocco: Tangier and Lagouira in Comparative Perspective

The study of the wind potential assessment for Lagouira is based on the hourly average wind speed (HAWS), estimated by the ERA5 model and those of Dakhla obtained from the measurements from 1980 to 1989 (10 years). For Dakhla, the measured absolute maxima are much higher than those estimated by the ERA5 model. The estimated wind speed frequencies greater than 10 m/s are zero for Lagouira. This shows that the ERA5 model does not predict strong winds. The annual averages of wind speed and wind potential estimated by the ERA5 model compared to those obtained from the measurements are underestimated by 16% and 47%, respectively. The annual wind speed averages for Tangier and Lagouira are comparable, 5.90 m/s and 6.07 m/s, respectively, double that of Rabat (2.90 m/s). This shows that the north and south of Morocco are windier. The monthly averages of wind speed for Tangier fluctuate around the annual average. But, for Dakhla, they are above the annual average for summer. Moreover, the influence of the sea/land breeze may be due to a greater warming of the atmospheric air. However, Tangier is a special case. In effect, the Strait of Gibraltar connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea forces the winds to be mainly from the dominant directions: east/west. The estimated absolute maximum wind speed for Lagouira varies between 10.5 m/s and 14 m/s. But those for Dakhla and Tangier, obtained from the measurements, vary from month to month and can reach 25 m/s and 30 m/s, respectively. Apart from Lagouira, the wind (diurnal variation) is strong during the day and reaches its maximum in the afternoon and its minimum around midnight. These are due to the effect of the sea/land breeze. Unlike Tangier, the periodicity of the seasonal variation is respected for Dakhla and Lagouira. The monthly averages for Dakhla vary between 4 m/s and 17 m/s. The interannual variation Ii for Tangier is around 0.20. This shows that winds for Tangier are irregular. For Tangier, the Weibull law adapts better to the observed frequencies, but for Lagouira, it is the Weibull hybrid law. The scale factors C for Tangier and Lagouira are higher (C = 7.14 m/s), which shows that these two sites are the windiest. The winds are widely dispersed for Tangier because the form factor (K = 3.64) for Lagouira is almost double. A result is confirmed by the large value of the standard deviation (σ = 4.3). The annual average of wind power for Tangier is 366 W/m2, which is almost 12 times greater than that of Rabat (31 W/m2). For Dakhla and Lagouira, the annual averages of wind speed and wind potential, which correspond to 10 years of measurements, are more representative. Those of Lagouira obtained from the ERA5 model for 1985–1989 are higher than those for Dakhla, which shows that Lagouira is the windiest. But that of Dakhla obtained from the measured wind speed (307 W/m2) is almost double that estimated by the ERA5 model (162 W/m2). Therefore, the estimated wind potential is undervalued by 47%. Since Lagouira is windier than Dakhla, we can argue that the wind potential for Lagouira is underestimated by at least a percentage greater than this.