Wind Power and Potential for its Exploitation in the Arab World

Wind power was used to propel boats along the Nile in 5000 B.C. and to pump water and for food production in the Middle East in 900 B.C. Today, only about 0.6% of the electricity demand in the Arab World is met by wind power generation. This ratio is much lower than corresponding ratios in Europe and the United States. Although one could point to specific reasons such as availability of wind, installation costs and local expertise, and availability of other energy resources, it is important to realize that generating wind power poses different challenges in different parts of the world. Like many places, issues such as data availability, grid capacity and transparent cost analysis are important for making decision regarding development of wind power. In the Arab world, the issues become more complicated when considering political uncertainty, which at a minimum impacts investment decision, and cultural values and attitudes towards power use and environmental impact.

Recognizing that it will be difficult to discuss or resolve many of the above issues, we discuss and review in this chapter technical details related to wind power generation including turbine blade aerodynamics, components and types of wind turbines and end with a discussion of potential benefits from wind power generation on the Arab world and societies and challenges to be met for reaping these benefits.