Solar and Wind Resource Potential Assessment and Its Uncertainty Analysis for a Rural Location in Uttarakhand

Renewable energy resources (solar, wind, hydro, etc.) are highly intermittent. The nature of the available renewable resources affects the availability and economics of renewable power systems since the resource determines the quantity and the timings of renewable power generation. It is essential to characterize the availability of renewable energy resources before making any investment. An accurate estimation of renewable energy resources is the foremost requirement for the robust and reliable design and development of renewable-based hybrid energy systems. In this perspective, under the present study, solar and wind resource potential assessment is conducted to meet the load demand for a cluster of ten villages in Uttarakhand (India). Based on the potential assessment, it was found that solar energy is available in each month of a year, with total annual solar radiation on inclined surfaces estimated to be equal to 2148 kWh/m²/year. Further, uncertainty in estimated solar potential was analyzed using a triangular distribution. The mean average wind power density was found to be 16.1 W/m² which represents poor wind resource availability.