The Feasibility of Wind Power Plants in Iraq: Up-to-Date Review Study

Abstract

This study aims to review available studies in Iraq about harvesting wind energy. The studies present numerous types of wind turbines as horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT), vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT), and small or micro-turbines. Most of the studies are based on collected data related to wind energy availability in Iraq. The studies were distributed in many locations in Iraq, such as Baghdad, Tikrit, Mousil, Najaf, Nasiriyah, Kut, Basrah and Erbil. These data show that the wind in Iraq has a rather low speed (less than 6 m/s). Therefore, some of the studies advised to use of small turbines for low-energy applications (Less than 20 kW). However, for high-energy applications or power plants, there is a chance to duplicate the wind speed at high elevations (50-100 m) in some locations where the available wind energy is about 2000-3000 hours/year. In this case, turbines can be utilized to produce power up to 1 MW using some commercial types of HAWT turbines.