article · Sustainable Energy Research
An assessment of wind energy climatology across Côte d’Ivoire between 1980 and 2022 reveals distinct geographic and seasonal variations in wind resources. Evaluating meridional and zonal wind speed data at heights of 20 and 100 metres identifies the northern and southern regions as possessing the highest wind speeds. In these areas, speeds exceed 4 metres per second at 20 metres altitude and 3 metres per second at 100 metres altitude, with the strongest winds occurring between February and August. Daily continuity analysis demonstrates that at 100 metres, consecutive hours of average wind speeds between 3 and 6 metres per second range from 5 to 20 hours depending on the month and location. At 20 metres, consecutive wind hours average roughly 5 hours monthly in the north and surpass 10 hours in the south. These wind profiles indicate strong suitability for small-to-medium-scale clean energy systems rather than large installations.
Understanding local wind availability helps energy planners and communities select appropriate generation systems. Identifying low-wind regimes indicates that massive wind turbines are impractical, directing investments instead towards decentralised, small-to-medium clean energy solutions. Pinpointing high-resource zones in northern and southern Côte d’Ivoire guides focused renewable energy development tailored to regional wind patterns.
The findings point to deployment opportunities for small-to-medium-scale, low-cost wind turbines and hybrid systems rather than commercial-scale wind farms. Intended users include decentralised power operators, off-grid communities, and clean energy developers seeking alternatives suited to low-wind speeds. Because the study relies on historical atmospheric reanalysis rather than hardware trials, the research remains at an early resource-assessment stage, requiring on-site validation and prototype testing before field adoption.
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Abstract This study explores the evolution of wind resources and the effects of these parameters on the wind energy potential in Côte d’Ivoire. An assessment of the climatology of wind resources in Côte d’Ivoire was conducted using the meridional and zonal components of wind speed data at altitudes of 100 and 20 m from the ERA5 reanalysis data for 1980–2022. The results revealed two main areas with high wind speeds, namely the north and the south of Côte d’Ivoire. The wind speed in these two areas exceeded 4 and 3 m.s-1 at altitudes of 20 and 100 m, respectively. High wind speeds were observed from February to August. Subsequently, at the altitude of 100 m, the Maximum number of Consecutive hours of Wind per day (CWM) for average wind speeds (3–6 m.s-1) varied between 5 and 20 h depending on the region and month. At an altitude of 20 m, the CWM was around 5 h for most months in the north and exceeded 10 h for most months in the south. Although such conditions may not be ideal for large-scale wind farms, they are well-suited for low-cost and small-to-medium-scale applications for transitioning to clean energy sources.
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DOI: 10.1186/s40807-026-00262-7
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