Atlas of Wind Power Potential and Wind Measurements

Wind energy is one of the oldest natural powers domesticated in mechanical form, mainly for pulling ships and driving millstones and pumps. Windmills have disappeared. However, pumps powered by wind turbines continue to turn, not to mention sailing, which has always made use of the wind's kinetic energy.

Nowadays, wind turbines are available to ensure :

• water pumping: this use is mainly found in isolated regions or developing countries; in the recent past, all the water used for grazing in the Algerian highlands came from mechanical wind pumping;

• Electricity generation: by coupling a generator to a wind turbine, we can generate electricity with what is known as a wind generator, which is now used worldwide for low, medium and high-power installations;

• heating in the home; this idea is still at the experimental stage, but could become an interesting option for certain regions in the future.

For all these applications, the development and use of an atlas of wind potential, i.e. of the region's wind history over at least a decade, is fundamental.

To get an idea of variations over the year, a study of the wind distribution needs to be carried out. .