Wind speed trends and the potential of electricity generation at new wind power plants in Northeast Brazil

The behavior of climate elements can affect the generation of wind electricity. Small changes in wind speed can lead to high generation variability at wind power plants. In addition, the utilization of different temporal intervals within databases can yield different results due to climate dynamics. Consequently, using average values for a data series can lead to errors in the estimation of the electricity generation. This study investigates the presence of trends in wind speed and verifies the influence of wind trends on the generation potential of a new wind power plant complex located in the semiarid zone of Northeast Brazil. Methodology employed long climate data series and the non-parametric tests of Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope for the identification of trends. A data survey was carried out on the electricity generation, using the power curve of the wind turbines installed in the power plants. Increasing trends were identified for wind speed and electricity generation. Regarding the wind data series of locations close to the power plant complex, the most recent years were compared with the first years of the data series. Increases in wind speed were identified, which lead to increases in 50–57% in the electricity generated.