Estimation of Weibull Distribution Parameters for Wind Speed Characteristics Using Neural Network Algorithm

Harvesting the power coming from the wind provides a green andenvironmentally friendly approach to producing electricity. To facilitate theongoing advancement in wind energy applications, deep knowledge aboutwind regime behavior is essential. Wind speed is typically characterized bya statistical distribution, and the two-parameters Weibull distribution hasshown its ability to represent wind speeds worldwide. Estimation of Weibullparameters, namely scale (c) and shape (k) parameters, is vital to describethe observed wind speeds data accurately. Yet, it is still a challenging task.Several numerical estimation approaches have been used by researchers toobtain c and k. However, utilizing such methods to characterize wind speedsmay lead to unsatisfactory accuracy. Therefore, this study aims to investigatethe performance of the metaheuristic optimization algorithm, Neural NetworkAlgorithm (NNA), in obtaining Weibull parameters and comparing itsperformance with five numerical estimation approaches. In carrying out thestudy, the wind characteristics of three sites in Saudi Arabia, namely HaferAl Batin, Riyadh, and Sharurah, are analyzed. Results exhibit that NNA hashigh accuracy fitting results compared to the numerical estimation methods.The NNA demonstrates its efficiency in optimizing Weibull parameters at allthe considered sites with correlations exceeding 98.54.