Hourly mean data of wind speed and direction, measured with a Fuess anemograph at 10 m height, were used in this study. These data were collected from January 1977 to December 1981 at 77 weather stations located in the Northeast of Brazil. The main objective of the study was to determine the wind energy potential for the predominant wind direction of selected stations; therefore, the identification of the relative frequency related to the hourly mean wind speed of the predominant direction was carried out. Then, the parameters, of a Weibull distribution related to the hourly mean wind speed of the predominant direction at each station were estimated by Moments and Graphical methods. The results show that the predominant wind direction in Northeast as a whole is East Ward, with variation to Northeast and Southeast. The Weibull model fitted very well to the observed frequency distribution of the wind speed data used in this research. The lowest and the highest wind energy potential were observed in the States of Maranhão and Rio Grande do Norte, respectively. At Acaraú (Ceará) the highest monthly wind energy potential, of 138.30 W m-2 was observed. On the other hand, the lowest monthly wind energy potential (0.022 W W m-2) was registered at Alto Parnaíba, MA.
Weibull distribution; wind power; climatology of Northeast Brazil
