Assessment of Wind Potential in the Perspective of Water Pumping in Sahelian Area of Burkina Faso

This paper focuses on the prospects for wind pumping installations in the Sahelian and Sudano-Sahelian zones of Burkina Faso. Three localities were chosen for the study namely, Dori, Ouahigouya and Ouagadougou. A statistical study allowed the determination of average wind speed. Wind speed average at the height of the tower on the three sites varies between 2.4 and 4.2 m/s. The availability of groundwater resources in the sahel, combined with the wind regime, makes it possible to determine the prospects of installing a pumping wind turbine at each site. Usable outout power of chosen wind turbine calculation made it possible to determine daily flows drawn off, using a mechanical pumping wind turbine and an aerogenerator of different nominal powers, depending on the total manometric height. The advantages and disadvantages of each pumping system are highlighted. The results show that Ouahigouya's and Ouagadougou's sites are suitable for such installations while Dori's site requires hybrid systems such as solar photovoltaic/wind or solar photovoltaic/generator.