Improving the wind map using interpolation approach: Case study of a southeastern region of Algeria.

This article focuses on improving wind speed mapping accuracy in southeastern Algeria by refining wind maps generated by the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) through the incorporation of data from neighboring meteorological masts and applying the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) spatial interpolation method. Using wind data from six stations across Algeria and Tunisia collected between 2019 and 2023, the study demonstrates that WAsP’s assumption of a universal generalized atlas for an entire region can lead to over- or underestimation of wind speeds, especially across varying altitudes. The proposed interpolation approach effectively corrects these variations by weighting wind speed predictions based on proximity to measurement sites, resulting in improved wind speed estimates with errors between 0.2% and 3.1% compared to measured data. The findings suggest that combining multiple data sources with spatial interpolation enhances wind resource assessment over large and topographically diverse areas.