Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Potential and Technical Feasibility of a Proposed Wind Farm in Basra Coastal Waters, Iraq
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.68050/JAMS.2026.682Keywords:
Offshore Wind Energy; Wind Resource Assessment; Offshore Wind Farm; Renewable Energy; Basra; Iraq; Wake Effect; Capacity FactorAbstract
The expanding global demand for sustainable electrical energy has accelerated the deployment of offshore wind power systems. Despite rapid international adoption, offshore wind energy remains unexplored in Iraq, where energy generation remains heavily dependent on conventional, high-emission fossil fuels. This study provides a preliminary technical resource assessment and feasibility analysis for establishing an offshore wind farm in the Iraqi coastal waters of Basra along the Arabian Gulf. High-resolution meteorological datasets (MERRA-2 and ECMWF) covering May to July 2023 were analyzed to evaluate site suitability, wind resource characteristics, and potential electrical yield. A 10 MW offshore wind power plant comprising ten 1.0 MW Leitwind LTW80 LS39.0 Class IIA wind turbines arranged in a regular 2 × 5 grid layout with 1000 m inter-turbine spacing was modeled to optimize power output while mitigating aerodynamic wake losses. At a 50 m reference height, the mean wind speed was determined to be 7.5 m/s, dominated by prevailing northwesterly wind directions. The total estimated Annual Energy Production (AEP) reached approximately 63,945 MWh/year, with a peak monthly output of 71,799.94 MWh/year equivalent observed in June. Monthly capacity factors ranged from 48.40% to 81.96%, confirming high resource efficiency during peak national demand periods. Numerical modeling of acoustic propagation confirmed that ambient operational noise levels remain within international environmental thresholds. These findings demonstrate that offshore wind generation in the northern Arabian Gulf is technically viable and offers significant strategic value for diversifying Iraq's national energy portfolio.
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