  Recently, there has been a push by countries to diversify their energy mix
considering various factors. In this regard, there have been several studies
conducted to assess the potential for using sources such as wind and solar to
generate supplemental energy to the already present energy generation setup. In
this regard, this study explores the potential of wind for the Commonwealth of
Kentucky. To perform this study, wind data was sourced for eight locations
across Kentucky from the publicly accessible wind speed information present at
Weatherunderground for the years 2020-2021. An analysis was performed
concerning the seasonal, monthly and hourly variation in the wind speed so as
to identify the expected times of sufficient wind energy generation. Moreover,
a comparison of the collected data was performed with data from a home-based
weather station and a deployed wind turbine as well to validate the variation
pattern of the publicly sourced data. Finally, in order to investigate the
variation patterns of wind and solar energy sources, a comparative analysis was
also performed using data from a solar power generation plant in Kentucky. It
was observed that a seasonal and monthly complemetarity was observed between
the wind and solar. However, when considering daily patterns, the wind was
found to follow solar generation with an offset. While further research is
required, this analysis indicates that it is possible to deploy wind energy
power generation projects in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The seasonal
complementary behavior of wind and solar can be used along with battery storage
in conjunction with natural gas to provide a diversified electricity generation
portfolio.
