Performance and economic evaluation of a wind energy system: A case study

ABSTRACT

Wind energy has a significant role in promoting for sustainable development. Growth in power generation from wind has become a competitive and acceptable renewable energy resource. Wind energy can be shared in securing sustainable and safe energy supply. The first step of a wind energy project is the evaluation of wind speed characteristics and the condition of the site. In this paper, a small wind farm is proposed to be installed in two selected sites in the north of Iraq (Dokan 35.9496° N, 44.9621° E and Chamchamal 35.5292° N, 44.8217° E at Al- Sulimania Governorate. Ten 50 kW wind turbines are considered, and their performance is primarily evaluated. Wind energy parameters and the capacity factor are calculated for a year. The shape and scale factors for both sites (Dokan and Chamchamal) were found 2.092, 5.233, and 2.104,5.325, respectively. The net capacity factor for both sites was found 16.94% and 18.08% and the estimated cost of energy laid in the range (0.04 USD/kWh-0.06 USD/kWh) which is in good agreement with other researcher achievements. Both sites possess fair condition for installing wind turbines. An increase in the capacity factor by 5% leads to reduce the payback period by 30%.

KEYWORDS:

• Wind energy
• performance
• capacity factor
• wind energy economy
• power density

Acknowledgments

The authors of this work would like to thank Tikrit University for providing laboratory facilities and technical support

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).