Wind energy development policy and prospects in Lithuania

According to the EU Directive 2001/77/EC 7% of all electricity production is to be generated from renewable energy sources (RES) in Lithuania in 2010. Electricity production from RES is determined by hydro, biomass and wind energy resources in Lithuania. Further development of hydro power plants is limited by environmental restrictions, therefore priority is given to wind energy development. The aim of this paper is to show estimation of the maximum wind power penetration in the Lithuanian electricity system using such criteria as wind potential, possibilities of the existing electricity network, possible environmental impact, and social and economical aspects. Generalization of data from the meteorological stations and special measurements shows that the highest average wind speed in Lithuanian territory is in the coastal region and at 50 m above ground level reaches 6.4 m/s. In regard to wind resource distribution in this region, arrangement of electricity grid and environment protection requirements, six zones have been determined for wind power plant construction. Calculations have shown that the largest total installed capacity of wind farms, which could cause no significant increase in power transmission expenses, is 170 MW. The threshold, which cannot be passed without capital reconstruction of electricity network, is 500 MW of total capacity of wind farms.     

Evaluation of wind energy investment interest and electricity generation cost analysis for Turkey

Turkey has remarkable wind energy potential, but its utilisation rate is very low. However, in 2007, energy investors applied to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) with 751 wind projects to obtain a 78180.2 MW wind power plant license. This paper first presents an overview of wind energy development in the world and then reviews related situations in Turkey. Second, to motivate the interest in wind energy investment, new wind power plant license applications in Turkey are analysed. Finally, wind electricity generation cost analyses were performed at 14 locations in Turkey. Capacity factors of investigated locations were calculated between 19.7% and 56.8%, and the production cost of electrical energy was between 1.73 and 4.99 $cent/kW h for two different wind shear coefficients.     

Evaluation of wind energy potential and electricity generation at six locations in Turkey

In this study, wind characteristics were analyzed using the wind speed data collected of the six meteorological stations in Turkey during the period 2000–2006. The annual mean wind speed of the six stations (Erzurum, Elaz??, Bingöl, Kars, Manisa and Ni?de) is obtained as 8.7, 8.5, 5.9, 6.9, 7.4 and 8.0 m/s at 10 m height, respectively. The mean annual value of Weibull shape parameter k is between 1.71 and 1.96 while the annual value of scale parameter c is between 6.81 and 9.71 m/s. A technical assessment has been made of electricity generation from four wind turbines having capacity of (600 kW, 1000 kW, 1500 kW and 2000 kW). The yearly energy output and capacity factor for the four different turbines were calculated.     

Assessment of wind energy potential for selected areas in Jordan

This paper presents a technical assessment of wind power potential for seven locations in Jordan using statistical analysis to determine the wind characteristic based on the measured wind data. Rayleigh distribution is used to model the monthly average data and used to estimate the wind power in the selected locations. Energy calculations, capacity factors and cost of wind energy production were determined for the selected locations with wind machines of different sizes ranging between 1.65 MW and 3 MW. The quantitative estimates of the technical and economic potential are presented graphically. Rayleigh parameter is adjusted to the hub height using one seventh power law to estimate the power output of the machine. The energy cost analyses show that all selected sites have high economic potential with unit cost less than $0.04/kWh of electricity. The lowest unit cost per kWh is obtained by using GE 2.5 MW at Tafila site. Finally, the results of this study reveal that Jordan has high potential wind energy and its environmental and energy policy targets can be met by exploitation wind energy.     

Wind energy in Vietnam: Resource assessment,development status and future implications

The aim of this study is to estimate the technical potential of wind energy in Vietnam and discuss strategies for promoting the market penetration of wind energy in the country. For the wind resource assessment, a geographical information system (GIS)- assisted approach has been developed. It is found that Vietnam has a good potential for wind energy. About 31,000 km² of land area can be available for wind development in which 865 km² equivalents to a wind power of 3572 MW has a generation cost less than 6 US cents/kWh. The study also proves that wind energy could be a good solution for about 300,000 rural non-electrified households. While wind energy brings about ecological, economic and social benefits, it is only modestly exploited in Vietnam, where the main barrier is the lack of political impetus and a proper framework for promoting renewable energy. The priority task therefore is to set a target for renewable energy development and to find instruments to achieve such a target. The main instruments proposed here are setting feed-in tariff and providing investment incentives.     

Wind energy status in renewable electrical energy production in Turkey

Main electrical energy sources of Turkey are thermal and hydraulic. Most of the thermal sources are derived from natural gas. Turkey imports natural gas; therefore, decreasing usage of natural gas is very important for both economical and environmental aspects. Because of disadvantages of fossil fuels, renewable energy sources are getting importance for sustainable energy development and environmental protection. Among the renewable sources, Turkey has very high wind energy potential. The estimated wind power capacity of Turkey is about 83,000 MW while only 10,000 MW of it seems to be economically feasible to use. Start 2009, the total installed wind power capacity of Turkey was only 4.3% of its total economical wind power potential (433 MW). However, the strong development of wind energy in Turkey is expected to continue in the coming years. In this study, Turkey's installed electric power capacity, electric energy production is investigated and also Turkey current wind energy status is examined.     

Evaluation of electricity generation and energy cost of wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) in Central Turkey

The negative effects of non-renewable fossil fuels have forced scientists to draw attention to clean energy sources which are both environmentally more suitable and renewable. Although Turkey enjoys fairly high wind energy potential, an investigation and exploitation of this source is still below the desired level. In this study which is a preliminary study on wind energy cost in Central Anatolian-Turkey, the wind energy production using time-series approach and the economic evaluation of various wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) enjoying the 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 150 kW rated power size using the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) method for the seven different locations in Central Turkey were estimated. In addition, effects of escalation ratio of operation and maintenance cost and annual mean speed on LCOE are taken into account. The wind speed data for a period between 2000 and 2006 years were taken from Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS). According to the result of the calculations, it is shown that the WECS of capacity 150 kW produce the energy output 120,978 kWh per year in the Case-A (Pinarbasi) for hub height 30 m and also the LCOE varies in the range of 0.29–30.0 $/kWh for all WECS considered.     

Renewable energy sources in the Egyptian electricity market: A review

This review paper presents an appraisal of renewable energy RE options in Egypt. An appraisal review of different REs is presented. The study shows that electric energy produced from REs in Egypt are very poor compared with other energy sources. The utilization of the renewable energies can also be a good opportunity to fight the desertification and dryness in Egypt which is about 60% of Egypt territory. The rapid growth of energy production and consumption is strongly affecting and being affected by the Egyptian economy in many aspects. It is evident that energy will continue to play an important role in the development of Egypt's economy in coming years. The total installed electricity generating capacity had reached around 22025 MW with a generating capacity reached 22605 MW at the end of 2007. Hydropower and coal has no significant potential increase. During the period 1981/82-2004/05 electricity generation has increased by 500% from nearly 22 TWh for the year 1981/1982 to 108.4 TWh in the year 2004/2005 at an average annual growth rate of 6.9%. Consequently, oil and gas consumed by the electricity sector has jumped during the same period from around 3.7 MTOE to nearly 21 MTOE. The planned installed capacity for the year 2011/2012 is 28813 MW and the required fuel (oil and gas) for the electricity sector is estimated to reach about 29 MTOE by the same year. The renewable energy strategy targets to supply 3% of the electricity production from renewable resources by the year 2010. Electrical Coverage Electrical energy has been provided for around 99.3% of Egypt's population, representing a positive sign for the welfare of the Egyptian citizen due to electricity relation to all development components in all walks of life. The article discusses perspectives of wind energy in Egypt with projections to generate ∼ 3.5 GWe by 2022, representing ∼9% of the total installed power at that time (40.2 GW). Total renewables (hydro + wind + solar) are expected to provide ∼7.4 GWe by 2022 representing ∼ 19% of the total installed power. Such a share would reduce dependence on depleting oil and gas resources, and hence improve country's sustainable development.     

Global wind power potential: Physical and technological limits

This paper is focused on a new methodology for the global assessment of wind power potential. Most of the previous works on the global assessment of the technological potential of wind power have used bottom-up methodologies (e.g. 2, 4 and 31). Economic, ecological and other assessments have been developed, based on these technological capacities. However, this paper tries to show that the reported regional and global technological potential are flawed because they do not conserve the energetic balance on Earth, violating the first principle of energy conservation (Gans et al., 2010). We propose a top–down approach, such as that in Miller et al. (2010), to evaluate the physical–geographical potential and, for the first time, to evaluate the global technological wind power potential, while acknowledging energy conservation. The results give roughly 1 TW for the top limit of the future electrical potential of wind energy. This value is much lower than previous estimates and even lower than economic and realizable potentials published for the mid-century (e.g. 8, 10 and 52).     

Wind energy status in India: A short review

Renewable energy represents an area of tremendous opportunity for India. Energy is considered a prime agent in the generation of wealth and a significant factor in economic development. Energy is also essential for improving the quality of life. Development of conventional forms of energy for meeting the growing energy needs of society at a reasonable cost is the responsibility of the Government. Limited fossil resources and associated environmental problems have emphasized the need for new sustainable energy supply options. India depends heavily on coal and oil for meeting its energy demand which contributes to smog, acid rain and greenhouse gases’ emission. Last 25 years has been a period of intense activities related to research, development, production and distribution of energy in India.Though major energy sources for electrical power are coal and natural gas, development and promotion of non-conventional sources of energy such as solar, wind and bio-energy, are also getting sustained attention. The use of electricity has grown since it can be used in variety of applications as well as it can be easily transmitted, the uses of renewable energy like wind and solar is rising. Wind energy is a clean, eco-friendly, renewable resource and is nonpolluting. The gross wind power potential is estimated at around 48,561 MW in the country; a capacity of 14,989.89 MW up to 31st August 2011 has so far been added through wind, which places India in the fifth position globally. This paper discusses the ways in which India has already supported the growth of renewable energy technologies i.e. wind energy and its potential to expand their contribution to world growth in a way that is consistent with world's developmental and environmental goals. The paper presents current status, major achievements and future aspects of wind energy in India.     

Investigation of wind characteristics and assessment of wind-generation potentiality in Uludağ-Bursa,Turkey

In this study, wind characteristic and wind energy potential of the Uluda? skinning which is located in the south Marmara region of Turkey were analyzed using the wind speed data collected during the period 2000–2006. The wind speed distribution curves of Uluda?-Bursa were obtained by using the Weibull and Rayleigh probability density functions. The average Weibull shape parameter k and scale parameter c were found as 1.78 and 7.97 m/s for the period 2000–2006. The yearly mean wind speed in Uluda?-Bursa was obtained as 7.08 m/s for period of 7 years. A technical and economic assessment has been made of electricity generation from four wind turbines having capacity of (600, 1000, 1500 and 2000 kW). The yearly energy output, capacity factor and the electrical energy cost of kW h produced by the three different turbines were calculated. The cost of each kW h produced using the chosen wind turbines in Uluda?-Bursa were found to between 0.255 and 0.306 $/kW h.     

Public attitudes of wind energy in Texas: Local communities in close proximity to wind farms and their effect on decision-making

Wind energy is now recognized as an important energy resource throughout the world. Within the United States, the state of Texas currently has the largest wind energy capacity with 8797 total megawatts and an additional 660 MW under construction. With this rapid growth, it is important to achieve a better understanding of how wind energy is being perceived by the public.     

Exploring the potential of wind energy for a coastal state

Adequate recognition of the wind energy potential of coastal states may have far-reaching effects on the development of the energy systems of these countries. This study evaluates wind energy resources in Taiwan with the aid of a geographic information system (GIS), which allows local potentials and restrictions such as climate conditions, land uses, and ecological environments to be considered. The findings unveiled in this study suggest a significant role for offshore wind energy resources, which may constitute between 94% and 98% of overall wind resources in Taiwan. Total power yield from wind energy could reach between 150 and 165 TWh, which would have, respectively, accounted for between 62% and 68% of Taiwan's total power generation of 243 TWh in 2007. Based on the Taiwan's current emission factor of electricity, wind energy has the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions by between 94 and 102 million ton per year in Taiwan, which is, respectively, equivalent to 28% and 31% of the national net equivalent CO₂ emissions released in 2002. However, the challenge of managing the variability of wind power has to be addressed before the considerable contribution of wind energy to domestic energy supply and CO₂ reduction can be realized.     

Wind energy,electricity, and hydrogen in the Netherlands

The curbing of greenhouse gases (GHG) is an important issue on the international political agenda. The substitution of fossil fuels by renewable energy sources is an often-advocated mitigation strategy. Wind energy is a potential renewable energy source. However, wind energy is not reliable since its electricity production depends on variable weather conditions. High wind energy penetration rates lead to losses due to power plant operation adjustments to wind energy. This research identifies the potential energetic benefits of integrated hydrogen production in electricity systems with high wind energy penetration. This research concludes that the use of system losses for hydrogen production via electrolysis is beneficial in situations with ca. 8 GW or more wind energy capacity in the Netherlands. The 2020 Dutch policy goal of 6 GW will not benefit from hydrogen production in terms of systems efficiency. An ancillary beneficial effect of coupling hydrogen production with wind energy is to relieve the high-voltage grid.     

Assessment of wind energy in Iran: A review

In this study, a ten minute period measuring wind speed data for year 2007 at 10 m, 30 m and 40 m heights for different places in Iran, has been statistically analyzed to determine the potential of wind power generation. Sixty eight sites have been studied. The objective is to evaluate the most important characteristics of wind energy in the studied sites. The statistical attitudes permit us to estimate the mean wind speed, the wind speed distribution function, the mean wind power density and the wind rose in the site at three different heights. Some local phenomena are also considered in the characterization of the site.     

State and local economic impacts from wind energy projects: Texas case study

This paper uses the Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) model to estimate economic impacts from 1398 MW of wind power development in four counties in west Texas. Project-specific impacts are estimated at the local level (i.e., within a 100-mile radius around the wind farms) and at the state level. The primary economic policy question addressed is how investment in wind energy affects the state and local communities where the wind farms are built. During the four-year construction phase approximately 4100 FTE (full time equivalents) jobs were supported with turbine and supply chain impacts accounting for 58% of all jobs generated. Total lifetime economic activity to the state from the projects equated to more than $1.8 billion, or $1.3 million per MW of installed capacity. The total economic activity to the local communities was also substantial, equating to nearly $730 million over the assumed 20-year life cycle of the farms, or $0.52 million per MW of installed capacity. Given the current level of impacts observed, and the potential for increased impacts via greater utilization of instate manufacturing capacity and the development of trained wind industry specific laborers, Texas appears to be well positioned to see increasing impacts from continued wind development.     

Offshore wind energy prospects

In last two years offshore wind energy is becoming a focal point of national and non national organizations particularly after the limitations of fossil fuel consumption, adopted by many developed countries after Kyoto conference at the end of 1997 on global climate change. North Europe is particularly interested in offshore for the limited land areas still available, due to the intensive use of its territory and its today high wind capacity. Really the total wind capacity in Europe could increase from the 1997 value of 4450 MW up to 40 000 MW within 2010, according the White Paper 1997 of the European Commission; a significant percentage (25%) could be sited offshore up to 10 000 MW, because of close saturation of the land sites at that time. World wind capacity could increase from the 1997 value of 7200 MW up to 60 000 MW within 2010 with a good percentage (20%) offshore 12 000 MW. In last seven years wind capacity is shallow waters of coastal areas has reached 34 MW. Five wind farms are functioning in the internal seas of Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden; however such siting is mostly to be considered as semi-offshore condition. Wind farms in real offshore sites, open seas with waves and water depth over 10 m, are now proposed in North Sea at 10–20 km off the coasts of Netherland, Denmark using large size wind turbine (1–2 MW). In 1997 an offshore proposal was supported in Netherland by Greenpeace after the OWEMES '97 seminar, held in Italy on offshore wind in the spring 1997. A review is presented in the paper of the European offshore wind programs with trends in technology, economics and siting effects.     

Voltage dip generator for wind energy systems up to 5 MW

The increase in installed wind power has brought a number of Grid Code areas into focus. The area of fault ride-through capability is one with serious implications for system security and thus has an impact on the allowed wind energy penetration in the network. There are several wind turbine models that can be used to study the effects of voltage dips and the corresponding wind turbine responses but these models need to be validated by comparing their results with the data obtained during field tests. This paper presents the design of a voltage dip generator that can be used to test wind turbines up to 5 MW and 20 kV. This system is able to adjust voltage dip depth and duration to the standards defined in different countries and also the fault impedance seen by the grid in order not to disturb its operation during the tests. Simulation results are validated using experimental data obtained at a laboratory-scale prototype (400 V, 90 kW). Finally, the actual 5 MW system and the results obtained during field tests are presented.     

Providing all global energy with wind,water, and solar power,Part I: Technologies,energy resources,quantities and areas of infrastructure,and materials

Climate change, pollution, and energy insecurity are among the greatest problems of our time. Addressing them requires major changes in our energy infrastructure. Here, we analyze the feasibility of providing worldwide energy for all purposes (electric power, transportation, heating/cooling, etc.) from wind, water, and sunlight (WWS). In Part I, we discuss WWS energy system characteristics, current and future energy demand, availability of WWS resources, numbers of WWS devices, and area and material requirements. In Part II, we address variability, economics, and policy of WWS energy. We estimate that ∼3,800,000 5 MW wind turbines, ∼49,000 300 MW concentrated solar plants, ∼40,000 300 MW solar PV power plants, ∼1.7 billion 3 kW rooftop PV systems, ∼5350 100 MW geothermal power plants, ∼270 new 1300 MW hydroelectric power plants, ∼720,000 0.75 MW wave devices, and ∼490,000 1 MW tidal turbines can power a 2030 WWS world that uses electricity and electrolytic hydrogen for all purposes. Such a WWS infrastructure reduces world power demand by 30% and requires only ∼0.41% and ∼0.59% more of the world's land for footprint and spacing, respectively. We suggest producing all new energy with WWS by 2030 and replacing the pre-existing energy by 2050. Barriers to the plan are primarily social and political, not technological or economic. The energy cost in a WWS world should be similar to that today.     

An investigation of wind characteristics on the campus of Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey

The European Wind Atlas shows a very high wind energy capacity over the Aegean Sea and its coastal regions. Therefore, the western region of Turkey, which has a long coast along the Aegean Sea, appears to have high potential of wind energy. As a result of this fact, several studies have been performed to estimate the wind potential, especially, in western Turkey. However, due to the absence of a reliable and accurate Wind Atlas of Turkey, further studies on the assessment of wind energy in Turkey are necessary. In this study, the characteristics of wind on the campus of Izmir Institute of Technology, located in Cesme peninsula which has long coastline along the Aegean Sea, were studied over a period of one year. Measured data set and its evaluation showed that Izmir Institute of Technology campus area has a considerable wind energy potential. The study presented here is an attempt to promote wind energy in Turkey and to bridge the gap in order to create prospective Turkish Wind Atlas.