Cost analysis of wind-electrolyzer-fuel cell system for energy demand in Pınarbaşı-Kayseri

In this study, the hydrogen production potential and costs by using wind/electrolysis system in P?narba??-Kayseri were considered. In order to evaluate costs and quantities of produced hydrogen, for three different hub heights (50 m, 80 m and 100 m) and two different electrolyzer cases, such as one electrolyzer with rated power of 120 kW (Case-I) and three electrolyzers with rated power of 40 kW (Case-II) were investigated. Levelised cost of electricity method was used in order to determine the cost analysis of wind energy and hydrogen production. The results of calculations brought out that the electricity costs of the wind turbines and hydrogen production costs of the electrolyzers are decreased with the increase of turbine hub height. The maximum hydrogen production quantity was obtained 14192 kgH₂/year and minimum hydrogen cost was obtained 8.5 $/kgH₂ at 100 m hub height in the Case-II.     

Wind shear coefficients and energy yield for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

This study presents calculated values of wind shear coefficients (WSE) using measured values of wind speed at 20, 30, and 40 m above ground level (AGL), for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The study also includes the air density estimated using measured air temperature and surface pressure and effect of wind shear coefficient on energy yield from a wind farm of 60 MW installed capacity developed using 40 wind turbines of 1500 kW size. The data used in the determination of wind shear coefficient covered a period of almost 5 years between 4 October 1995 and 30 November 2000.The study suggests a value of 0.189 of wind shear coefficient for the calculation of wind speed at different heights if measured values are known at one height. No regular seasonal trend was observed in the values of wind shear coefficients. In case of diurnal variation, higher values were observed during nighttime and early hours of the day and comparatively smaller values during day light hours. The air density, calculated using measured temperature and pressure was found to be 1.18 kg/m³. The energy yield obtained using RetScreen software, showed that the actual wind shear coefficient presented in this paper produced around 11–12% more energy compared to that obtained using 1/7 power law. Accordingly, 2–3% higher plant capacity factors were achieved using actual site-dependent wind shear coefficient instead of 1/7th wind power law exponent for the calculation of wind speed at hub-height.     

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.     

Electricity generation and wind potential assessment at Hurghada, Egypt

A technical and economic assessment has been made of the generation of electricity using wind turbines at one of the most promising wind sites in Egypt: Hurghada. In this paper, we used wind data recorded over 23 years for this site. The WASP program was used to calculate the values of wind speed frequency for the station, their seasonally values have been estimated and compared with measured data.Weibull parameters and the power law coefficient (n) for all seasons at different heights (10–70 m) has been estimated and used to describe the distribution and behavior of seasonal wind speed and their frequencies at Hurghada. The monthly and annual values of wind potential at a height of 70 m were obtained by extrapolation of the 10 m data from the results of our previous article [Ahmed Shata AS, Hanitsch R. The potential of electricity generation on the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt. Renew Energy 2006;31:1597–615] using the power law.Also, the monthly plant load factor (PLF) has been estimated, which is used to determine the expected annual energy output of a wind energy conversion system (WECS).Variation of annual capacity factor with rated wind speed for 10 different wind turbines has been studied. The lower the rated speed for the WECS of the same height, the higher will be the capacity factor values. The expected electrical energy cost of kWh produced by the wind turbine (Repower MM82) with a capacity of 2 MW considered for Hurghada station was found to be less than 1.5 € cent/kWh.     

Electricity generation from the first wind farm situated at Ras Ghareb, Egypt

Egypt is one of the Red Sea and Mediterranean countries having windy enough areas, in particular along the coasts. The coastal location Ras Ghareb on the Red Sea has been investigated in order to know the wind power density available for electricity generation. To account for the wind potential variations with height, a new simple estimating procedure was introduced. This study has explicitly demonstrated the presence of high wind power density nearly 900 kW/m² per year at 100 m of altitude for this region. Indeed, the seasonal wind powers available are comparable to and sometimes higher than the power density in many European cities for wind electricity applications like Vindeby (Denmark) and also America.New technical analysis for wind turbine characteristics have been made using three types of commercial wind turbines possessing the same rotor diameter and rated power to choice the best wind machine suitable for Ras Ghareb station. As per the decreasing the cut-in wind speed for the wind turbine used, the availability factor increases for a given generator. That it could produce more energy output throughout the year for the location.The aim of this research, was to predict the electrical energy production with the cost analysis of a wind farm 150 MW total power installed at Ras Ghareb area using 100 wind turbines model (Repower MD 77) with 1.5 MW rated power. Additionally, this paper developed the methodology for estimating the price of each kWh electricity from the wind farms. Results show that this wind park will produce maximum energy of 716 GWh/year. The expected specific cost equal to 1.5 € cent/kWh is still less than and very competitive price with that produced from the wind farms in Great Britain and Germany and at the international markets of wind power. The important result derived from this study encourages several wind parks with hundreds of megawatts can be constructed at Ras Ghareb region.     

Economic feasibility of large community feed-in tariff-eligible wind energy production in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia, Canada's community feed-in tariff (COMFIT) scheme is the world's first feed-in tariff program specifically targeting locally-based renewable energy projects. This study investigated selected turbine capacities to optimize electricity production, based on actual wind profiles for three sites in Nova Scotia, Canada (i.e., Sydney, Caribou Point, and Greenwood). The turbine capacities evaluated are also eligible under the current COMFIT-large scheme in Nova Scotia, including 100 kW, 900 kW and 2.0 MW turbines. A capital budgeting model was developed and then used to evaluate investment decisions on wind power production. Wind duration curves suggest that Caribou Point had the highest average wind speeds but for shorter durations. By comparison, Sydney and Greenwood had lower average wind speeds but with longer durations. Electricity production cost was lowest for the 2.0 MW turbine in Caribou Point ($0.07 per kWh), and highest for the 100 kW turbine located in Greenwood ($0.49 per kWh). The most financially viable wind power project was the 2.0 MW turbine assumed to operate at 80 m hub height in Caribou Point, with NPV=$251,586, and BCR=1.51. Wind power production for the remaining two sites was generally not financially feasible for the turbine capacities considered. The impact of promoting local economic development from wind power projects was higher in a scenario under which wind turbines were clustered at a single site with the highest wind resources than generating a similar level of electricity by distributing the wind turbines across multiple locations.     

The potential of electricity generation on the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt

Wind characteristics have been analyzed based on long-term measured data of monthly mean wind speed of seven meteorological stations along the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt. It was found that the windiest stations (Region A) namely (Zafarana, Abu Darag, Hurghada and Ras Benas) have annual mean wind speeds (7.3, 7.2, 6.4 and 5.5 m/s) at 10 m height, respectively.Numerical estimations using measured wind speeds and frequencies to calculate the two Weibull parameters were carried out and two methods were applied.The methodical analysis for the corrected monthly wind power density at a height of 10 m above ground level, over roughness class 0 (water), for each station was done. The recommended correlation equation was also stated for Red Sea zone in Egypt. Also the corrected annual wind power density at the heights (50–70) m was obtained for all stations. Moreover, calculations show that the four stations in (Region A) have a huge energy potential available (430–1000 W/m²) at 70 m height, while Quseir and Suez stations (Region B) have good wind power density (170–190 W/m²) at 50 m height.A technical and economic assessment has been made of electricity generation from two turbines machines having capacity of (1000 and 600 kW) considered in Regions A & B, respectively, using WASP program. The yearly energy output, capacity factor and the electrical energy cost of kWh produced by the two different turbines in each region were estimated. The production costs of four stations in Region A was found to be less than 2€ cent/kWh and compared with retail tariff.     

Feasibility of large scale offshore wind power for Hong Kong — a preliminary study

This paper investigates the potential and the feasibility of offshore wind energy for Hong Kong. The 1998 wind data taken from an island were analysed. The wind resource yields an annual mean wind speed of 6.6 m/s and mean wind power density of 310 W/m². With commercially available 1.65 MW wind turbines placed on the whole of Hong Kong’s territorial waters, the maximum electricity generating potential from offshore wind is estimated to be 25 TWh which is about 72% of the total 1998 annual electricity consumption. However, potential is significantly reduced if other usages of the sea such as shipping are considered. A hypothetical offshore wind farm of 1038 MW capacity is then sited on the East-side waters. The extreme wind and wave climates, as well as the seasonal variation of wind power and demand are examined. The electricity generation costs are estimated and compared with the local retail tariff. Initial results indicate the wind farm is economically viable and technically feasible.     

Evaluation of wind energy potential and electricity generation on the coast of Mediterranean Sea in Egypt

Wind data from 10 coastal meteorological stations along the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt have been used for statistical analysis to determine the wind characteristics. It was found that three stations show annual mean wind speed greater than 5.0 m/s. In order to identify the Weibull parameters for all stations two different methods were applied.The methodical analysis for all stations was done for the corrected monthly and annual mean wind power at a height of 10 m, over roughness class 0 (water). The recommended correlation equation was also stated for Mediterranean Sea zone in Egypt. Also the wind power densities for heights of 30–50 m were calculated for all stations. Three of them are the best locations, namely: Sidi Barrani, Mersa Matruh, and El Dabaa, where these contiguous stations have great abundantly wind energy density.A technical assessment has been made of the electricity generation using WASP program for two commercial turbines (300 kW and 1 MW) considering at the three promising sites. The wind turbine of capacity 1 MW was found to produce an energy output per year of 2718 MW h at El Dabaa station, and the production costs was found 2€ cent/kW h.     

Wind energy for rural areas of Algeria

This paper presents long-term analysis of wind speed data in terms of annual, seasonal and diurnal variations at Tindouf, which is situated on the south west region of Algeria. The wind speed data was collected over a period of 08 years between 1976 and 1984. The study showed that the long-term seasonal wind speeds were found to be relatively higher during September compared to other months. The diurnal change in long-term mean wind speed indicated that higher electricity could be produced during 09:00–18:00 h, which also coincides with higher electricity demand period. The annual wind energy production and capacity factor, obtained using wind speed frequency distribution and wind power curve of 1000 kW wind turbine and RETScreen software were found comparable with each other if unadjusted energy production values calculated by the software were used rather than the renewable energy delivered. Development of wind farm of 30 MW installed capacity at this site could result into avoidance of 23,252 tonnes/year of CO₂ equivalents GHG from entering into the local atmosphere thus creating a clean and healthy atmosphere for local inhabitants.     

Wind energy potential estimation and micrositting on Izmir Institute of Technology Campus, Turkey

The aim of this study was to predict the wind energy content over the campus area of Izmir Institute of Technology. The wind data were collected at 10 and 30 m mast heights for a period of 16 months. Mean wind speeds were 7.03 and 8.14 m/s at 10 and 30 m mast heights, respectively. The ‘WAsP’ and ‘WindPRO’ softwares were used for the wind statistics and energy calculations. Suitable sites were selected according to the created wind power and energy maps. Wind turbines with nominal powers between 600 and 1500 kW were established for annual energy production calculations and best fitted ones were used for the micrositting.     

The utility of energy storage to improve the economics of wind–diesel power plants in Canada

Wind energy systems have been considered for Canada's remote communities in order to reduce their costs and dependence on diesel fuel to generate electricity. Given the high capital costs, low-penetration wind–diesel systems have been typically found not to be economic. High-penetration wind–diesel systems have the benefit of increased economies of scale, and displacing significant amounts of diesel fuel, but have the disadvantage of not being able to capture all of the electricity that is generated when the wind turbines operate at rated capacity.Two representative models of typical remote Canadian communities were created using HOMER, an NREL micro-power simulator to model how a generic energy storage system could help improve the economics of a high-penetration wind–diesel system. Key variables that affect the optimum system are average annual wind speed, cost of diesel fuel, installed cost of storage and a storage systems overall efficiency. At an avoided cost of diesel fuel of 0.30 $Cdn/kWh and current installed costs, wind generators are suitable in remote Canadian communities only when an average annual wind speed of at least 6.0 m/s is present. Wind energy storage systems become viable to consider when average annual wind speeds approach 7.0 m/s, if the installed cost of the storage system is less than 1000 $Cdn/kW and it is capable of achieving at least a 75% overall energy conversion efficiency. In such cases, energy storage system can enable an additional 50% of electricity from wind turbines to be delivered.     

Low wind speed turbines and wind power potential in Minnesota, USA

Wind power development in Minnesota largely has been focused in the “windy” southwestern part of the state. This research evaluates the additional power that potentially could be generated via low wind speed turbines, particularly for areas of the state where there has been comparatively little wind energy investment. Data consist of 3 years (2002–2004) of wind speed measurements at 70–75 m above ground level, at four sites representing the range of wind speed regimes (Classes 2–5) found in Minnesota. Power estimates use three configurations of the General Electric 1.5-MW series turbine that vary in rotor diameter and in cut-in, cut-out, and rated speeds. Results show that lower cut-in, cut-out, and rated speeds, and especially the larger rotor diameters, yield increases of 15–30% in wind power potential at these sites. Gains are largest at low wind speed (Class 2) sites and during the summer months at all four sites. Total annual wind power at each site shows some year-to-year variability, with peaks at some sites partially compensating for lulls at others. Such compensation does not occur equally in all years: when large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns are strong (e.g., 2002), the four sites show similar patterns of above- and below-average wind power, somewhat reducing the ability of geographic dispersion to mitigate the effects of wind speed variability.     

A wind–PV-battery hybrid power system at Sitakunda in Bangladesh

The measured wind data of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) for 2006 at 30 m height shows a good prospect for wind energy extraction at the site. For a few months and hours the speed is below the cut in speeds of the available turbines in the market. The predicted solar radiation data from directly related measured cloud cover and sunshine duration data of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) for 1992–2003 indicates that a reliable power system can be developed over the year if the solar energy technology is merged with the wind energy technologies for this site. This research work has studied on optimization of a wind–photovoltaic-battery hybrid system and its performance for a typical community load. The assessment shows that least cost of energy (COE) is about USD 0.363/kWh for a community using 169 kWh/day with 61 kW peak and having minimum amount of access or unused energy. Moreover, compared to the existing fossil fuel-based electricity supply, such an environment friendly system can mitigate about 25 t CO₂/yr. The analysis also indicates that wind–PV-battery is economically viable as a replacement for conventional grid energy supply for a community at a minimum distance of about 17 km from grid.     

Wind energy as a potential generation source at Ras Benas,Egypt

Analysis of the wind characteristics in Ras Benas city located on the east coast of Red Sea in Egypt using measured data (wind, pressure and temperature) and Weibull function were made.Statistical analysis model to evaluate the wind energy potential was introduced. According to the power calculations done for the site, the annual mean wind density is 315 kW/m² at a height of 70 m above ground level. This station has a huge wind energy potential for electricity generation, especially during spring and summer seasons, comparing with some European countries.In addition, the monthly wind turbine efficiency parameter (η_monthly) has been calculated by using a commercial wind turbine 1 MW with 70 m hub height to help designers and users in evaluating the potentialities and choosing the suitable wind turbine for the considered site. The use of wind turbine with capacity greater than 1000 kW at this station was recommended.Ras Benas station was selected to install 30 MW-wind farm consists of 20 commercial wind turbines (Nordex S 77) with hub heights and Rotor diameter were 100 and 77 m, respectively. This site has annual wind speed more than 9.8 m/s at 100 m height and enough area to locate these turbines.The estimated energy production using WASP Program of these wind farm was 130 GWh/year. Furthermore, the production costs was found 1.3€ cent/kWh, which is a competition price at the wind energy world market.     

Evaluation of hydrogen production from harvesting wind energy at high altitudes in Iran by three extrapolating Weibull methods

One of the most appropriate ways for energy storage is producing hydrogen from renewable resources. Wind energy is recognized as one of the widely used renewable energy resources. This paper investigates the use of wind energy for producing hydrogen in Iran. To achieve this, the country is divided into five major regions: center, north, south, east and west. The performance of three large-scale commercial wind turbines, ranging from 1500 kW to 3000 kW at hub height of 80 m and four large-scale wind turbine ranging from 2000 kW to 4500 kW at hub height of 120 m are evaluated for producing hydrogen in 150 wind stations in Iran. All wind data were recorded based on 10-min time intervals for more than one year at different wind mast heights. For estimating Weibull parameters, the Standard Deviation Method (SDM), Empirical Method of Lysen (EML) and Power Density Method (PDM) are used. An extrapolation method is used to determine the shape and the scale parameters of the Weibull distribution at the high attitudes of 80 m and 120 m. Then, power law and surface roughness exponents, capacity factor, annual energy production and annual hydrogen production for the wind sites are determined. The results indicate that rated power is not the only determinative parameter and the highest hydrogen production is from the GW-109/2500 wind turbine at the hub height of 80 m and from E112/4500 at the hub height of 120 m. For better assessment, the amount of hydrogen production is depicted in Geographic Information Science (GIS) maps using power production of the seven wind turbine models. Next by analyzing these GIS maps, it is found that there are significant potentials in north, north-west, east and south of Iran for producing hydrogen from wind energy.     

Estimation of wind energy production in various sites in Australia for different wind turbine classes: A comparative technical and economic assessment

This study examines the effect of different wind turbine classes on the electricity production of wind farms in three areas of Australia, which present low, low to medium, and medium to high wind potential: Gingin, Armidale, and Gold Coast Seaway. Wind turbine classes determine the suitability of installing a wind turbine in a particulate site. Wind turbine data from six different manufacturers have been used. For each manufacturer, at lest two wind turbines with identical rated power (in the range of 1.5 MW–3 MW) and different wind turbine classes (IEC I, IEC II and/or IEC III) are compared. The results show the superiority of wind turbines that are designed for lower wind speeds (higher IEC class) in all three locations, in terms of energy production. This improvement is higher for the locations with lower and medium wind potential (Gingin and Armidale), and varies from 5% to 55%. Moreover, this study investigates the economical feasibility of a 30 MW wind farm, for all combinations of site locations and wind turbine models.     

Comparative simulation of wind park design and siting in Algeria

In this paper, five typical regions of Algeria where wind is strong enough are selected. These regions usually intended for traditional agriculture are, centred around the towns of Guelma, El Oued, Tindouf, Touggourt and Tamanrasset. To make wind energy conversion available as an alternative energy source for the populations living in such countries, nine types of small and medium wind turbines constructed by American and European manufacturers are studied for their suitability. To account for the wind variations with height, four possible heights of the pylon holding the turbines are considered: 10, 20, 40 and 60 m. In each of the five locations and at each pylon height, wind energy converted by the turbines, is cumulated over the year and computed. Depending on the site and their size, most of these turbines are found to produce about 1000–10,000 MWh of electricity per year at 60 m of altitude and can easily satisfy the electricity need in irrigation and its household applications in rustic and arid regions. A quick glance of the results of the above computation shows that the choice of pylons of 20 m height yields a trade-off between the production of electrical energy and the requirements of economy. Owing to the sporadic wind variations, wind energy conversion systems can only be used as an auxiliary source. In particular, these systems can advantageously be coupled to stand-alone photovoltaic conversion systems in remote locations or connected to the electric mains in urban zones.     

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.     

Performance and viability analysis of small wind turbines in the European Union

Nowadays, wind energy plays a key role as a sustainable source of energy and wind turbines are a relevant source of power for many countries world-wide. In such a context, this paper investigates the technical and economic feasibility of small wind turbines for five of the main European Union countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands). Ten commercial turbines with rated power from 2.5 kW to 200 kW are evaluated considering their installation and operative conditions. Several parameters most affecting wind turbine performances are evaluated and the estimation of the annual cash flows during the expected plant life-time are determined as a function of both the installation location (wind speed probability distribution, national incentive scheme and tax level) and the wind turbine characteristics (rated power curve, maintenance, installation and shipping costs). The obtained data are presented and discussed through a parametric analysis based on the Net Present Value capital budget approach, showing the conditions making these systems profitable or non-profitable and explaining the relative motivations. Moreover, the analysis outcomes are further investigated highlighting the dependence of the turbine profitability from the considered parameters, including a comparative analysis among the five analyzed European countries.