Electricity Generation and Energy Cost Estimation of Large-Scale Wind Turbines in Jarandagh, Iran

Abstract

Currently, wind energy utilization is being continuously growing so that it is regarded as a large contender of conventional fossil fuels. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of electricity generation using wind energy in Jarandagh situated in Qazvin Province in north-west part of Iran. The potential of wind energy in Jarandagh was investigated by analyzing the measured wind speed data between 2008 and 2009 at 40 m height. The electricity production and economic evaluation of four large-scale wind turbine models for operation at 70 m height were examined. The results showed that Jarandagh enjoys excellent potential for wind energy exploitation in 8 months of the year. The monthly wind power at 70 m height was in the range of 450.28–1661.62 W/m2, and also the annual wind power was 754.40 W/m2. The highest capacity factor was obtained using Suzlon S66/1.25 MW turbine model, while, in terms of electricity generation, Repower MM82/2.05 MW model showed the best performance with total annual energy output of 5705 MWh. The energy cost estimation results convincingly demonstrated that investing on wind farm construction using all nominated turbines is economically feasible and, among all turbines, Suzlon S66/1.25 MW model with energy cost of 0.0357 $/kWh is a better option.