Feasibility of a 100 MW Installed Capacity Wind Farm for Different Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Wind power is the world’s fastest-growing energy source. More power can be generated from wind energy through the use of new wind machine designs and techniques. The objective of the present work is to encourage people and governments to develop wind energy-based power plants to achieve sustainable energy infrastructures, especially in developing countries. In this paper, a feasibility study of a 100 MW grid-connected wind farm is conducted for five different cities of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The results indicate that the proposed power plant is feasible both technically and economically. All sites are found to be within the profitable range with Dhahran being the most feasible site among the others for the installation of the wind farm. A sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to find out the effects of different incentives on the payback period of the project.