Economic Modeling of Site-Specific Optimum Wind Turbine for Electrification Studies

Abstract

A generalized approach for the economic selection of wind turbine for a given wind regime is proposed in this paper. It draws from the literature and standards being used in the field to arrive at an economic site specific wind turbine based on minimizing the annual cost of energy produced (AEP) while tracking the initial capital cost (ICC) of investment required. It is meant to provide an initial study to guide decision makers who are contemplating using wind energy as a power source to generate electricity in commercial quantity for community usage. It is a general estimation approach which does not require surfing for manufacture prices and wind turbine parameters. The input data consists of site specific wind data, hub height, rotor diameter and turbine power rating. The output gives a range of plots of feasible wind turbine ratings, rotor diameters, rated speed against initial capital cost (ICC) and also cost of energy produced (COE).