Technico-Economic Investigation of 100 MW Offshore Wind Farm in the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia

Abstract

Tunisia has set the target to generate 30% of its electrical energy from renewable sources by 2030. Wind turbines are supposed to contribute a significant part to this ambitious objective. There are excellent wind conditions in the north of Tunisia (near the coast) and in some areas in the south (part of the Sahara). In this context, the aim of this study is to carry out an economic feasibility Analysis of large-scale offshore wind farms to be implemented in Tunisia’s coastline between the cities of Sfax and Gabes, by estimating the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). The energy yield of the wind farms was calculated using inhouse code using the available online data of ERA5 and the LCOE model was developed using local data relevant to the renewable energy framework and market expansion in Tunisia. Results showed that for a 108 MW wind farm, the annual energy production is 447 GWh/a, the capacity factor of 52% the LCOE is 81.5 USD/MWh.