Technical and Economical Evaluation and GHG Analysis of Wind Power Generation in Four Sites Using Different Weibull Parameters

Abstract

Four sites close to the Libyan coast were selected for technical and economical assessment of wind power generation using real measured wind data. The assessment was carried out using the Weibull distribution function and the Weibull parameters were calculated using three different methods; graphical method (GM), empirical method (EM) and maximum likelihood method (MLM). Error analyses using various techniques were conducted to check for the validity of the different Weibull methods used. The technical assessment includes the calculations of the annual energy production (AEP), capacity factor (C-f) and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction. The estimated annual energy production was used in the calculation of the present value of cost which estimates the cost of each kWh of electricity produced by a certain wind turbine. The effect of the annual greenhouse gas emission reduction on the cost analysis was also considered. The results have shown the electricity cost of all the sites is below the world average electricity price. Using different Weibull parameters have noticeable effects on the technical and economical estimations of wind power production. The MLM method yields higher AEP estimation compared to the other methods for all the sites. On the other hand, GM method gives less estimation for the AEP compared to the other methods for all the sites. Adding the GHG reduction income into the electricity cost calculations decreases it by an average of 18%.