Algorithm for the Performance Evaluation of Three Selected Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) for Electricity Generation in Minna, Nigeria

Garba Musa Argungu,Samaila Kamba Ahmad,Kabir Ahmed Dabai,Abubakar Umar Moreh,Sakina Abdulazeez

doi:10.11648/j.sjee.20190702.12

Garba Musa Argungu, Samaila Kamba Ahmad + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjee.20190702.12

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Abstract

Most of the wind energy conversion systems are failing in many developing countries such as Nigeria due to poor and un-appropriate site selection. Ten years (2001-2010) daily average wind speed data measured at 10m height for Minna (9.6°N, 6.6°E and 251m) were obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the characteristics of the three small scale wind energy conversion systems with power rating of 1, 1.5 and 3.0 kW obtained from the manufacturers websites were used in this study for the performance evaluation of three selected wind energy conversion system (WECS). The performance of the selected WECS were compared using the capacity factors obtained for the turbines from the algorithms developed, that combine the daily average wind speed and standard deviation for the location with the selected turbines characteristics provided by the manufacturers. The annual energy output for the WECS were found to be 1.37MWh, 1.23MWh and 2.53MWh with corresponding capacity factor of 18.8%, 11.2% and 8.4% respectively from e3001 (1kW), Ge-Power System 1.5SL (1.5kW) and Gv-3kW (3.0 kW). The e30001 (1kW) was observed to performed better with capacity factor of 18.8% as against 11.2% and 8.4% for Ge-Power system 1.5SL (1.5kW) and Gv-3kW (3.0 kW) respectively for Minna location.

Highlights

Energy is one of the fundamental requirement of the world’s economy growth and development, combining energy with all other entities that are vital for economies are basis for any nation to develop
This paper investigate the wind speed patterns of Minna, Nigeria and develop an algorithm for the evaluation of wind energy using the characteristics of different wind energy conversion systems, in selected area
The performance of any wind turbine is generally dependent on its design wind speed parameters and the wind speed characteristics at the desired site [24]

Summary

Introduction

Energy is one of the fundamental requirement of the world’s economy growth and development, combining energy with all other entities that are vital for economies are basis for any nation to develop. Energy is one of the crucial inputs for socio-economic development; it exists in a pure form as electricity whose demand has grown considerably with larger proportion generated using fossil fuels, which causes serious environmental problems such as acid rain, air pollution and climate changes thereby making current energy trends to be unsustainable necessitating a better balance between energy security, economic development, and protection of the environment. Wind power has become an important option for electricity generation among renewable sources of energies. Being environmentally friendly, it has been gaining more and more ground in recent years and can provide significant quantities of energy to support a country's needs [1, 4,5,6]

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