Application and economic viability of wind turbine installation in Lutak, Iran

Abstract

There is a lack of studies on evaluating the economic feasibility of large-scale wind turbine development in Iran. Thus, this study aims at analyzing the feasibility of large wind turbines installation in Lutak region, situated in the southeast of Iran. For this aim, the 10-min average recorded wind speed data at 40 m height collected from January 2008 to December 2009 in Lutak are analyzed. Based on three reliable statistical indicators, it is found that the Weibull function enjoys excellent capability to analyze the wind data in Lutak. The wind data analysis reveals that the period of May to September is the windiest time of the year for which the wind power classification falls into class 6 or 7. Nevertheless, due to the lower wind potential in the early and late days of year, very high differences are observed between daily mean wind speed as well as wind power values throughout the year. The highest and lowest mean wind speed and wind power occur in July and January. The wind speed lies between 3.85 and 11.26 m/s while the wind power ranges from 78.79 to 1210.32 W/m2. It is also observed that wind blows predominantly from northwest and north directions in Lutak. The performance and economic feasibility of installing four different types of wind turbines with the rated power of 600–900 kW are examined for installation at 40 m height. The attained results indicate that the EWT 52/900 kW wind turbine is a more appropriate economical option.