Feasibility study of an Offshore Wind Farm with the Egyptian-Saudi Arabia HVDC link

Abstract

Due to the global challenge of climate change, many countries begin to take on renewable energy. Wind farms in developed countries are presented a percentage exceeds 20% of total generated energy. There are two types of wind farms: onshore wind farms and offshore wind farms. Offshore Wind turbines generate three times as much electricity as Onshore Wind turbines and have a less negative impact on wildlife. Due to the development of the size of wind turbines, offshore wind farms are expected to be the cheapest source of renewable energy by 2028. Egypt has two coastal lines, one in the Mediterranean Sea and the other in the Red Sea, the red sea coastline has the appropriate wind speed to install wind farms. While, Saudi Arabia has the Arabian Gulf and Red sea which are in the east and west, respectively. There is a lack of studies about the economic analysis of offshore wind farms in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. This paper introduces a feasibility study of an Offshore Wind Farm connected to the HVDC link between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to reduce the cost of the transmission system, defining the selection of location based on the wind atlas of Egypt, select the suitable type of wind turbines, calculating the total cost for the wind farm and evaluating the payback period of the project. Connection to the HVDC line will reduce the capital cost of the project and it's also the source of the exchanged energy between Saudi Arabia and Egypt.