Modeling of techno-economic assessment on wind energy potential at three selected coastal regions in Lebanon

Abstract

In the present paper, the wind speed characteristics of three coastal regions in Lebanon, Beirut, Sidon, and Tripoli, were analyzed using ten statistical distributions. The wind speed data were collected from the meteorological service during a 7-year period (2010–2016).The maximum likelihood method was used to determine the parameters of the distribution functions. For the assessment of the reliability of the distribution functions, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) statistic was calculated. The wind power density values for the regions were also calculated at various heights using the power law model. The results showed that the wind power density value in the region is considerable and can be exploited using small-scale wind turbines. Moreover, the economic analyses of four wind turbine models of various types and sizes were estimated using the present value cost method. It is found that vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) offer the potential to outperform horizontal axis wind turbines in urban environments. VAWTs can handle unconventional wind and at slower speeds, which were found in these regions. Consequently, the Winddam (VWAT) turbine is strongly recommended for installation in the selected regions.