Techno-economic Analysis of Electricity Generation by Means of a Proposed 50 MW Grid-connected Wind Power Plant for Jordan

Abstract

Complying with the decision made by the Jordanian government to install a new wind power plant with a capacity ranging between 50–75 MW—to complement the Hofa and Ibrahimiyya wind power plants, whose electricity production presently forms only about 0.035% of the total electricity generated in Jordan mainly by power plants operating on conventional fuels—a 50 MW grid-connected wind power plant for electricity generation is proposed. Long-term (1993–2004) measured wind speed data at 24 widespread Jordanian sites was analyzed, and formed—in addition to the plant's specifications and parameters—an input data to carry out evaluation of the proposed plant's electricity production and analysis of its economic feasibility. It was found that the mean annual value of wind speed for Jordan is 5.5 m/s and that the seasonal trend of wind speed—for most of the studied sites and Jordan as a whole—matches the electricity load trend in the country. It was also found that RasMuneef, among the studied sites, has the highest annual mean wind speed of 10.65 m/s, the highest electricity production of 260.9 GWh/year, the highest specific yield of 1,882 kWh/m2, and the best economic indicators, i.e., internal rate of return, simple payback period, years-to positive cash flow, net present value, annual life cycle saving, benefit-cost ratio, and cost of energy. Moreover, it was found that about 201,417 tons of greenhouse gas emissions can be avoided annually if utilizing the proposed plant for electricity generation at RasMuneef instead of plants operating on conventional fuels. Therefore, employing the proposed power plant for electricity generation, in Jordan in general and in RasMuneef in particular, is highly recommended.