Wind Power Generation Projects Research Articles

An Analytic Hierarchy Process Based Approach for Evaluating Feasibility of Offshore Wind Farm on the Colombian Caribbean Coast

Planning a wind power generation project is intricate, considering the number of variables to be careful in the acceptable zone selection for its siting. One of the difficulties of developing a wind farm is finding the most satisfactory location to build it; this can take years of feasibility studies. The main objective of this research is to use the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize a group of criteria and sub-criteria as decision-making support for the selection of suitable areas in which implementing wind energy projects in the Colombian Caribbean Sea. The criteria to be applied in this study were selected based on the most recurrently employed criteria in other research papers and the experience of the authors. Thus, a hierarchical structure with 4 criteria (technical, environmental, social, and economic) and 14 subcriteria was implemented. All criteria were prioritized using the methodology proposed by AHP, for which 10 experts with experience in offshore wind projects were consulted, through a form designed with a matrix structure. The results allowed prioritizing a set of criteria necessary for offshore energy planning projects, in which the criteria of Protected Area (19.62%), Wind Speed (13.84%) and Military Areas (9.79%) were the most relevant.

System Improvement Measures for Rational Procedures of Offshore Wind Power Generation Projects : Focusing on Permits

System Improvement Measures for Rational Procedures of Offshore Wind Power Generation Projects : Focusing on Permits

Construction and field observation of chain reinforced soil walls in wind power generation projects

Construction and field observation of chain reinforced soil walls in wind power generation projects

Evaluation of wind power generation projects to reduce air pollution using multi-criteria decision-making methods in Saudi Arabia.

Currently, Saudi Arabia has very limited renewable energy generation capacity, as most of the country's electricity sector is dependent on cheap fossil fuels. However, in recent years, the Saudi government has announced a national development program called "the Saudi Vision 2030," whereby the country intends to increase the share of renewable energies in its total power generation to 20% by 2030. This research is aimed on the possibility of developing wind farms in Saudi Arabia's Al-Jawf area, which is known to be rich in wind sources. The potential of wind energy in the region was examined in the first phase of the research, which focused at the environmental, economic, and technical aspects. For this goal, the two-parameter Weibull function was used to model wind energy in the area. The economic assessment was performed in terms of the Levelized Cost of Energy and payback period. Multi-criteria decision-making approaches were employed in the second phase of the study to determine the most proper sites for harvesting wind energy in the study region based on eight factors including technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects. The most proper site for wind farms was identified by the combined use of Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment. The results showed that the most proper site for locating wind farms in the study area is the city of Al-Qurrayyat, where, using 1 MW turbines, it will be possible to produce 2357 MWh/year of electricity at a cost of 0.092 $/kWh, resulting in a payback period of 8.1 years. From the environmental perspective, wind power generation in Al-Qurrayyat will result in 1124.15 ton/year of CO2 emissions reduction.

Layout and power generation estimation of 50 MW wind turbine in Dayingpo

In the feasibility study of wind power generation project, wind turbine selection, layout and power generation estimation of wind farm are the core contents. According to the analysis needs of Dayingpo project, this paper first introduces the geographical location and wind energy resources of Lan county Dayingpo 50MW wind power generation project. Based on the above work, the optional fans are selected. As a result, WTG1-2200 and​ WTG2-2500 are selected for layout. According to the actual terrain and wind energy resources of Dayingpo, a total of 22 fans are arranged, including 17 WTG 1-2200 and 5 WTG 2-2500. According to the above contents, the annual on grid power reduction coefficient of the wind farm, the annual on grid power of the wind farm, and the single unit power generation results of WTG1-2200 and WTG2-2500 are estimated in detail, respectively. Finally, according to the actual terrain and fan layout scheme, the suggestions for the next practical project are proposed.

Polymer Coating Effects: Study of Material Properties and Architectural Application Characteristics of Aluminum Template

In construction process, the formwork must be in contact with concrete to help the concrete solidify and fix the shape. Coating the formwork with a polymer can prolong its service life by reducing the amount of concrete sticking to the mold. Herein, an aluminum template substrate was coated with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) or polyurethane (PU). Aluminum template material analysis was conducted, polymer film thickness was measured, and weather, moisture, pollution, salt spray, abrasion, impact, and acid and alkali resistance tests were conducted, as were tensile, bending, adhesion, hardness, and salt water resistance tests. Cement adhesion resistance was repeatedly tested. The experimental results indicated that the PVDF-coated template was superior. The novel PVDF Aluminum template exhibited high corrosion resistance and can be used in building materials, for example, in ceilings, partition walls, curtain walls, roof panels, and roof trusses. For reference, it can also be applied to ship structures and seaside and wind power generation projects.

Preliminary wind resource assessment in South Sudan using reanalysis data and statistical methods

The purpose of this study is to make a preliminary assessment of the wind resource in South Sudan. This is mainly to get data on the quality of the wind resource at different locations in the country and investigate its suitability for the development of wind power generation projects of all sizes. Wind data for 33 locations, covering the period from 1981 to 2019, were requested from Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 or MERRA-2. The data were then analysed to produce a variety of statistics that describe the quality of the wind resource in each location. Long-term monthly and annual averages together with wind direction were computed for each location at a height of 10 m above ground level. Wind speeds were extrapolated to hub heights of 30 and 50 m above ground level and fitted to five different distribution functions to get the parameters for estimating wind power density. Results show that at 10 m above ground level, the long-term annual average wind speeds range between 5.08 m/s and 2.36 m/s while wind power density range between 128.36 W/m2and 14.39 W/m2. Development of utility-scale wind power plants is marginal in two locations while small-wind turbines development may be possible in the north-north eastern locations. Further research is proposed to explore the possibility of deployment of large-scale wind turbines at locations north-north east. Investigating the wind resource in other locations using alternative methods as well as possibility of development of small wind turbines is suggested.

A comparison of the regional investment benefits of CCS retrofitting of coal-fired power plants and renewable power generation projects in China

Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) technology and renewable power are indispensable in China’s power sector to limit global warming to 2°C. Because the two technologies have their own merits and weaknesses, it is important to understand their investment benefits and choose a cost-effective portfolio. Therefore, we conducted an investment evaluation of CCS retrofitting of coal-fired power plants (CFPP) with hypothetical subsidies and renewable power generation projects (RPP) by using a real option trinomial tree pricing model and compared their economic benefits in different provinces in China. The results showed that when subsidies for the desulfurization price or the feed-in tariff of wind power were adopted, the CCS retrofitting of CFPP did not achieve the optimal investment value, even in 2027. If the decarbonized electricity price increases to 0.75 CNY/kWh, equal to the feed-in tariff of solar photovoltaic and biomass power, the CCS retrofitting of CFPP would be commercially viable, and their investment value would exceed that of wind power generation projects. In this situation, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Gansu Provinces would be most suitable for the development of CCS retrofitting pilot projects; the advantages of the CCS retrofitting of CFPP were not significant, whereas RPP was a better investment choice in many provinces. This paper provides a perspective on feed-in tariffs for policy makers to use in formulating a subsidy system to support the development of CCS in China, with policy implications for other countries.

Wind Power Economic Feasibility under Uncertainty and the Application of ANN in Sensitivity Analysis

Wind power has grown popular in past recent years due to environmental issues and the search for alternative energy sources. Thus, the viability for wind power generation projects must be studied in order to attend to the environmental concerns and still be attractive and profitable. Therefore, this article aims to perform a sensitive analysis in order to identify the variables that influence most in the viability of a wind power investment for small size companies in the Brazilian northeast. For this, a stochastic analysis of viability through Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) will be made and afterwards, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) models will be applied for the most relevant variables identification. Through the sensitivity, it appears that the most relevant factors in the analysis are the speed of wind, energy tariff and the investment amount. Thus, the viability of the investment is straightly tied to the region where the wind turbine is installed, and the government incentives may allow decreasing in the investment amount for wind power. Based on this, incentives programs for the production of clean energy include cheaper purchase of wind turbines, lower taxing and financing rates, can make wind power more profitable and attractive.

Assessment of Wind Power Potential and Economic Analysis at Hyderabad in Pakistan: Powering to Local Communities Using Wind Power

Wind power is the fastest growing and environmentally sustainable source of energy among all available renewable energy resources. The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the wind characteristics and power potential at Hyderabad, Southeastern province in Pakistan. Two years of wind speed data measured at 10 m above ground level (AGL) have been considered in this study. The annually, monthly, and seasonal variations in wind speed were analyzed, and minimum, maximum, and average values of recorded wind speeds are presented in this paper. Weibull and Rayleigh distribution functions have been applied to analyze the wind characteristics and evaluate the wind power potential of the proposed site. The Weibull shape k and scale c parameters have been estimated using the Weibull function. The higher values of k showed that the wind speed is steady at the site. The average wind speed was found above 6 m/s throughout the year. The most probable wind speed (Vmp) and maximum carrying energy (VmaxE) wind speed were also calculated using Weibull parameters. Root mean square error (RMSE), the coefficient of determination (R2), and mean bias error (MBE) were computed to ensure the good fit of Weibull distribution function. The annual average wind power and energy densities were estimated at more than 255 W/m2 and 2245 kWh/m2, respectively. The power density calculated by Weibull and Rayleigh functions was compared with that calculated by using measured wind data. The energy output and capacity factor of different commercially available wind turbines (WTs), i.e., power ratings from 0.33 to 2.75 MW, have been calculated. The cost of energy was estimated and ranged from $19.27 to $32.80 per MWh. Wind power potential and economic analysis of the collected data reveals that the site is suitable for developing wind power generation projects to power the local communities.

Four heuristic optimization algorithms applied to wind energy: determination of Weibull curve parameters for three Brazilian sites

Minimizing errors in wind resource analysis brings significant reliability gains for any wind power generation project. The characterization of the wind regime is one of fundamental importance, and the two parameters Weibull distribution is the most applied function for it. This study aims to determine the scale and shape factor in an attempt to establish acceptable criteria to a better utilization of wind power in the states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Sul, which is a national prominence in the use of renewable sources for electricity generation in Brazil. The following heuristic optimization algorithms were applied: Harmony Search, Cuckoo Search Optimization, Particle Swarm Optimization and Ant Colony Optimization. The fit tests were performed with data from the Brazilian Federal Government’s SONDA (National System of Environmental Data Organization) project, referring to Triunfo, Petrolina and São Martinho da Serra, states of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Sul, cities in the northeast and south regions of Brazil, during the period of 1 year. The tests were made in 2006 and 2010, all at 50 m from ground level. The results were analyzed and compared with those obtained by the maximum likelihood method, moment method, empirical method and equivalent energy method, methods that presented significant results in regions with characteristics similar to the regions studied in this study. The performance of each method was evaluated by the RMSE (root mean square error), MAE (mean absolute error), R^2 (coefficient of determination) and WPD (wind production deviation) tests . The statistical tests showed that ACO is the most efficient method for determining the parameters of the Weibull distribution for Triunfo and São Martinho da Serra and CSO is the most efficient for Petrolina.

Research on the Design of Power Generation System for 50MV Wind Farm

With the rapid development of the global economy, wind power generation has attracted wide attention all over the world. With the rapid development of all kinds of new energy in the world, wind power generation has a huge international market and broad prospects for development. Based on the actual situation of the local wind power generation project in a city, this paper analyses the feasibility of the wind power generation system in the local area. According to the type selection and arrangement of various types of wind motors, a reasonable electrical wiring part is designed. The research shows that wind power is of high comprehensive value. Wind power plants can be built in areas with suitable geographical conditions and sufficient wind energy. After the completion of the above power generation projects, the advantage of local wind energy resources will be fundamentally changed into economic advantage.

Research on the design of power generation system for 50MV wind farm

With the rapid development of the global economy, wind power generation has attracted wide attention all over the world. With the rapid development of all kinds of new energy in the world, wind power generation has a huge international market and broad prospects for development. Based on the actual situation of the local wind power generation project in a city, this paper analyses the feasibility of the wind power generation system in the local area. According to the type selection and arrangement of various types of wind motors, a reasonable electrical wiring part is designed. The research shows that wind power is of high comprehensive value. Wind power plants can be built in areas with suitable geographical conditions and sufficient wind energy. After the completion of the above power generation projects, the advantage of local wind energy resources will be fundamentally changed into economic advantage.

Wind power generation: An impact analysis of incentive strategies for cleaner energy provision in Brazil

Brazil has adopted various strategies to encourage alternative renewable energy sources in pursuit of cleaner and sustainable energy production. To this end, strategies should support the reduction of the financial risk for potential investors in the renewable energy market. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the impact of incentive strategies on the financial risk of wind power generation projects in Brazil in different marketing environments. From a quantitative approach, using Monte Carlo Simulation in three scenarios, we evaluate the impact of funding from the National Development Bank and participation in the Clean Development Mechanism in the financial returns of the investor in a regulated contracting environment and free contracting environment, measured by the Net Present Value. We conduct a statistical analysis to find out if there were statistically significant differences in investor risk in each scenario. The main results of the study are as follows: the wind speed, the selling price of energy, and disbursement for the investment have the most significant impact on the financial return; the project viability probability is greater than 85% in all scenarios, regardless of the marketing environment; the regulated market is less risky for the producer than the free market, since there is a statistically significant difference in Net Present Value variances for all scenarios; in the regulated contracting environment, funding is critical to reducing risk; and carbon credit trading is not a suitable policy for providing financial security to renewable energy producers. Thus, we conclude that in Brazil the contracting of projects from auctions in the regulated contracting environment, with the support of the National Development Bank, has been important for neutralizing the producer's financial risks.

Investment Profitability Analysis for Wind Power Project in Taiwan

In this paper, fuzzy financial evaluation models are derived to analysis investment financial profitability and possibility for wind power generation project in Penghu, Taiwan. The financial subsidy and feed-in tariff (FIT) are two effective market mechanisms to promote wind power development in Taiwan. The performances of the proposed fuzzy profit models are verified by considering their application to a simulation case. The study shows the fuzzy financial indexes of the simulated 2,400 kW wind power project may little uneconomic possibility, with negative net present value, with benefit cost ratio smaller than 1, and with payback years longer than its life span, in both two scenarios. The FIT rates should be revised to match wind power current market to give more attractiveness for potential investors. The studied results are also consistent with those provided by the conventional crisp models, and provide readily implemented possibility analysis tools for use in the arena of uncertain finance.

Optimization Design of Controller for Pitch Wind Turbine

Due to the randomness of wind speed and the nonlinearity of control system for wind power generating units it is hard to achieve accurate mathematical model of wind power generating units. Since the simple proportional integral differential(PID) controller or proportional integral(PI) controller are generally applied in actual wind power generation projects to achieve the control objective to output constant power and it does not come down to complex intelligent control algorithm, in the occasion that the wind speed is higher than rated wind speed an additive decomposition based method is proposed to normalize the design parameter of variable pitch controller for wind power generating units, that is, the variable pitch control problem of wind power generating unit is decomposed into two simple subproblems, namely the tracing of linear time-invariant main system and the stabilization of auxiliary system. Based on the proposed principle, a simple PI controller is designed, and the optimization design of the controller is carried out, and then the stability of this controller is proved by theoretical derivation. Finally, the fact that using the optimized controller the stationary of the output power can be greatly enhanced is validated by simulation results.

Techno-economical evaluation of wind energy potential and analysis of power generation from wind at Gharo, Sindh Pakistan

Abstract Renewable sources of energy are more favorable these days because these are environment friendly with zero emissions as compared to conventional energy sources. Wind energy is most rapidly growing, among several renewable energy sources, worldwide. The prime objective of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the wind energy characteristics and wind power potential at Gharo Sindh Pakistan. Five years wind data from Jan 2003 to Dec 2007, measured at 30 m height, has been considered in this study. The mean wind speed is more than 5 m/s for every year. The most probable wind speed is 9.356 m/s while the wind speed carrying maximum energy is 11.43 m/s. the highest value of standard deviation is 3.561 m/s and the lowest value is determined as 1.587 m/s for wind speed data at Gharo. The Weibull shape and scale parameters in the ranges from 1.291 to 4.569 and from 2.377 m/s to 9.727 m/s respectively. The wind power and energy densities are more than 260 W/m 2 and 2300 kW/m 2 respectively. The comparison of wind power densities calculated though measured wind data and calculated using Weibull and Rayleigh functions is also carried in this study. The direction of wind at Gharo is westerly for almost all five year. The assessment for power generation, from wind data collected at Gharo, through wind turbines of different manufacturers has been carried out. The GE45.7 wind turbine generates high annual energy of 11.220 GWh with capacity factor of 0.56. The economic analysis using these wind turbines, for power generation, gave an estimated cost of US$0.0255 per kWh of energy from GE45.7 wind turbine. The technical and economic analysis of wind data collected at Gharo, Sindh shows that this site has apt wind energy potential and hence is suitable for development of wind power generation projects.

Analysis of Professional Competence Required by the Wind Energy Industry Practitioners

This article is the study of the professional competence of employees required in the wind energy industry in Taiwan. This will combine a number of research methods, including literature review, Delphi method, IPA analysis to explore the professional capacity of wind power generation projects and connotation of the wind energy industry needs. This paper analyzes the results used as indicators to construct the wind power industry professional, and will be used as the design of the wind power industry practitioners professional competence course. The importance of part of the questionnaire using Likert five-point evaluation index scale [11], divided into very unimportant, unimportant, important, very important, very important to the five levels. The performance of part of the questionnaire, divided into strongly disagree, disagree, agree, agree very much, very much agree with five levels. In this study, the questionnaire survey sent to a written questionnaire of 30 valid questionnaires were collected 27, the effective response rate of 90%. The 39 professional competence items, five items on the C quadrant (the importance of less than 4.0), the remaining 34 (87%) are on the C quadrant (the importance of greater than 4.0). Which is located five professional capacity (13%) in the C quadrant items are green beliefs, it means that domestic subject to government to actively promote the concept of green sustainable.

Nonlinear Spatial Characterization and Interpolation of Wind Data

High fossil fuel (oil and gas) prices; concerns about the stability of the Arabian oil supply; and the adverse effects of externalities generated by fossil fuel production, distribution, and consumption are fueling the move towards sustainable energy sources like wind generated electricity. Wind energy is becoming one of the preferred substitutes to fossil fuels because of the widespread availability, sustainability, and renewability of wind resources. However, the economic viability of a wind energy generation project is strongly dependent on the accurate characterization and estimation of the wind resource (wind speed) and its associated uncertainty. Analyzing wind resources is a complicated process due to the spatial variability, uncertainty and the complexity of the meteorological processes underlying the formation and behavior of wind. The objective of this work is to employ the two most common nonlinear kriging algorithms (indicator kriging and probability kriging) and five variogram models (spherical, exponential, circular, Gaussian, and hole effect) to characterize and interpolate wind data (in both vector and raster format). The ten sets of variograms and nonlinear kriging algorithms were compared to discover which set is best suited for the characterization and interpolation of each type of wind data used in wind power generation projects. The kriged data was subjected to leave-one-out cross-validation and the resulting statistics were employed in the ranking and comparison of the ten sets of algortihms. The research used ten combinations of nonlinear interpolation methods and variograms and determined that the best nonlinear kriging algorithm for characterizing and interpolating the vector wind data was indicator kriging and exponential variogram. Using indicator kriging with either the spherical or the exponential variogram would result in the same estimates for the raster data.

The Potential and Constraints of Wind Farm Development at Nearshore Sites in the Maltese Islands

The electrical energy requirements of the Maltese Islands are met in their entirety by two oil-fired electrical generation plants. In view of this complete dependence upon fossil fuels, investigations into the prospects of diversifying electrical generation by resorting to renewable energy technologies are particularly relevant. The archipelago has peculiar characteristics such as high population density, comparatively deep coastal waters and an economy based on tourism, manufacturing, marine-sector activities and services that make the integration of wind power generation projects challenging. Local government authorities commissioned the authors to assess the constraints related to wind farm development in a shallow water coastal area, known as is-Sikka l-Bajda, which could present a wind potential worth exploiting, and to recommend adequate mitigation measures to minimize any impacts and conflicts with stakeholders. These constraints include marine navigational aspects, fishing and aquaculture, tourism and other site-specific activities. Environmental constraints exist including the fact that the site is characterized by extensive seagrass ( Posidonia oceanica) meadows, that it is a priority habitat under the EU Habitats Directive, and that the site itself is a reef – another priority habitat within the same directive. The proposed near-shore site is also in the vicinity of a protected coastal bird rafting and bird nesting site for the Yelkouan Shearwater species. Submarine noise generation – particularly during the construction phase – is also of concern in view of the regular sighting of marine mammals in Maltese coastal waters. In the site evaluation exercise, another secondary site in the Maltese Islands, located off the north Gozo coast, was also assessed. Mitigation measures specific to the Sikka l-Bajda site proposed by the authors include the deployment of silt curtains, bubble screens and unobtrusive turbine lighting devices and avoiding utilisation of the reef area closest to the protected bird colony. Such measures also relate to the choice of the array design to minimise visual impact and to the period of the year when wind plant construction and deployment should take place to minimize impact on avifaunal populations. By declaring the marine area contiguous to the proposed nearshore wind facility development as off-limits to fishing vessels, a de facto ‘No-take’ Marine Protected Area can also be effectively instituted. One also expects submerged components of the nearshore wind facility to be colonized within a brief period by a diverse fouling community and that the same components act as Fish Aggregating Devices (FAD's), greatly enhancing fish populations in the area. In view of the current paucity in Mediterranean nearshore wind power facilities, the proposed project could potentially serve as a pilot project for the whole region, and also become a tourist attraction.