%0 Journal Article
%T Electricity Generation and Energy Cost Estimation of Large-Scale Wind Turbines in Jarandagh, Iran
%A Kasra Mohammadi
%A Ali Mostafaeipour
%A Yagob Dinpashoh
%A Nima Pouya
%J Journal of Energy
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/613681
%X Currently, wind energy utilization is being continuously growing so that it is regarded as a large contender of conventional fossil fuels. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of electricity generation using wind energy in Jarandagh situated in Qazvin Province in north-west part of Iran. The potential of wind energy in Jarandagh was investigated by analyzing the measured wind speed data between 2008 and 2009 at 40£¿m height. The electricity production and economic evaluation of four large-scale wind turbine models for operation at 70£¿m height were examined. The results showed that Jarandagh enjoys excellent potential for wind energy exploitation in 8 months of the year. The monthly wind power at 70£¿m height was in the range of 450.28¨C1661.62£¿W/m2, and also the annual wind power was 754.40£¿W/m2. The highest capacity factor was obtained using Suzlon S66/1.25£¿MW turbine model, while, in terms of electricity generation, Repower MM82/2.05£¿MW model showed the best performance with total annual energy output of 5705£¿MWh. The energy cost estimation results convincingly demonstrated that investing on wind farm construction using all nominated turbines is economically feasible and, among all turbines, Suzlon S66/1.25£¿MW model with energy cost of 0.0357£¿$/kWh is a better option. 1. Introduction Depletion of fossil fuel, negative effects of CO2 emission, and high price of crude oil are major concerns which influence the motivation and adoption of the renewable energies like wind, solar, geothermal, and so on. Among all renewable energy sources, wind energy, as an abundant source of energy, has the highest annual growing rate of about 30% [1]. The aforementioned problems during the recent year have forced many scientists across the globe to pay more attention to clean energy sources like wind which is environmentally friendly and renewable [2]. It is worthwhile to mention that the economic growth and environmental pressure should be decoupled, as evidenced by international agreements on environmental policy such as the Kyoto Protocol for reducing greenhouse gas emissions [3]. The government plans to install more wind stations in Iran and, therefore, further regions should be explored. Based on Iranian Renewable Energy Organization (SUNA) data, some recent studies indicated that Jarandagh is one of the promising locations for wind power generation [4]. Exploitation of the wind power potential is significant and profitable for the regions, particularly for reducing carbon emission. Nevertheless, reliable data is of great importance for the purpose of wind
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jen/2014/613681/