Assessment of the Efficiency of Wind Generators in Real Conditions with Additional Operational Costs

Abstract

The development of world energy is constantly accompanied by the growth of electricity consumption. Traditional sources of electricity in this process contribute to the growth of greenhouse emissions and the aggravation of climate problems, which are becoming more urgent every year. Against this background, alternative sources of electricity, in particular wind power plants, reduce the impact of traditional sources and contribute to solving environmental problems. The development of wind power generation is accompanied by an increase in the unit capacities of wind generators.

The article analyzes the efficiency of the operation of a wind power plant with modern wind generators for certain location conditions, taking into account additional operating costs based on operating experience. Calculations of the technical and economic operational indicators of the designed four-unit wind power plant with various types of wind generators were carried out. During these calculations the wind conditions of a specific industrial territory for the construction of wind power plant were taken into account. This industrial territory is located in the Carpathian region of Ukraine. At the same time, the modern typical power capacities of wind generators and additional costs during the operation of wind power plants were taken into account.

In order to make the optimal technical design decision for comparative evaluation, two types of wind generators — Enercon E-175 EP5 and Vestas V136-4.5 MW — were selected for installation at the wind power plant.

For the determined location of the wind power plant at the upper reaches of the Carpathian mountain ranges in the Lviv region of Ukraine (coordinates of the area are (lat., lon.) 49.2470; 22.8763), the annual wind probability characteristic was calculated according to the Weibull analytical characteristic. According to these data, in the article the characteristics of an annual electrical productivity of the designed 4-unit wind power plant for the selected two types of wind generators were given.

The obtained technical and economic indicators: the capital investment, operating costs, performance characteristics and calculated gross profits during the year of operation of the considered wind power plant with two types of wind generators — made it possible to estimate the payback period of its equipment. So, for a 4-unit station with wind generators of the Enercon E-175 EP5 type, the payback period is 3.7 years, and with wind generators of the Vestas V136-4.5 MW type — 3.6 years.