Evaluation of electricity generation and energy cost of wind energy conversion systems in southern Algeria

This paper presents the wind energy potential and economic analysis in five selected locations in the southern region of Algeria using wind speed data collected over a period of twelve years. The technical and economic evaluations of electricity generation from four commercial wind turbine models used for electricity generation located in these sites are examined. The wind speed data analysis shows that the sites located in the southern region of Algeria, except Tamanrasset, have a good wind potential for the wind energy development. The highest potential wind power was found at Adrar, with 88% of the time the wind speed is above 3m/s. The yearly energy output, the capacity factor and the wind energy cost per unit of electricity generated by the selected wind turbines are calculated. In terms of energy production, the results show that Adrar is the best location for harnessing the wind power to generate electricity. The maximum energy output of 9429.8MWh is found for Fuhrlander FL 2500 wind machine at Adrar. The capacity factor values are found to vary from a minimum of 13% at Tamanrasset and a maximum of 48% in Adrar. In addition, the results show that the minimum cost per kWh of electricity generated is found to be 0.01204 $/kWh for Suzlon S82/1.5MW wind turbine in Adrar, while the maximum value reaches 0.0923 $/kWh for the Fuhrlander FL 2500/901 in Tamanrasset. Among all the considered models, the Suzlon S82/1.5MW wind turbine is found to be the most attractive in terms of the cost per kWh. According to the obtained results, the wind resource appears to be suitable for power production in the southern region, which makes it a viable substitute to diesel oil for electricity generation.