Benefit evaluation of wind turbine generators in wind farms using capacity-factor analysis and economic-cost methods

Due to the recent price spike of the international oil and the concern of global warming, the development and deployment of renewable energy become one of the most important energy policies around the globe. Currently, there are different capacities and hub heights for commercial wind turbine generators (WTGs). To fully capture wind energy, different wind farms (WFs) should select adequate capacity of WTGs to effectively harvest wind energy and maximize their economic benefit. To establish selection criterion, this paper first derives the equations for capacity factor (CF) and pairing performance (PP) of WTGs using Weibull and Rayleigh distribution functions. Five commercial WFs in Taiwan are used as sample systems for comparative analyses. This paper combines Weibull function, cubic mean wind speed, and four existing economic-analysis methods to study different values of capacity and hub height for WTGs that have been installed in Taiwan. Important outcomes affecting wind cost of energy in comparison with economic results using the proposed economic-analysis methods for different WFs are also presented.