Wind resource assessment for turbine class identification in Bayanzhaganxiang, China

Abstract

The wind resource assessment has been used effectively to identify the classification of wind turbines at a particular wind farm site. The current study used WAsP software and various statistical methods such as graphical, energy pattern factor, standard deviation, and Rayleigh distribution methods to find the Weibull parameters by evaluating the raw data collected from August 2005 until July 2006 at four (4) different heights of the meteorological mast station in Bayanzhaganxiang, China. The Weibull parameters were utilized to find the annual mean wind speed, probability density, and cumulative distribution functions of wind conditions at the reference heights of 70 m, 50 m, 30 m, and 10 m. The wind shear coefficient was 0.130 with an overall roughness factor of 0.0385 m, suggesting the site vicinity is an open country with no significant structures and vegetation. The results also showed that the post-processed output from WAsP and standard deviation method at the sensor’s height of 70 m have a correlation coefficient and confidence level of 0.99977 and above 95%, respectively. Based on the turbine classification from GL Wind 2003 and IEC 61400-1 Ed.2, it was found that the turbine class ideal for the site is class III wind turbines with an annual mean wind speed of 7.439 m/s at a hub height of 99 m. The measured wind power density at hub height was calculated according to IEC 61400-12-1, which yields 464.36 W/m2. The characteristic wind turbulence at 70 m high is IEC subclass B. Among the selected wind turbines, the net annual energy production with efficiency is 8,059.57 MWh/year using Avantis AV1010, with the highest capacity factor of 40.05%. It has been found that the lowest energy generation cost is US$ 0.0292/kWh for a period of 20 years.