Technical and economic evaluation of wind turbines in different regions of Lithuania
ENTotal installed wind power has reached 282 MW [1] in Lithuania and the target of 500 MW will be reached in next few years (2020). Most of wind farms are situated in the coastal region, but further development of wind power in Lithuania will be related with establishment of new wind farms in regions with lower wind speed. Therefore a thorough estimation of local wind conditions and selection of wind turbines with proper technical parameters will play a vital role. The purpose of this article is to present the analysis of wind farm performance in different regions of Lithuania and to evaluate technical parameters as well as economic feasibility of different types of wind turbines. Research was carried out by using WAsP 9 software. Results present the comparison of economic indicators which recognize that wind energy payback time depends on wind turbine tower height, rotor size, investments and wind conditions. Investigation has shown that wind turbines with bigger rotor size would have a significantly better energy yield in regions where average wind speed is comparatively low. Bigger rotors and higher towers mean more investments, therefore the selection of certain type of wind turbine must be based on the balance of technical and economic parameters. Keywords: wind energy, wind resource assessment, cost benefit analysis.
