Wind energy farm sizing and resource assessment for optimal energy yield in Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

International audienceWind power renewable energy (RE) integration is receiving due attention from the majority of power utilities because of the increasing need for energy and the global environmental concerns of fossil fuel sources. However, wind energy (WE) generation is ultimately limited by its size due to the stochastic intermittency and uncertainty as a sustained source of power. Prevalent wind at any location is site-specific and strongly depends on the terrain and topographic features. This paper focuses on the study of economic viability of wind farm in Ras Sedr, in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. A detailed wind resource assessment using collected wind data and statistical analysis are discussed for harnessing adequate wind power and energy. The annual wind speed of the selected site, of dominant north and northwest direction, varies from 6.52 to 7.21 m/s at 10 and 25 m (a.g.l.) heights respectively. The selection procedures of the best wind turbine (WT) of (class II) for the site, according to IEC 61400, are fully investigated. The preliminary wind survey of the optimal micro-sitting of WTs are also explicitly analyzed. The possibility of implementing a wind power plant project of 200 MW farm capacity is studied. Hundred Vestas V90 WT units of 2 MW capacity each are considered for Ras Sedr wind farm. Using WAsP and WindPRO softwares, the wind farm expected net annual energy output is 840.62 GWh which can be economically feasible with the proposed National Electricity Tariff. In addition, the profitable net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) values of 67.27 M€ and 12% respectively are estimated. The feasibility of the proposed wind farm is economically verified