Optimization of wind turbine micrositing: A comparative study

The Present study is under taken to solve the case of constant wind speed for uni-direction wind speed. The char- acteristics of the terrain were considered for the available land at Gharo, Thatta, Sindh. The terrain is a plain terrain. The results of the objective function using excel sheet and genetic algo- rithm solver are depicted above. The conducted study proposed a final optimal layout for the said terrain with 54 turbines. The overall efficiency of the proposed configuration is calculated as 97.05619% with a maximum power production as 27,169.52 kW.

Hence, the study successfully, reached the optimal solution for the minimum cost per unit power function, at the maximum power production with an improved efficiency value of Wind farm and also the optimal layout for the configuration of the wind turbines micrositing is proposed. The placement is proposed with utilizing the maximum land of the available terrain keeping in view the fact; ‘‘Power is the function of wind speed’’.

Abstract

The need for energy is an attention required issue for the developing countries. Developing countries are in the grip of the deficit of fossils or hydrocarbons sources of energy. Many countries are looking for the optimal solutions of energy production which are more reliable, pollution free and presume less cost. Pakistan is also in the list of those countries who want to get rid of expensive and polluted means of power production. Power production to fulfill the demand of the country is the biggest challenge for Pakistan. Therefore, many sites are under consideration for greener solutions of the problem. The proposed study is undertaken for the under consideration site, Gharo, Sindh, Pakistan. The present research is undertaken to find out the optimal solution for the wind turbine micrositings. A comparison of present study with different past studies (using different optimization techniques, i.e., genetic algorithm, Monte Carlo simulation method etc.) have been undertaken to prove the results of the present study as better results. The basic objective of the study is to find out the most optimal solution for cost per unit power; therefore, the number of wind turbines is not an issue in the undertaken study however, cost is the function of number of wind turbines and to optimize the solution, MS-Excel is used first to prove that power is a function of Wind speed. Second, genetic algorithm is also used for minimal value of fitness function.