Assessment of wind energy potential and economics in the north-western Iranian cities of Tabriz and Ardabil

In recent years, wind energy utilization has become increasingly attractive on economic grounds. Wind turbines for electricity generation employ a proven technology, supply energy on a reliable and sustainable basis, and at good, windy sites may even be competitive with conventional sources of energy. In this paper, the statistical results are reported of an investigation of the potential of wind energy as a power source for the Iranian northwestern cities of Tabriz and Ardabil. A number of different methods were explored as well. In this study, the Weibull probability distribution function is employed using mean meteorological wind data measured at three-hour intervals. These data have been measured at a height of 10 m above ground level and gathered over a six-year period. Furthermore, the hourly, diurnal, seasonal, monthly, and annual wind speed variations are analyzed and the economics of the wind turbines is evaluated. The yearly values of the Weibull shape parameter vary from 1.81 to 2.13 m/s with a mean of 1.99 m/s for Tabriz and from 2.62 to 2.98 m/s with a mean of 2.86 m/s for Ardabil. Also, yearly values of the Weibull scale parameter vary from 3.35 to 4.45 m/s with a mean of 4.18 m/s for Tabriz and from 3.68 to 4.55 m/s with a mean of 4.16 m/s for Ardabil. The results show that the highest wind power potential occurs during months of August and July in Tabriz and during months of October and September in Ardabil. The results indicate that the monthly mean price of electricity generated from the 25 kW wind turbine in Tabriz and Ardabil, for most of the months of the year, are less than or approximately equivalent to the current purchase tariff of renewable energy in Iran. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.