Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Small Wind Power Generation a A Case Study

Abstract

The electrical energy is an integral utility not only in the in modern society, but also has become a basic need in the Indian rural culture too. In spite of the claim by central and state government that 80% of the rural population is facilitated by the electricity in India, still large portions is either facing a severe shortage or are not connected to grid system so far. The conventional energy sources are over stressed and the use of renewable energy sources is becoming technically and economically feasible due to advancement in technology. These renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio mass are creating an opportunity to develop an energy system, exclusively for a village to achieve the energy security. This paper presents a feasibility study of a village for energy security through the wind energy. A wind energy generation system is proposed which will address the minimum energy needs including for household and streetlighting in a village. The life cycle cost analysis of a proposed wind energy generation system for a village is done. The unit cost of electricity is obtained for four phases in analysis period of 20 years, and it is found that the same tunes with the existing ones. A sensitivity analysis is also carried out for different rate of interest and different plant load factors