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Economic analysis of wind‐generated electricity in remote areas of South Africa
Author(s) -
Diab Roseanne,
O'Leary Brian
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
international journal of energy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.808
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1099-114X
pISSN - 0363-907X
DOI - 10.1002/er.4440130509
Subject(s) - diesel generator , electricity , wind power , environmental science , stand alone power system , wind hybrid power systems , diesel fuel , backup , electricity generation , renewable energy , cost of electricity by source , automotive engineering , meteorology , engineering , pumped storage hydroelectricity , electrical engineering , power (physics) , distributed generation , geography , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics
Costs of wind‐generated electricity from a stand‐alone wind generator with a two‐day autonomous battery storage are compared with costs of diesel‐generated and grid electricity for a remote outpost in a game reserve in South Africa. Comparative inflationary costs for diesel and wind were 53 and 33c/kWh, respectively. The cost of connecting to the national electricity grid were estimated to be 248c/kWh. Analysis of the availability of the wind and related power output of a selected wind generator revealed that the wind speeds fell between cut‐in and cut‐out speeds for approximately 80% of the time. In the light of the positive nature of these preliminary computations it is contended that a combined wind‐diesel system, in which the diesel would act as backup storage, would be an economically viable mode of electricity generation in a remote area.