Techno-Economic assessment of Wind energy in urban environments: A case study in Pattaya, Thailand

Abstract

Global clean energy is collectively calling on countries to set targets to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Thailand has a renewable energy development plan (AEDP) for 2018, but it does not include nuclear power. In the clean energy sector, wind power has the second lowest CO2 emissions. The study therefore summarizes an analysis of area-specific wind power to provide a clear answer for the area, including answering the question of whether a wind farm could be built to generate electricity. A comparative analysis of the annual energy production (AEP) of wind turbines and an economic analysis (public sector) is conducted using a case study of a specific area of local government organization in Pattaya City, Bang Lamung District. Chonburi Province, which is part of The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Development Zone Plan, was analyzed using data from the meteorological weather stations of the Chonburi Meteorological Office (Pattaya station and comparative data from Chonburi and Ko Sichang stations) every 10 minutes at a height of 10 m above the ground during the period 2019-2021. The data were analyzed using Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) 12 to predict the wind speed and direction at a height of 60 and 90 meters above the ground and simulate the installation of 3 wind turbines, namely: 1. Bonus 1.3 MW, 2. SWT-1.3-62, and 3. SWT-2.3-82 VS According to the research results, the resources in the study area have low potential for the construction of wind farms for electricity generation. They are classified as wind power class 1, with low level resource potential, and information about Chonburi station area. The prevailing wind direction is northeast. The area around Ko Sichang Station in the west has the highest capacity factor of 10.2%. The prevailing wind direction is southeast, with the highest capacity factor of 19.6%, and in the Pattaya station area. The prevailing wind direction is southwest. and in the west, the highest capacity factor is 1.6%. In economics, the AEP of a wind turbine that has the highest return is not always the best choice. From the analysis of the wind turbine SWT-2.3-82 VS (Khao Kaya Sira Hill cluster, Ko Sichang), it shows that it has an AEP of 3.366 GWh, which means a CO2 emission potential of 2,154.24 tons. CO2/GWh, which is reversed when considering the five economic points. First, the LCOE of this turbine model is not the lowest of the three turbine models. The SWT-1.3-62 wind turbine model has the most economic LCOE at all three discount rates (5.0%, 5.4%, and 7.0%). The SWT-1.3-62 wind turbine model is still the model that shows the highest value at all 3 discount rates. The wind turbine model SWT-2.3-82 VS still failed to demonstrate the highest NPV, observing that at a discount rate of 7.0%, the NPV result was negative at -$262,599.01 and output 3 BCR showed the value as NPV. The BCR results showed a negative value of -14.74 when the discount rates were set at 7.0%, the lowest value of all three ranges. In point 4, the PBP wind turbines showed a payback period within the average lifetime of wind turbines. And the SWT-1.3-62 wind turbine model still shows a better value for the area without O&M and with O&M, and in the last point, IRR, FIRR, EIRR although it does not show negative values like the Chonburi. and Pattaya Station research area, the value that came out was still lower than that of the SWT-1.3-62 wind turbine. Higher investment does not bring high returns.