Solving the Bottleneck Issue of Energy Supply. Case Study of a Wind Power Plant

Abstract

This paper addresses the current need for increased renewable energy capacity in the southern region of Albania near the tourist destination of Vlora. The northern half of the country is burdened with supplying the electrical needs of the country, while the southern region is using the electricity at high rates during summer months. Freely available wind energy resources, along with a wind siting study of the country which has already been performed, are used to locate, and analyze potential wind farm sites near Vlora. Less than 40 km southeast of Vlora a site is identified, and a techno-economic assessment and site performance simulation is performed using RETScreen wind energy software. The results show that this site is feasible, and a windfarm is proposed which is capable of exporting 243.4 GWh to southern Albania’s electrical grid yearly. With a short equity payback period of 5.6 years and simple payback of 9.7 years, this location could deliver substantial amounts of energy where it is needed, without worry of transmission losses over large distances.