Feasibility of wind power generation in Ghana

Abstract

Technical appraisal, cost-benefit analysis, energy payback time and energy ratio have been examined to assess the feasibility of wind power generation in Ghana. At a site of average wind speed of 6.23 m/s and a height of 30 m, a 7.5 kW turbine of up-wind horizontal rotor of 6.3 m diameter produced 17.65 MW-h of energy. For payback period of 10 years, the projected cost of the energy produced by a single turbine was estimated to be GHC 0.30 (~ 20 cents) per kWh (compared to 14 cents/kWh for photovoltaic generation and 10 cents/kWh for solar thermal), which therefore makes large scale optimized wind power generation competitive in Ghana (each renewable energy conversion system requires very high initial capital investment). For the wind aero-generation system of 20 years life span, the energy ratio estimated was 2.1; indicating that wind power generation is a feasible investment project. A computer code was developed for the financial analysis and to predict the net present value of the investment depending on the prevailing cost indices.