Abstract

With cost being a vital factor for determining how feasible any power project will be, this study demonstrates that a 50 MW grid-connected wind power plant at Mankoadze in the Central Region of Ghana will be technically and financially viable and competitive at a certain minimum feed-in-tariff together with some incentives. In this study, we analyzed monthly mean wind speed data for Mankoadze at 12 m above ground level (a.g.l.) with RET Screen Wind Energy Project Model. The monthly mean wind speeds at 12 m a.g.l. were extrapolated to 80 m a.g.l. and used to determine the annual energy production of a 50 MW wind farm. The total initial cost of the 50 MW wind power project was estimated and the minimum feed-in-tariff at which the project will be financially viable over a duration of 20 years was ascertained from Net Present Value (NPV) calculations. This minimum feed-in-tariff was again determined for different scenarios of grants and incentives and some recommendations were made.

Keywords:

Feed-in-tariff, net present value, wind energy, wind resource assessment,

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Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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