Wind power cost assessment at twenty locations in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has vast open land and hence has great potential of harnessing solar and wind energy sources for domestic and industrial use. This study proposes to assess wind power cost per kWh of electricity produced using three types of wind electric conversion systems at 20 locations within the Kingdom. These sites cover the eastern, central, and western regions. Hourly values of wind speed recorded for periods of 5.5-13 years (between 19701982, in most cases) were used for all 20 locations. Wind duration curves were developed and utilized to calculate the cost per kWh of electricity generated from three chosen wind-machines. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.