POTENTIAL ESTIMATION AND GHG REDUCTION OF A WIND POWER SYSTEM IN ALBANIAN SOUTH COAST

Wind energy is one of the most environmental friendly form energy. In recent years, the demand for electricity in Albania is growing rapidly. The region of Albanian south coast, thanks to its geographical position, has a good potential of the wind energy sources. The aim of this paper is to determine the wind energy potential as a clean energy for electricity generation in Albanian south coast. A technical and cost-effective assessment of electricity generation from a 1 kW off-grid wind turbine is carried out. Wind turbine is added to the base case 7 kW diesel generator/battery system. The wind energy potential and environment impact in two sites (Vlora and Saranda) in different heights are analyzed. The analyses are based on the RETScreen International Clean Energy Project Analysis Software and NASA related location databases. Results show that the capacity factor varies between 19.2%-20.8%. The total initial costs of investment are $5500. Simple payback and equity payback varies between 3-4 years. The net annual GHG emission reduction varies between 2.1-2.3 tCO2 per year. Costs, financial and emission analysis of proposed wind energy system show significant results for investment in this region.