PROSPECTS FOR THE APPLICATION OF LOW WIND SPEED TURBINES FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION IN GHANA

By

Frederick Kenneth Appiah, BSc. Mech. Eng. (Hons.)

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Faculty of Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering

Frederick Kenneth Appiah

September 2005

PROSPECTS FOR THE APPLICATION OF LOW WIND SPEED TURBINES FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION IN GHANA

By

Frederick Kenneth Appiah, BSc. Mech. Eng. (Hons.)

A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Faculty of Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering

September 2005

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the MSc and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.

APPIAH, FREDERICK KENNETH (Student ID No. 36804-03)

...

Certified by: DR. JEROME ANTONIO Supervisor ..... ...

DR. FRANCIS K. FORSON .... Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering

...

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DEDICATION In remembrance of my only brother who died less than a year of existence on earth, I dedicate this work to Benjamin Appiah. May his soul rest in the bosom of the Almighty.

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ABSTRACT Recent studies on wind resource in Ghana by Energy Commission and other bodies indicate that there exists moderate wind resource potential in Ghana which could be exploited for small wind applications, especially in the remote/rural areas where there exist more than 46% of the countrys households without electricity. This thesis assesses the prospects for the application of low wind speed turbine technology in Ghana. Ghana has moderate wind speeds, especially, some areas along the coast, of 4.8 to 5.5 m/s at 12 m a.g.l., that are suitable for small wind turbine applications. It was observed that small wind turbines are mostly used in low wind speed regimes because small wind turbines have the characteristics of starting at low wind speed, thereby, extracting power from low speeds. The cut-in wind speed is generally 3 m/s. A wind energy project, Power to the Poor in Ghana project, is taken as a case study. Data is collected and analysed both technically and economically with RETScreen and Wind Energy Payback Workbook. The case study analysed revealed that the application of the small wind turbine is mostly for lighting and powering of refrigerators, computers, televisions, radio/cassette players, ceiling fans, and commercial battery charging among other uses. In the economic evaluation, the annual worth and the unit cost of electricity generation from imported and locally-made wind turbines are analysed, and compared with solar photovoltaic and petrol generator, as alternative sources for rural electrification. The levelised energy costs of electricity are $0.83, $1.89, $0.86, $0.77 per kWh for solar PV, petrol generator, imported and locally-made wind turbine, respectively. The unit cost of electricity, though very high for an average peasant farmer and fisherman, can be a competitive option to grid connection which cost between $0.32 and $0.79/kWh through a distance of 5 to 10 km. The unit cost of a community project scenario is $0.1262 per kWh. However, it is noted that, the community project will be economically viable if the avoided cost of energy is at least $0.112/kWh. A hybrid system can be a better viable option, which should be researched into.

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TABLE OF CONTENT
DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENT.............................................................................................................. v LIST OF APPENDICES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... xi SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................... xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT....................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.2 1.3 1.4 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................... 1 Global Trend of Wind Energy ............................................................................................. 1 Energy Demand in Ghana................................................................................................... 2 Schemes in place ................................................................................................................. 2 Wind as an Alternative Source ............................................................................................ 3 OBJECTIVES OF THESIS .................................................................................................... 3 JUSTIFICATION FOR OBJECTIVES ................................................................................ 4 ORGANISATION OF THESIS ............................................................................................. 5

CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................ 6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................... 6

2.1 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.3 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.3.5 2.4 2.5 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.6 2.6.1 2.6.2 2.6.3 2.7 2.7.1 2.7.2 2.7.3 2.7.4 2.7.5 2.7.6 2.7.7 2.7.8 CHARACTERISTICS OF WIND ......................................................................................... 6 WIND RESOURCE ................................................................................................................ 6 Evaluation of Wind Resource .............................................................................................. 6 Classification of Wind Resource ......................................................................................... 7 Ghana Wind Resource Assessment ..................................................................................... 8 ENERGY IN THE WIND ....................................................................................................... 8 Lift and Drag Principle of Wind Energy Conversion .......................................................... 8 Blade Design ....................................................................................................................... 9 Small Wind Turbines for Low Wind Speed Regimes ......................................................... 16 Power in the Wind ............................................................................................................. 16 Available Power ................................................................................................................ 17 SMALL WIND TURBINE TECHNOLOGY...................................................................... 17 CLASSIFICATION OF WIND TURBINE ......................................................................... 18 Rated Power Classification ............................................................................................... 18 Swept Area Classification ................................................................................................. 18 TYPES OF SMALL WIND TURBINE ............................................................................... 18 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) ............................................................................ 18 Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) ................................................................................. 19 Modern Model ................................................................................................................... 20 TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL WIND TURBINES........................... 20 Power and Energy Curves ................................................................................................ 20 Power rating ..................................................................................................................... 21 Starting Torque ................................................................................................................. 21 Blade Radius ..................................................................................................................... 21 Capacity Factors/Efficiency .............................................................................................. 22 The Number of Blades ....................................................................................................... 23 Tip Speed........................................................................................................................... 24 Operational Speeds ........................................................................................................... 25

2.7.9 Pitch and Yaw Adjustment ................................................................................................ 25 2.7.10 Solidity .............................................................................................................................. 25 MATERIALS ........................................................................................................................ 26 2.8

CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................. 28 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 28

3.1 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.4 3.4.1 3.4.2 3.4.3 SITES VISIT AND DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................ 28 TECHNICAL PARAMETERS ............................................................................................ 28 Energy Consumption ......................................................................................................... 28 Rated Power of Turbine .................................................................................................... 28 Daily Operating Hours ..................................................................................................... 29 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SMALL WIND TURBINE................................................. 29 Cost Analysis of Small Wind Turbines .............................................................................. 29 Economic Indicators ......................................................................................................... 30 RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY (RET) SIMULATOR .................................. 33 RETScreen Wind Energy Project Model ........................................................................... 34 Wind Energy Payback Period Workbook (v1.0) ............................................................... 35 Constraints and Limitations .............................................................................................. 35

CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................... 36 APPLICATIONS OF SMALL WIND TURBINES IN GHANA ............................................. 36

4.1 TYPICAL APPLICATION OF SMALL WIND TURBINES............................................ 36 WATER PUMPING.............................................................................................................. 37 4.2 Direct Coupling/Mechanical Pumping ............................................................................. 37 4.2.1 Electric Pumping .............................................................................................................. 38 4.2.2 OTHER APPLICATIONS ................................................................................................... 39 4.3 Stand-Alone System ........................................................................................................... 39 4.3.1 Hybrid System ................................................................................................................... 39 4.3.2 Grid-Connected System..................................................................................................... 40 4.3.3 SPECIFIC APPLICATION IN GHANA ............................................................................ 40 4.4 Commercial (DENG Ltd.) ................................................................................................. 40 4.4.1 Private Residence.............................................................................................................. 41 4.4.2 Power to the Poor in Ghana Project................................................................................. 42 4.4.3 POWER TO THE POOR IN GHANA PROJECT ............................................................. 43 4.5 Background and Objective ................................................................................................ 43 4.5.1 Project Sites ...................................................................................................................... 44 4.5.2 Residential House ............................................................................................................. 44 4.5.3 Salt Production Unit ......................................................................................................... 45 4.5.4 Primary School ................................................................................................................. 46 4.5.5 Research Centre ................................................................................................................ 47 4.5.6 Battery Charging Centre ................................................................................................... 48 4.5.7 Chief Palace and Pub ....................................................................................................... 48 4.5.8 Church .............................................................................................................................. 48 4.5.9 4.5.10 Battery Charging Centre & Pastors Residence ............................................................... 49 4.5.11 Residential House ............................................................................................................. 49 4.5.12 Beach Resort ..................................................................................................................... 50 TECHNICAL DATA OF THE IMPORTED WIND TURBINE AND LOCALLY-MADE 4.6 WIND TURBINE.................................................................................................................. 51

CHAPTER FIVE ...................................................................................................................... 52 VIABILITY OF VARIOUS SMALL WIND TURBINE APPLICATIONS ............................. 52
5.1 DATA TAKEN ...................................................................................................................... 52 Analysis of Data ................................................................................................................ 52 5.1.1 Energy Consumption ......................................................................................................... 55 5.1.2 PERFORMANCE OF SYSTEM.......................................................................................... 55 5.2 Wind Speed........................................................................................................................ 55 5.2.1 Performance of a Wind Turbine Technology .................................................................... 56 5.2.2

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5.3 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF POWER TO THE POOR IN GHANA PROJECT....... 63 Cost Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 64 5.3.1 Annual Worth .................................................................................................................... 64 5.1.2 Levelised Energy Cost of Electricity ................................................................................. 67 5.1.3 Affordability ...................................................................................................................... 70 5.3.2 Sensitivity Analysis ............................................................................................................ 71 5.3.3 COMMUNITY ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT ............................................................ 73 5.4 Energy Consumption and Required Wind Turbine ........................................................... 73 5.4.1 Life Cycle Cost Analysis ................................................................................................... 75 5.4.2 Economic Analysis ............................................................................................................ 76 5.4.3 Environmental Benefits ..................................................................................................... 78 5.4.4 Analysis of Scenario .......................................................................................................... 78 5.4.5

CHAPTER SIX ......................................................................................................................... 82 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................... 82

6.1 6.2 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 82 RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................... 83

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................... 85 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................... 90

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LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Technical Characteristics and Application of Small Wind Turbines in Ghana .............................................................................................................. 90 Appendix B: Energy Consumption for the Sites Under the "Power to the Poor in Ghana" Project ............................................................................................................. 94 Appendix C: Data Taken from Taxe and Kpenu Sites.................................................... 99 Appendix D: Cost Analyses of the Power to the Poor in Ghana Project .................. 105 Appendix E: Sensitivity Analyses ................................................................................ 107

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LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Beaufort Scale showing different Scales of Wind ........................................... 6 Table 2.2: Classes of Wind Power Density and Wind Speeds at 10m and 50m............... 7 Table 2.3: Classification of Wind Turbines and typical Dimensions ............................. 18 Table 2.4: The Dependence of Important Parameters on Blade Radius ......................... 22 Table 2.5: Net Capacity Factors for Various Classes of Wind Speeds at 10 m and 50 m ........................................................................................................................ 23 Table 2.6: Technical Characteristics of Horizontal and Vertical Small Wind Turbines 26 Table 2.7: Proportion of Materials used for the Components of Wind Turbines ........... 27 Table 4.1: Specifications of Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines...................... 51 Table 4.2: Energy Output of Locally-made Wind Turbine............................................. 51 Table 5.1: Wind Generator Average Daily Operating Hours ......................................... 52 Table 5.2: General relationship between economic viability and wind speed ................ 56 Table 5.3: Evaluation of the Sites under Power to the Poor in Ghana Project ............ 58 Table 5.4: Total Capital Cost of Imported and Locally-made Wind Generators............ 64 Table 5.5: Cost of Rural Electrification .......................................................................... 70 Table 5.6: Energy Consumption for Community Project Scenario ................................ 73 Table 5.7: Technical Characteristics of 50 kW Atlantic Orient AOC 15/50 Turbine .... 74 Table 5.8: Life Cycle Cost Analysis for Community Project ......................................... 75 Table 5.9: Economic Parameters and Assumption made ................................................ 76 Table 5.10: Summary of Community Project Scenario .................................................. 77 Table 5.11: Summary of Economic Performance of Scenarios ...................................... 77 Table 5.12: Details of Cost Analysis .............................................................................. 79 Table A-1: Technical Characteristics and Application of Small Wind Turbines in Ghana ........................................................................................................................ 90 Table B-1: Energy Consumption for the Sites under Power to the Poor in Ghana Project ............................................................................................................. 94 Table C-1: Data from a Residential House at Taxe-Anloga for March 2005 ................. 99 Table C-2: Data from a Residential House at Taxe-Anloga for April 2005 ................. 101 Table C-3: Data from Kpenu Primary School for March 2005 .................................... 102 Table C-4: Data from Kpenu Primary School for April 2005 ...................................... 104 Table D-1: Organization of the Excel Worksheet used for the Energy Generation Cost Estimate ........................................................................................................ 105

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Table E-1: Unit Cost of Electricity Variation with Discount Rate ............................... 107 Table E-2: Percentage Change in Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Discount Rates ...................................................................................................................... 107 Table E-3: Unit Cost of Electricity Variation with Specific Investment ...................... 107 Table E-4: Percentage Change in Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Discount Rates ...................................................................................................................... 108 Table E-5: Unit Cost of Electricity Variation with Average Daily Load ..................... 108 Table E-6: Percentage Change in Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Average Daily Loads ............................................................................................................ 108

LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 2.1: Lift and Drag acting on a Turbine Blade ............................................................ 9 Fig. 2.2: Force Diagram of Forces acting on the Blade of a Wind Turbine ................... 10 Fig. 2.3: LIFT versus Angle of Attack ............................................................................ 11 Fig. 2.4: Blade section showing the variation of the Blade Setting Angle at different Stations ........................................................................................................... 12 Fig. 2.5: Variation of Chord Width along the span of the blade ..................................... 13 Fig. 2.6: Blade Twist and Chord Distribution of the Blade ............................................ 14 Fig. 2.7: Lift and Drag at High Incidence ....................................................................... 14 Fig. 2.8: Chord-pitch Integral for two Blades ................................................................. 15 Fig. 2.9: A graph of Speed and Power Output with a range of Rotor Sizes ................... 16 Fig. 2.10: Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines ..................................................................... 19 Fig. 2.11: Vertical Axis Wind Turbines.......................................................................... 19 Fig. 2.12: Spiral Blade Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine .................................................. 20 Fig. 2.13: The Power and Energy Curve of a 10 kW Wind Turbine .............................. 21 Fig. 2.14: Coefficient of Performance of Wind Turbine ................................................ 23 Fig. 2.15: Effect of Tip Speed Ratio and Lift/Drag on the Performance of the Blade ... 24 Fig. 4.1: A Boat powered by AIR X marine Wind Turbine ........................................... 36 Fig. 4.2: Recreational Vehicles powered by Small Wind Turbines ................................ 37 Fig. 4.3: Diaphragm windpump being used for Irrigation .............................................. 38 Fig. 4.4: Whisper H40 mounted on top of DENG building ............................................ 41 Fig. 4.5: A Small Wind Turbine mounted in front of a residence at Anlo ..................... 41 Fig. 4.6: Bergey XL 1 mounted at a Residence at Taxe ................................................. 45 Fig. 4.7: Locally-made Wind Turbine mounted at a Salt production unit ...................... 46 Fig. 4.8: Bergey XL 1 mounted at Kpenu Primary School ............................................. 46 Fig. 4.9: Primary School Children and community members watching a Television powered by the Wind Turbine ........................................................................ 47 Fig. 4.10: A Locally-made Wind Turbine mounted at Institute of Industrial Research (IIR), CSIR, Accra .......................................................................................... 47 Fig. 4.11: A Computer with Internet Facility being powered by the Wind Turbine at IIR, CSIR, Accra .................................................................................................... 48 Fig. 4.12: The Beneficiary enjoying clean Lighting and TV at his Residence ............... 49 Fig. 4.13: 1 kW Bergey XL1 mounted at Tobloku for Residential use .......................... 50

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Fig. 5.1: Variation of Voltage at Residential House at Taxe for March 05................... 53 Fig. 5.2: Variation of Voltage at Residential House at Taxe for April 05..................... 53 Fig. 5.3: Variation of Voltage at Kpenu Primary School for March 05 ........................ 54 Fig. 5.4: Variation of Voltage at Kpenu Primary School for April 05 .......................... 54 Fig. 5.5: Daily Average Energy Consumption for various Sites .................................... 55 Fig. 5.6: Total Capital Cost for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locallymade Wind Turbines ...................................................................................... 64 Fig. 5.7: Total Life Cycle Cost for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines ......................................................................... 65 Fig. 5.8: Life Cycle O&M Cost for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines ......................................................................... 65 Fig. 5.9: Annualised Life Cycle Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines ......................................................................... 66 Fig. 5.10: Annualised Capital Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines ......................................................................... 66 Fig. 5.11: Annualised O&M Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines ......................................................................... 66 Fig. 5.12: Monthly O&M and Replacement Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines .................................................. 67 Fig. 5.13: Annualised Replacement Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines ......................................................................... 67 Fig. 5.14: Comparative Levelised Energy Cost of Electricity from Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Wind Turbines and Hydro (Grid) ................................................. 68 Fig. 5.15: Variation of Levelised Energy Cost within the 20 years Period of Analyses for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines .......................................................................................................... 69 Fig. 5.16: Cost Analysis for Supplying 50 kW Electricity to Rural Areas ..................... 70 Fig. 5.17: Sensitivity Results of Discount Rate Variations ............................................ 71 Fig. 5.18: Sensitivity Results of Specific Investment Variations ................................... 72 Fig. 5.19: Sensitivity Results of Average Daily Load Variations................................... 72 Fig. 5.20: Power and Energy Curve for 50 kW Atlantic Orient AOC 15/50 Wind Turbine ........................................................................................................... 74 Fig. 5.21: Variation of Simple Payback Period with Avoided Cost of Electricity ......... 80 Fig. 5.22: Variation of NPV with Avoided Cost of Electricity ...................................... 80 xii

Fig. 5.23: Variation of IRR with Avoided Cost of Electricity ........................................ 81

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SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS Amph Amps ft Hz kg km kW kWh kWh/yr lit. m m/s mph MW R rpm V W W/m2 i d f a n t
v

w a.g.l. AC ADB B/W CSIR DC DNV EC Eq. EWW GMT HAWT IIR KNUST Ltd. MOE MOFA MSD NES NREL

Ampere hour Amperes Feet Hertz Kilogram Kilometre Kilowatt Kilowatt hour Kilowatt hour per year Litre Metre Metre per second Miles per hour Megawatt Radius Revolution per minute Volts Watt Watt per square metre Inflation Rate Discount Rate Discount Factor Annualization Factor Period of Analyses Period of Replacement Velocity Present Worth Above ground level Alternating Current Asian Development Bank Black and White Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Direct Current Det Norske Veritas Energy Commission Equation Enterprise Works Worldwide Greenwich Mean Time Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Institute of Industrial Research, CSIR Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Limited Ministry of Energy Ministry of Food and Agriculture Meteorological Service Department National Electrification Scheme National Renewable Energy Laboratory

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pcs. PM PV PWF Re REES Rep. RET SHEP SNEP SWERA TCC TSR TV USA VAWT VRA WAsP

Pieces Permanent Magnet Photovoltaic Present Worth Factor Reynolds Number Rural Energy and Environment Systems Replacement Renewable Energy Technology Self-Help Electrification Program Strategic National Energy Plan Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment Total Capital Cost Tip Speed Ratio Television United States of America Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Volta River Authority Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With heartfelt gratitude and appreciation I wish to acknowledge the immense contribution, correction and motivation of my supervisor, Dr. Jerome Antonio, Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

I also want to thank Prof. Fred Ohene Akuffo, Dr. D. M. Obeng, Dr. L. E. Ansong, Dr. Francis K. Forson and Dr. Owusu-Achaw for investing in my education during my second degree studies.

I wish to acknowledge the help from Mr. Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, Director, Rural Energy and Environment Systems (REES), and also the Head-Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy, Dr. E. B. Hagan and Mr. Joseph Dzanie of the Institute of Industrial Research (IIR) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Mr. Atsu Tittiati, Mr. Seth Agbeve and Mrs. Wilhemina Quaye of Enterprise Works Ghana and Mr. Matt Knack-Baiden of Solarwinds Engineering Services.

My research fellows and roommates are not left out. S. O. Frimpong, Daniel Ofori Dankyi and Kuanda Chiyembekeso, and Mr. Michael Awuah-Baah, Godsway Kwasi Dzoboku and Timothy Adjettey; thanks for the love. I also appreciate all the persons who directly or indirectly helped me to accomplish this research work.

Last but not the least, to my father, Uncle Kwesi Essuman, my mother, Auntie Joe and my dear sisters, Mrs. Celestina Adusah-Poku, Irene Appiah and Rosetta Appiah. Thanks for the unflinching financial and moral support. I can not measure.

I wish you all Gods blessings. May you live long to enjoy the fruit of your labour.

APPIAH, FREDERICK KENNETH August, 2005

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.1.1 BACKGROUND Global Trend of Wind Energy

Wind Energy is the worlds fastest growing source of energy because of its economic and environmental characteristics. Modern wind turbines are fuelling wind energys current renaissance. The cost of production and generating power has been declining and, in many applications, wind is already competitive with conventional options for generating electricity. Wind technology also produces electricity without creating air pollution, water pollution, greenhouse gases, or hazardous wastes. The global wind energy industry has shown an average cumulative growth of 29% over the past six years. Total power production as at 2004 stood at 47,616 MW, a 20% increment over the previous year [Global Wind Energy Council, 2005]. The global trend shows governments and institutions are going into assessment, technical analysis, manufacturing techniques and economic feasibility of the technology. Countries which benefit much from such technology for large scale application, like electricity production, have substantial amount of wind speed, with annual average wind speeds ranging from 6 to 8 m/s at 12 m a.g.l. Another development in the wind energy sector is the small wind energy conversion systems suitable for low wind speed regimes. Small wind turbines have been developed for various applications in the rural and urban environment. Remote communities, school and clinics derive much benefit from such application. Urban application is much focused on grid connection to supplement the energy from the utility providers. Small wind turbine technology has been expanding. There are currently over 150,000 small-scale renewable energy systems in United States of America and they are growing by 30% yearly. The small-scale use of wind power is growing at twice that amount-over 60% per year [Gipe, 2003]. There are also more than 50 manufacturers of small wind turbines worldwide producing over 100 different models. Altogether manufacturers in western countries have built about 60,000 small wind turbines during

the last two decades. And tens of thousands more have been manufactured in China for use by nomads on the Mongolian steppes [Jones, 1999].

1.1.2

Energy Demand in Ghana

In the year 2000, 6777 GWh of electricity was consumed constituting about 11% of the total energy consumed in the country. Household electricity consumption also increased from 688.03 GWh in 1990 at an average annual growth rate of 11% to 2373.8 GWh in 2000, and further increased to about 3250 GWh in 2003. Out of this, rural household consumed a meagre 123.6 GWh of electricity in 2000 which accounted for 5.2% of total household consumption. Ghanas electricity supply is mainly obtained from hydro and thermal sources. Ghana also relies on some level of imports from neighbouring La Cote d'Ivoire to supplement domestic supply especially during peak hours. The existing installed electricity generation capacity is 1,652 MW made up of 1,072 MW of hydro and 550 MW of thermal. In addition to these, there is a 30 MW diesel plant at Tema, which is currently operated only during contingencies [Asante, 2004]. The electricity supply mix in the country is expected to change by the year 2010 from the largely hydro-based system to a largely thermal-based one relying on natural gas as the main source of fuel. This transition would be made possible by the West African Gas Pipeline Project, which is expected to transport natural gas from Nigeria through Benin and Togo to Ghana [Asante, 2004].

1.1.3

Schemes in place

Effort has been made and various schemes structured by governmental agencies and institutions to ensure that electricity supply covers all parts of the country over a 30year period from 1990-2020 [Asante, 2004]. Schemes like the National Electrification Scheme (NES) and Self-Help Electrification Program (SHEP) have been introduced to stimulate and promote economic activities and raise the standard of living of people. Though 2,900 communities were linked to the national grid between 1989 and 2000 and a total of 1,179 communities connected between 2001 and 2004, there exist 46% of the households which do not have access to electricity [Asante, 2004]. Although schemes like the NES and SHEP are put into place to ensure that the whole country had access to electricity by 2020, renewable energy experts foresee that it

would be unlikely that all communities be connected by 2020 if electricity supply is based on grid extension only.

1.1.4

Wind as an Alternative Source

Most of the communities which do not have access to electricity are far away from the electricity grid and therefore the development and application of renewable energy technologies, especially, wind generating technologies, can play an important role to alleviate poverty as well as promote economic and small business activities in these areas.

Though Ghana has low wind speeds throughout the country, the annual average wind speed for the identified potential sites ranges from 4.8 to 5.5 m/s at 12 m a.g.l. [Energy Commission, Ghana, 2003], which is suitable for power generation, especially, with low wind speed machines.

1.2

OBJECTIVES OF THESIS

The main objective of this research is to explore small wind turbine technology and assess the prospects for application of the technology in Ghana.

The specific objectives are as follows: 1. To explore the design and performance characteristics of low wind speed turbine technology. 2. To explore the application of low wind speed turbines in rural environment in Ghana. 3. Assess the performance of existing small wind turbine applications.

4. With the aid of a Renewable Energy Technology (RET) simulator, assess the economic viability of various small wind energy technology applications in Ghana.

1.3

JUSTIFICATION FOR OBJECTIVES

Over the years, much concentration and analysis have been on power generation to supplement the national grid in Ghana. Recent studies by the Energy Commission (EC) of Ghana and other private concerns at potential sites indicate that the monthly average wind speed measurement at 12 m a.g.l. varies in the range of 4.8 to 5.5 m/s [Energy Commission, Ghana, 2003]. Assessment tools such as RETScreen software (which is used for preliminary evaluation of renewable energy projects) also suggest that sites with wind speeds less than 5 m/s are not likely to be economically viable [Nkrumah, 2003]. In order to achieve its vision that the whole country has access to electricity by 2020, the Ghana Government has recently initiated programmes and structures to promote Small Wind Energy Technology, which is suitable for low wind speed regimes, as an alternative to the traditional hydro and thermal electricity sources. These programmes are geared towards poverty reduction and energy conservation across the country. 1. The Ministry of Energy in 2004 launched a wind energy project dubbed, Wind Power to the Poor in Ghana. The projects target was existing businesses or wellrun private service providers in isolated, low-income communities. Under the programme, 17 local artisans were trained to build 500 W capacity wind turbines from materials available on the local market. The trained artisans were to build and install 10 turbines to demonstrate the feasibility of wind-generated electricity at selected sites across the country [Gobah & Taylor-Amoah, 2004, p. 27]. 2. The Ministry of Agriculture also has initiated wind pump installation projects for water supply for agriculture, livestock and human consumption. It was anticipated that about 30 wind pumps would be installed throughout the country by the end of the year 2004, but ultimately, the number increased to 50 [Yeboah, 2004, p. 27]. However, only limited work has been done in Ghana on the exploitation of Small Wind Energy Conversion Systems, and thus there is the need to investigate the prospect and its viability in low wind speed regimes like Ghana.

This thesis, thus, focuses on the technical and economic viability of the small wind energy conversion system and its relevant application in Ghana.

1.4

ORGANISATION OF THESIS

The first chapter of this thesis gives the background to the thesis, including the growth in wind energy technology, the energy trend in Ghana and the role of small wind turbine technology for rural development. The chapter also introduces the objectives of the project and the significance of the study.

The theoretical framework which deals with the design of small wind turbines and its underlining principles is the focus in the second chapter. Wind characteristics and resource in Ghana are also reviewed. Various types of wind turbines are classified and their characteristics described, but the focus is on small wind turbines from various manufacturers. The economic principles and the Renewable Energy Technology software used for economic analysis are also discussed.

The third chapter deals with the methodology used for this thesis

The fourth chapter describes various small wind turbine applications both in the urban and rural environment. A wind energy project currently running in Ghana is taken as a case study and its application assessed.

In the fifth chapter of this thesis, the viability of small wind turbine applications is discussed. The focus is mainly on the economic analysis of the case study. Other scenarios are created and their economic viability analysed.

The conclusions and recommendations are given in Chapter Six.

CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1

CHARACTERISTICS OF WIND

The different scales of wind have been described by the Beaufort scale in Table 2.1. Low wind speed can be said to be of Beaufort Scale 3 and below.

Table 2.1: Beaufort Scale showing different Scales of Wind BEAUFORT SCALE OF WIND FORCE @ 10m a.g.l. Scale 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Calm Light Air Light Breeze Gentle Breeze Moderate Breeze Fresh Breeze Strong Breeze Moderate Gale Fresh Gale Strong Gale Whole Gale Storm Hurricane Rating miles/h 1 1-3 4-7 8 - 12 13 - 18 19 - 24 25 - 31 32 - 38 39 - 46 47 - 54 55 - 63 64 - 75 76+ km/h 1.6 1.6 - 5 6 - 11 13 - 19 21 - 29 31 - 39 40 - 50 51 - 61 63 - 74 76 - 87 89 - 101 103 - 121 122+ 0.45 0.45 - 1.34 1.79 - 3.13 3.58 - 5.36 5.81 - 8.05 8.49 - 10.73 11.18 - 13.86 14.30 - 16.99 17.43 - 20.56 21.01 - 24.14 24.59 - 28.16 28.61 - 33.53 33.97+ m/s 0.87 0.87 - 2.61 3.48 - 6.08 6.95 - 10.43 11.30 - 15.64 16.51 - 20.86 21.73 - 26.94 27.81 - 33.02 33.89 - 39.97 40.84 - 46.93 47.80 - 54.75 55.62 - 65.18 66.04+ knot

Source: Beaufort Scale, www.galeforce.nireland.co.uk

2.2 2.2.1

WIND RESOURCE Evaluation of Wind Resource

Evaluation of wind resource data at a site is essential since it is the first step in assessing the potential for wind power and projecting turbine performance at that particular site of interest. The energy available in a wind stream is proportional to the cube of its speed, which means that doubling the wind speed increases the available energy by a factor of

eight. Furthermore, the wind resource itself is seldom a steady, consistent flow. It varies with the time of day, season, height above ground, and type of terrain. Places near the coast usually have higher wind speeds than those inland; the wind speed 100 km inland is around two-thirds of the wind speed near the coast [Hulscher & Fraenkel, 1994].

2.2.2

Classification of Wind Resource

There are several ways and parameters used for classifying wind resource. a. Wind Power Class Wind resources are often rated according to a Wind Power Class system which corresponds to ranges of average wind speeds as shown in Table 2.2. Areas designated Class 4 or greater are suitable for large-scale electricity generation with advanced wind turbine technology. Power Class 3 areas may be suitable for largescale generation and are suitable for small-scale wind projects [Wind Resources]. b. Power Density Wind Power Density is a useful way to evaluate the wind resource available at a potential site. The wind power density, measured in watts per square meter, indicates how much energy is available at the site for conversion by a wind turbine. Classes of wind power density for two standard wind measurement heights are listed in Table 2.2 below. Table 2.2: Classes of Wind Power Density and Wind Speeds at 10m and 50m Classes of Wind Power Density at 10 m and 50 m(a)
. Wind Power Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 m (33 ft) Wind Power Density (W/m2) < 100 100 - 150 150 - 200 200 - 250 250 - 300 300 - 400 > 400 Speed
(b )

50 m (164 ft) m/s (mph) Wind Power Density (W/m2) < 200 200 - 300 300 - 400 400 - 500 500 - 600 600 - 800 > 800 Speed( ) m/s (mph) < 5.6 (12.5) 5.6 (12.5) / 6.4 (14.3) 6.4 (14.3) / 7.0 (15.7) 7.0 (15.7) / 7.5 (16.8) 7.5 (16.8) / 8.0 (17.9) 8.0 (17.9) / 8.8 (19.7) > 8.8 (19.7)
b

< 4.4 (9.8) 4.4 (9.8) / 5.1 (11.5) 5.1 (11.5) / 5.6 (12.5) 5.6 (12.5) / 6.0 (13.4) 6.0 (13.4) / 6.4 (14.3) 6.4 (14.3) / 7.0 (15.7) > 7.0 (15.7)

(a) Vertical extrapolation of wind speed based on the 1/7 power law (b) Mean wind speed is based on the Rayleigh speed distribution of equivalent wind power density. Wind speed is for standard sea-level conditions. To maintain the same power density, speed increases 3%/1000 m (5%/5000 ft) of elevation. (from the Battelle Wind Energy Resource Atlas) www.awea.org Source: Wind Energy Resource (1998), www.awea.org

In general, sites with a Wind Power Class rating of 4 or higher are now preferred for large scale wind plants. Research conducted by industry and governments is expanding the applications of grid- connected wind technology to areas with more moderate wind speeds.

2.2.3

Ghana Wind Resource Assessment

From 1989 up to date, many studies have gone into Wind Energy assessment in Ghana by renewable energy analysts and groups of researchers. Data has been compiled and analysed by researching institutions such as Meteorological Service Department (MSD), Energy Commission (EC) and Mechanical Engineering Department of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). It has been observed that wind energy generation may be possible in some parts of the country, especially, along the coast, as an alternate supplement to the hydro-electric power and for off-grid applications. The monthly average wind speed for the identified potential sites along the coast ranges from 4.8 to 5.5 m/s at 12 m a.g.l. [Energy Commission, Ghana, 2003].

2.3

ENERGY IN THE WIND

The suitability of wind turbines for low wind speed regime is its ability to extract power at that low speed. Therefore, the lowest wind speed at which the wind turbine starts to produce power is of much interest.

2.3.1

Lift and Drag Principle of Wind Energy Conversion

There are two primary physical principles by which energy can be extracted from the wind; these are through the creation of either lift or drag force (or through a combination of the two), which are defined by Equations (2.1) and (2.2).

Lift Force = C L ( / 2)AVa

(2.1)
2

Drag Force = C D ( / 2 )AVa

(2.2)

where, CL and CD are the lift and drag coefficients, respectively, which depend on the cross section of the blade and on the angle of attack , at which the wind strikes the blade and the Reynolds number, a measure of the size and speed of the blade. Va is the apparent wind speed through the rotor of an area A.

Direction of rotation Chord line

LIFT Direction of wind

Va

DRAG

Fig. 2.1: Lift and Drag acting on a Turbine Blade

The blade acts as an aerofoil, therefore, as the wind passes over the blade it moves more rapidly over one side of the blade causing unequal pressure. This unequal pressure produces a lift which in turn causes the blade to spin.

One important condition to satisfy when extracting energy from the wind is the Betz criterion which states that the maximum possible value of the aerodynamic efficiency is achieved when the turbine reduces the wind speed to one-third of the undisturbed, upstream wind [DNV/Ris, 2002].

2.3.2

Blade Design

To create the design of the blade the chord width of the blade C, and the blade setting angle , at each of a series of stations along the span of the blade need to be specified. At each station the right shape of the blade to produce the right lift to satisfy Betz criterion is created using finite element analysis. A diagram of the forces acting on the blade is shown in Figure 2.2.

Chord line

Wind Direction
Thrust Force = LIFT cos + DRAG sin

Direction of Rotation

Apparent Wind = (r/R)V/ cos

Net Force Driving Force = LIFT sin - DRAG cos

Lift Force Drag Force Head Wind = (r/R)V

Real Wind = 2V/3 (For Betz Criterion)

Fig. 2.2: Force Diagram of Forces acting on the Blade of a Wind Turbine Blade Angle, From Figure 2.2,

= +

(2.3)

where, is the angle at which the apparent wind strikes the rotor plane is the blade setting angle is the angle of attack To satisfy Betz condition, is chosen to optimize the lift force. A typical graph of Lift vs. angle of attack , is shown in Figure 2.3. As increases, so does the lift, until a point is reached where the blade stalls. At stalling, lift fails and drag increases rapidly because air flow separates from the back of blade. This principle is used to control the blade from rotating beyond its allowable speed limit.

10

Fig. 2.3: LIFT versus Angle of Attack

The key to wind turbine performance is the ratio of the lift to drag, rather than their individual values. In practice, most sections will produce their best LIFT/DRAG at = 5, so as a general rule, where detailed data is not available, can be set to give this angle of attack. [Piggot, 2004b] Thus,

= 5

(2.4)

Because the head wind varies along the span of the rotor blade, also changes along the span of the rotor. From Figure 2.2,

tan = 2 R /(3r )

(2.5)

Therefore,

Blade Angle, = tan 1 (2 R / 3r ) 5

(2.6)

This means that the ideal shape for the blade is twisted at each station of the blade, as shown in Figure 2.4.

11

Blade angle at different stations Leading edge Drop Thickness Leading edge Chord width, C

Trailing edge

Fig. 2.4: Blade Section showing the variation of the Blade Setting Angle at different Stations

Chord Width, C From Figure 2.2, the basic blade element equations are derived. Driving Force = LIFT sin DRAG cos = LIFT sin (1 cos / k ) = LIFT sin (1 (3r / 2 R)k ) where k is LIFT/DRAG Ratio Thrust Force = LIFT cos + DRAG sin

(2.7)

(2.8)

To satisfy Betz condition, the wind in each part of the swept area of the rotor must be slowed down to 1/3 of its upstream velocity, and this slowing is done by the Thrust force, which is closely related to the Lift force. Neglecting Drag (very small error), Equation (2.8) becomes,
Thrust Force = LIFT cos

Let us consider a blade element of thickness r .

To satisfy Betz condition, Thrust Force = (4 / 9) AV 2 = (4 / 9) (2rr )V 2 (2.9)

12

And from Equation (2.1), Lift Force = C L ( / 2) BCr (V (r / R) / cos ) 2 (2.10)

where C is the chord width B is the number of blades This leads to an approximate expression for the chord width C, which will produce the right amount of thrust to meet the Betz condition:

Chord Width, C =

16R(R / r ) 9 2 B

(2.11)

It should be noted that both CL and cos were assumed to be approximately one for simplicity, and Equation (2.11) works best for the outer part of the blade. Figure 2.5 shows the chord width at different stations along the span of the blade. Chord width at different stations Leading edge

Stations

Trailing edge

Fig. 2.5: Variation of Chord Width along the Span of the Blade

A characteristic design curve of a three-bladed turbine to operate at a tip speed ratio of 10 is shown in Figure 2.9.

13

0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 C/R 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0

Blade Twist and Chord Distributions at =10;B=3

60 50

C/R = 10 B = 3

40 30 (deg) 20 10 0 -10

0.05

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5 r/R

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Fig. 2.6: Blade Twist and Chord Distribution of the Blade

Cut-in Wind Speed, UC From the force diagram, the generated torque on each blade element is, Driving Force = LIFT sin DRAG cos Therefore, Driving Torque =
1 2

BCVr (C L sin C D cos ) R

2

A number of authors have proposed that the lift and drag properties of any aerofoil at high can be approximated by equations of the type [Wood, 2002]:
C L = 2sin cos

(2.12) (2.13)

and C D = 2sin 2 Figure 2.7 shows variation of lift and drag with the angle of attack .
Lift and Drag at High Incidence
2.5 2 1.5 Cl,Cd 1 0.5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Angle of Attack, (deg) 80 90 Cl Cd

Fig. 2.7: Lift and Drag at High Incidence

14

Equations (2.12) and (2.13) are seen to be good fits to the data when is larger than 45, which is the range of interest for starting blades.

Small wind turbines use permanent magnet (PM) generators that have an open circuit resistive torque that is lower than the static torque for all values of rotational speed r, that would be expected during starting. This significant resistive torque must be overcome aerodynamically before the blades will start turning. In the final analysis, it is assumed that torque equals the resistive torque of the generator (T=TR). Turbines start only when the aerodynamic torque generated on the stationary blades exceeds the resistive torque in the generator.

2TR Cut in Wind Speed , U C = BR 3 I CP

where ICP is the chord-pitch integral

(2.14)

Equation (2.14) is the main result of this analysis. The integrand iCP of the chord-pitch integral performed for two wind turbines blades is shown in Figure 2.8. ICP is 2.36 x 103

for the 2.5 m blades and 6.22 x 10-3 for the smaller blades.

Fig. 2.8: Chord-pitch Integral for two Blades

15

2.3.3

Small Wind Turbines for Low Wind Speed Regimes

It is observed that the smaller unit has a better starting performance but this is achieved at the expense of its power coefficient. Thus, smaller wind turbines operate well even at very low wind speeds, though they have low power output performance as shown in Figure 2.9.

A desirable cut-in speed generally used is 3m/s. Furthermore, the lower the wind speed at which the blades start rotating, the sooner power will be extracted as the wind increases. Starting is also improved by using lightweight blades to minimize the rotational moment of inertia of the turbine. This has the possible disadvantage of increasing the difficulty of preventing the blades from over-speeding in high winds. In other words, a turbine that starts easily may be difficult to control in high winds.

=5 Rated speed = 12m/s

Fig. 2.8: A Graph of Speed and Power Output with a Range of Rotor Sizes

2.3.4

Power in the Wind

The amount of kinetic energy which the wind transfers to the rotor depends on the rotor area, the wind speed and the density of the air, which varies with altitude. The formula used for calculating the power in the wind is shown below: P = 1 A V 2
3

(2.15)

where, P is power in watts (W)

16

 is the air density in kilograms per cubic metre (1.2 kg/m3) A is the swept rotor area in square metre (m2)
V is the wind speed in metres per second (m/s) The fact that the power is proportional to the cube of the wind speed is very significant. It means that if the wind speed doubles then the power in the wind increases by a factor of eight. 2.3.5 Available Power

Although the Equation (2.15) gives us the power in the wind, the actual power that we can extract from the wind is significantly less than this figure suggests. The actual power will depend on several factors, such as the type of machine and rotor used, the sophistication of blade design, friction losses, and the losses in the pump or other equipment connected to the wind machine. There are also physical limits to the amount of power that can be extracted realistically from the wind. It can be shown theoretically that any wind turbine can only possibly extract a maximum of 59.26% (16/27) of the power from the wind (this is known as the Betz limit). This figure is usually around 45% (maximum) for large electricity producing turbines and around 25-40% for small wind generators [Hulscher & Fraenkel, 1994]. Well-designed blades will typically extract 70% of the theoretical maximum [Rai, 2001].

Thus,

Power Available, Pa =

1 C p A V 3 2

(2.16)

where C p is the capacity factor of the wind machine.

It is also worth bearing in mind that a wind machine will only operate at its maximum efficiency for a fraction of the time it is running, due to variations in wind speed.

2.4

SMALL WIND TURBINE TECHNOLOGY

Though it is not necessarily the case that the cut-in wind speed UC, should be made as low as possible, the lower the wind speed at which the blades start rotating, the sooner power will be extracted as the wind increases. Small wind turbines are designed to extract power from low speeds.

17

2.5

CLASSIFICATION OF WIND TURBINE

Wind turbines in general can be classified in many ways; according to 1. the rated power of the turbine 2. the swept area of the rotor blades 3. the application (to be dealt with in Chapter Four)

2.5.1

Rated Power Classification

Wind turbines can be classified according to their power ratings, large or industrial and small with rated output power of over 500 kW and below 100 kW respectively, as shown in Table 2.3. Table 2.3: Classification of Wind Turbines and typical Dimensions TYPE Rated Power Weight Rotor Diameter Large Wind Turbine Small Wind Turbine - Midi - Mini - Micro
Source: Koenemann (2005)

Height > 50 m < 50 m < 35 m < 20 m < 10 m

> 500 kW < 500 kW < 100 kW < 10 kW < 1 kW

> 40,000 kg < 40,000 kg < 9,000 kg < < 450 kg 50 kg

> 45 m < 45 m < 20 m < 10 m < 3m

2.5.2

Swept Area Classification

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 61400-2 defines a small turbine as having a swept area of less that 200 m2, which corresponds to a power output of about 120 kW. The small wind turbines can be described as Mini and Micro, and generally are wind turbines with rated power output below 10 kW [Wood, 2000].

2.6

TYPES OF SMALL WIND TURBINE

Basically, wind turbines can be divided into two categories, horizontal axis wind turbine and vertical axis wind turbine. 2.6.1 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT)

A horizontal axis wind turbine is one in which the axis of rotation of the shaft of the blade is in the horizontal plane. The horizontal axis wind turbine comes in different

18

types: one-bladed, two-bladed, three-bladed and multi-bladed wind turbines are shown in Figure 2.10.

One-bladed

Two-bladed

Three-bladed

Multi-bladed

Fig. 2.9: Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

2.6.2

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)

A vertical axis wind turbine is one in which the axis of rotation of the shaft of the blade is the vertical plane. Vertical axis wind turbines are of three types: Savonius type rotors, Darrieus type rotors and H-type rotors, as shown in Figure 2.11. They are omnidirectional but usually not self-starting and often require an electric motor to get them starting [Koenemann, 2005].

Most of the designs are drag-based and have tip speed ratio (TSR) less than 1. Thus, these designs turn relatively slowly, but yield a high torque. One might use a gearbox, but then efficiency suffers and the machine may not start at all or with difficulty. Darrieus wind turbines have tip speed ratio (TSR) between 5 and 7 [Rai, 2001].

Savonius type

Darrieus type

H-type

Fig. 2.10: Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

19

2.6.3 2.6.3.1

Modern Model Spiral Blade Type

This modern type wind turbine is a lift-based horizontal type. It has a pair of spiral vanes which are made of glass fibre reinforced compound material. The vanes are bending into axial and radial direction. This bow shape is independent of flow and, in comparison with the conventional units, it is essentially more effective because its induced resistance is very low, strongly reducing the losses of flow. High rotational speed can also be achieved. Wind Converters, as shown in Figure 2.12, can be used in almost any place, in industrial as well as in private areas because of portability and low cut-in wind speed of 2.5 m/s.

Fig. 2.11: Spiral Blade Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

2.7

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL WIND TURBINES

There are several technical parameters that are used to characterise wind machines. The following are characteristics of wind turbines:

2.7.1

Power and Energy Curves

The power curve of a wind turbine relates the power output of the turbine to its operational wind speeds as shown in Figure 2.13. It depicts the characteristics of a particular turbine such as the cut-in and cut-out and the rated wind speeds, and in what suitable wind regime it will easily start generating power. The rated power output of the wind turbine occurs at the rated wind speed. The energy curve provides the total amount of energy a wind turbine produces over a range of annual average wind speeds.

20

Fig. 2.12: The Power and Energy Curve of a 10 kW Wind Turbine

2.7.2

Power rating

Typically small turbines are defined by their power-generating capacity, and rather arbitrarily, considered as turbines less than 100 kW in size [Muir-Harmony, 2001]. The rated power is at rated speed of the wind turbine: 13m/s for smaller wind turbines and 15m/s for larger wind turbines [Wood, 2002]. 2.7.3 Starting Torque

Most small turbines do not have pitch adjustment and so the significant resistive torque caused by generators of small turbines must be overcome aerodynamically at high angles of attack before the blades will start turning. Since these turbines rely on aerodynamic torque for starting, and because Reynolds numbers (Re) are typically small, their operational efficiency is strongly dependent on performance at low wind speeds [Clausen & Wood, 2000].

2.7.4

Blade Radius

The relationship of various properties important to wind machines is shown in Table 2.4, as they relate to the blade radius for a constant tip-speed ratio and blade density. The minimum height of a wind machines tower is directly proportional to the radius of the rotor R. Other important relationships to note from Table 2.7 which have significant

21

effects on wind turbine design are the starting torque, power output, and noise output [Clausen, 1999].

Table 2.4: The Dependence of Important Parameters on Blade Radius Parameter Dependence on Blade Radius Reynolds Number (Re) Minimum Tower height Power Output Noise Output Centrifugal Loads Starting Torque Inertia of Blades R R R2 R2 R2 R3 R5

It is clear from Table 2.4 that micro-turbines have the poorest starting performance which is often worsened by the use of permanent magnet alternators, which can have a significant cogging effect.

2.7.5

Capacity Factors/Efficiency

The efficiency of a wind turbine is defined by its capacity factor, Cp, which relates the output of a turbine to the kinetic energy of the air, and depends on design and the tipspeed ratio. By capacity factor, also known as coefficient of performance, we mean turbines actual annual energy output divided by the theoretical maximum output, if the machine were running at its rated (maximum) power during all of the 8760 hours of the year. CP = Actual Annual Energy Output Maximum Theoretical Energy Output (2.17)

The maximum, theoretically obtainable capacity factor is 0.5926. Well-designed wind turbines will extract approximately 70% of this theoretical value [Weisman & Eckart, 1988; Rai, 2001]. Capacity factor is not strictly efficiency, even though it is sometimes treated as one. However, capacity factor can be interpreted as efficiency when comparing turbines of the same type [Wood, 2002]. Capacity factor is sometimes called the load factor. Wind energy technology has a lower load factor than many other technologies such as coal and hydro.

22

Table 2.5 below shows capacity factors for various classes of wind speeds at 10 m and 50 m. Typical values of capacity factors of wind turbines are also shown in Figure 2.14.

Table 2.5: Net Capacity Factors for Various Classes of Wind Speeds at 10 m and 50 m *Wind Speed *Wind Speed **Wind Speed **Wind Speed Net Capacity Class Range Range Range Range Factor (mph) (m/s) (mph) (m/s) Not worth it 1 <5.6 <9.8 <4.4 0.10 0.21 2 12.5 - 14.3 5.6 - 6.4 9.8 - 11.5 4.4 - 5.1 0.22 0.26 3 14.3 - 15.7 6.4 - 7.0 11.5 - 12.5 5.1 - 5.6 0.27 0.32 4 15.7 - 16.8 7.0 - 7.5 12.5 - 13.4 5.6 - 6.0 0.33 0.38 5 16.8 - 17.9 7.5 - 8.0 13.4 - 14.3 6.0 - 6.4 0.39 0.44 6 17.9 - 19.7 8.0 - 8.8 14.3 - 15.7 6.4 - 7.0

*for wind speeds at 50 m (164 feet) above ground level **for wind speeds at 10 m (33 feet) above ground level (often reported number from airport)
Source: Windustry Wind Power Calculator program

Fig. 2.13: Coefficient of Performance of Wind Turbine

Source: Hulscher and Fraenkel (1994)

2.7.6

The Number of Blades

The general rule for the optimum number of blades on a rotor depends on its function, and can be outlined as follows [Twidell, 2003]: i. electricity generation requires high speed at low torque, so the rotor has few blades ii. water pumping requires large torque at low speed, and thus rotor has many blades 23

2.7.7

Tip Speed

The tip speed ratio simply defines the rate at which the tip of the blade of a wind turbine turns in comparison to how fast the wind is blowing. That is, Tip Speed Ratio, = Blade Tip Speed , Vtip Speed of Wind , U 0 (2.18)

Since tip speed is crucial to power generation, because most of a turbines power is produced near the tip [Wood, 2002], small wind turbines must spin faster than their larger counterparts. This fact strongly contributes to the relationship between noise output and size. Drag devices which use aerodynamic drag to operate always have tip speed ratios less than one and hence turn slowly, whereas lift devices which use aerodynamic lift to operate can have high tip speed ratios (up to 13:1) and hence turn quickly relative to the wind [Wind for Electricity]. Modern wind generators have tip speed ratios of up to 8:1, therefore at wind speeds of 5 m/s, the tips of the blades move at 40 m/s [Wind Power Basics]. Usually, the tip-speed ratio lies between 7 and 10 when a turbine is performing optimally [Wood, 2002], but the design value chosen is between 6 and 12, and does not exceed a tip-speed of 100 m/s [Piggot, 2004b]. Figure 2.15 shows the effect of tip speed ratio and LIFT/DRAG on the performance of the blade.
0.593 0.5

180

0.4

0.3

CP

60

0.2

0.1 0

Fig. 2.14: Effect of Tip Speed Ratio and Lift/Drag on the Performance of the Blade
Source: Piggot (2004b)

24

2.7.8

Operational Speeds

The following are the important operational wind speeds of wind turbine: a. b. c. Start-up wind speed -- the wind speed that will turn an unloaded rotor Cut-in wind speed the minimum wind speed at which energy is generated Rated wind speed the wind speed at which the machine is designed to run (This is at optimum tip-speed ratio) d. Cut-out wind speed the wind speed at which the machine will be turned out of the wind to prevent damage. (Also known as the furling speed) e. Maximum design wind speed the wind speed above which damage could occur to the machine

For a small application the wind has to blow at a speed of 3 m/s. For a large industrial operation the wind speed must be 6 m/s [Schultz, 2004]. Most wind generators will begin producing power at 3 - 4.5 m/s and will reach full output at 11 - 13 m/s. [Bergey, 2005] The cut-out speed for small machines is 15 m/s and 25 m/s for lager machines.

2.7.9

Pitch and Yaw Adjustment

Many small turbines are designed to furl at high speeds. This can be done by yaw (motion in the horizontal plane) or by pitch (a vertical motion of the turbine) adjustment. Mostly used method for furling is to displace the turbine axis horizontally from the yaw axis. The tail fin is spring loaded to allow collapse at sufficiently high wind speed. Pitch control is rarely used on small wind turbines because of cost. [Wood, 2002]

2.7.10 Solidity Solidity is usually defined as the percentage of the area of the rotor, which contains material rather than air. Low-solidity machines, such as wind turbines, run at higher speed and tend to be used for electricity generation. High-solidity machines, such as windpumps, carry a lot of material and have coarse blade angles. They generate much higher starting torque than low-solidity machines but are inherently less efficient than low-solidity machines. High solidity machines will have a low tip-speed ratio and vice versa [Wind for Electricity]. Increasing the blade number at a given solidity has also indicated higher power coefficients. A higher solidity and/or blade number could extract

25

more energy at a lower speed and offer additional advantages of lower noise, lower cutin wind speed, and less blade erosion [Visser, 2004].

Table 2.6 below shows other technical characteristics of both horizontal and vertical small wind turbines:

Table 2.6: Technical Characteristics of Horizontal and Vertical Small Wind Turbines Solidity Type Speed Torque Cp Use (%)
Horizontal Axis

Multi-bladed Aerofoil Three-bladed Aerofoil

Vertical Axis

Low High

High Low

0.25 0.4 Up to 0.45

50 80 Mechanical Power <5 Electricity Production

Panemone Savonius Darrieus

Low Moderate Moderate

Medium

< 0.1

50

Mechanical Power

Medium 0.15 100 Mechanical Power Very low 0.25 0.35 10 20 Electricity Production

Source: Wind for Electricity, www.itdg.org

2.8

MATERIALS

Material selection is very much important in the manufacturing of small wind turbine. A wide range of materials is used in wind turbines. Mostly, aluminium alloy, stainless steel and plastic materials are used for all external parts to prevent corrosion, backed up by the comprehensive use of rubber seals. Rotor blades are either glass reinforced plastic, wood-epoxy or injection moulded plastic with carbon fibres. The hub is made of steel and aluminium. Aluminium is mostly used for the tower of small wind machines.

Small machines tend to use lighter weight castings in an effort to reduce costs. Many parts are die cast aluminium in small turbines, while in large machines steel castings or forgings are needed to meet strength and structural fatigue requirements [Ancona and McVeigh, 2001]. Table 2.7 shows the proportion of materials used for the components.

26

Table 2.7: Proportion of Materials used for the Components of Wind Turbines Large Turbines and (Small Turbines1)
Component/ Material (% by weight) Rotor Hub Blades Nacelle2 Gearbox3 Permanent Magnetic Pre-stressed Materials Concrete Steel Aluminum Copper Carbon Glass Wood Filament Reinforced Epoxy4 Reinforced Plastic4 Plastic4

(17)

(95) 100 5 (65) 80 98 (100)

(5) 3-4 (0) 2 14 (<1) 2 95 1- (2) (95) (95)

Generator (20) 65 (30) 35 (50) Frame, 85 (74) 9 (50) 4 3 (5) Machinery & (12) Shell Tower 2 98 (2) Notes: 1 Small turbines with rated power less than 100 kW- (listed in italics where different) 2 Assumes nacelle is 1/3 gearbox, 1/3 generator and 1/3 frame & machinery 3 Approximately half of the small turbine market (measured in MW) is direct drive with no gearbox 4 Rotor blades are either glass reinforced plastic, wood-epoxy or injection moulded plastic with carbon fibres Source: Ancona & McVeigh, (2001), Princeton Energy Resources International, LLC

27

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

The methodology used for this thesis is illustrated as follows: i. Data collection from sites where small wind turbines are used ii. Analysis of the data iii. Economic analysis with RETScreen, a renewable energy technology simulator

3.1

SITES VISIT AND DATA COLLECTION

A visit to 13 sites where small wind turbine technology has been applied in Ghana was done. The Power to the Poor in Ghana wind energy project, a rural wind energy project, is taken as a case study and its applications described. Most of these sites lie along the coast of Ghana where the wind speeds are moderate. Data is collected at some sites and analysed. The technical characteristics, application and performance of the turbines at the various sites at the time of visits are compiled.

3.2

TECHNICAL PARAMETERS

The following technical parameters are calculated for the various sites visited based on the data from the sites: 3.2.1 Energy Consumption

The energy consumption of a household is calculated using Equation (3.1).

Energy Consumption = ( RatedPower of Gadget Number of Hours used )

(3.1)

3.2.2

Rated Power of Turbine

A community project is analysed and the rated wind turbine capacity to satisfy the required energy demand is calculated using Equation (3.2).

28

Rated Power of Wind Turbine =

Annual Energy Output C P 8760

(3.2)

3.2.3

Daily Operating Hours

The daily operating hours of a particular wind turbine at a household is determined by observing the number of hours the wind turbine runs continuously in a day.

3.3

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SMALL WIND TURBINE

The economic analysis is pivoted around the economic concept of levelised energy cost which is based on the principle of cost recovery. The levelised energy cost or unit cost of electricity of the wind power system is compared with other unit cost of electricity of alternatives. Two sets of scenarios are also created and assessed economically: a community project in which power is supplied to the whole community based on their annual energy consumption, and projects based on different energy consumptions. The following economic indicators are used to assess the viability of the wind energy project: Annual Worth Levelised Energy Cost of Electricity The Simple Payback Period (SPB) Net Present Value (NPV) Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

3.3.1 3.3.1.1

Cost Analysis of Small Wind Turbines Life Cycle Cost

The life cycle cost comprises the capital cost of the project, the operation and maintenance cost and the replacement cost over the systems lifetime, suitably discounted. The fuel cost of wind turbine is free.

3.3.1.2

Capital Cost

Costs of smaller systems (less than 1 kW) vary widely, with installed costs from $2,000 to $3,000 per installed kilowatt [Dodge, 2002] while a grid-connected residential-scale

29

system (1-10 kW) generally costs between $2,400 and $3,000 per installed kilowatt [Wind Energy Economics, 2000].

3.3.1.3

Operation and Maintenance (O & M) Cost

With wind energy, and many other renewable energy technologies, the fuel is free. Therefore once the project has been paid for, the only costs are operation and maintenance and fixed costs, such as land rental to keep the project running. Annual maintenance and insurance costs are typically in the range of 2-3% of the capital cost [Wind Energy Economics, 2000].

3.3.2

Economic Indicators

The following economic indicators, based on life cycle cost analysis as defined by Gregory et al. (1997), are used to determine the annual worth and the unit cost of generating electricity of the wind project:

3.3.2.1

Annual Worth

The annual worth is used to discount future values (total life cycle costs) into a series of annual payments (annuities) of equal amount over the duration of a project. Total Life Cycle Cost Total life cycle cost (LCC) is the sum of all discounted cost or payments occurring during the lifetime of the system. These include the total capital cost (TCC), life cycle operation and maintenance cost (LCOMC), life cycle replacement cost (LCRC) and savings over the lifetime of the system (LCS), as defined by Equation (3.3). The savings are in the form of tax exemptions and avoided cost, which is the cost the consumer would have paid for using an alternative technology, say, electricity tariff from the grid.
LCC = TCC + LCOMC + LCRC LCS

(3.3)

Annualised Life Cycle Cost Annualised life cycle cost (ALCC), the total life cycle cost expressed in terms of constant average cost per year, is defined by Equation (3.4)

30

ALCC

TLCC Pa (n)

(3.4)

where Pa (n) is the annualisation factor or the present value factor which is used to discount future values into a series of annual payments of equal amount, as defined by Equation (3.5) Pa (n) = a (1 a n ) 1 a a - nominal discount factor = (3.5)

1 1+ d

n - period of analysis d - nominal or real discount rate

Annualised Capital Cost Annualised capital cost is defined by Equation (3.6)

ACC

TCC Pa (n)

(3.6)

Annualised O & M Cost Annualised O & M cost is defined by Equation (3.7)

AOMC =

LCOMC Pa (n)

(3.7)

Annualised Replacement Cost Annualised replacement cost is defined by Equation (3.8)

ARC

LCRC Pa (n)

(3.8)

3.3.2.2

Levelised Energy Cost

Levelised energy cost (LEC) which is the unit cost of generated electricity is most useful figure for comparing energy systems. It expresses the average cost of generating a unit of useful energy during the lifetime of the system, as defined by Equation (3.9) 31

Levelised Energy Cost ($ / kWh) =

Annualised Life Cycle Cost Annual Energy Supplied

(3.9)

3.3.2.3

Simple Payback Period

The purpose of calculating the simple payback period is to determine the point in time at which the capital invested in an investment project will be recovered by the annual returns.

If F0 is the investment cost and Ft is the net cash flow in period t, then the simple payback period (SPB) is defined as the smallest value of N that satisfies the expression

N min = SPB t=0

Ft 0

(3.10)

The SPB can also be determined by relating the capital invested to the annual returns:

SPB = where

Investment Cost , F0 Annual Return, AR

(3.11)

Annual Return, AR = ( Avoided Cost ) + (Revenue) (O & M Cost ) (Taxes ) + (Subsidy ) (3.12)

The criterion is seldom used with discounting. The simple payback period is calculated easily, but it has serious deficiencies because it does not consider the time value of money and the performance of the investment after the payback period, including the magnitude and timing of cash flows and the expected life of the investment.

3.3.2.4

Net Present Value

The Net Present Value (NPV) is also called the net present worth. It is the difference between the present worth of all expenses and the present worth of all revenues, including savings, during the life cycle of the investment (system). A general expression for the Net Present Value (NPV) is: 32

NPV =

t = 0 (1 + d t )

Ft
t

(3.13)

where Ft is the profit or net cash flow (revenue + savings expenses) in year t.

Positive Net Present Value (NPV) indicates the economic viability of an investment under the specified conditions of the discount rate d, and the economic life time of the investment N. The greater the value the more profitable the investment. Where there are several alternative investment possibilities, the NPV of the different projects are compared with each other and the investment with the highest NPV is selected, satisfying the minimum criterion of NPV > 0. 3.3.2.5 Internal Rate of Return

The Internal Rate of Return is defined as the interest rate that causes the present worth of a series of expenses to be equal to the present worth of a series of revenues. Alternatively, it is defined as the interest rate that will result in zero NPV. That is, the internal rate of return of an investment is the market discount rate d, which satisfies the equation:
NPV = = t* t
N

t = 0 1+ d

(3.14)

Hence:

IRR = d*

(3.15)

When applying the internal rate of return method an investment is viewed favourably if the IRR is either equal to or greater than the pre-determined cut-off discount rate, d. The following must hold true: IRR d (3.16)

3.4

RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY (RET) SIMULATOR

Two Renewable Energy Technology (RET) tools, RETScreen and Wind Energy Payback Period Workbook, are used for the technical and economic analyses of the projects discussed in the Thesis. They both have in-built models which take technical and financial inputs for simulations.

33

3.4.1

RETScreen Wind Energy Project Model 2

The RETScreen Wind Energy Project Model is a clean energy project analysis software developed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). It is mostly used for preliminary evaluation of renewable energy projects, decision-support and capacity building. It is also used to evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs and greenhouse gas emission reductions and performs financial analysis for various types of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies. RETScreen has six worksheets (Energy Model, Equipment Data, Cost Analysis, Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Analysis (GHG Analysis), Financial Summary and Sensitivity and Sensitivity Analysis). Energy Model: the Energy Model worksheet helps the user calculate the annual energy production for a wind energy project based upon local site conditions (wind data source, height of wind measurement, annual average wind speed, Wind shear exponent etc.), system characteristics (grid type, peak load, number of turbines to be installed, wind energy absorption rate etc.) and annual energy production.. Equipment Data: this worksheet is used to specify the wind equipment for the project; wind turbine characteristics and power and energy curve data Cost Analysis: the Cost Analysis worksheet helps the user estimate costs associated with a wind energy project. Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Analysis (GHG Analysis): The GHG Analysis worksheet is provided to help the user estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of the proposed project. Financial Summary: The Financial Summary worksheet, with its financial parameters input items (e.g. avoided cost of energy, discount rate, debt ratio, etc.), and its calculated financial feasibility output items (e.g. IRR, simple payback, NPV), allows the project decision-maker to consider various financial parameters with relative ease. Sensitivity and Risk Analysis: The Sensitivity worksheet is provided to help the user estimate the sensitivity of important financial indicators in relation to key technical and financial parameters.

RETScreen software is available from http://www.retscreen.ca

34

3.4.2

Wind Energy Payback Period Workbook (v1.0)

Like the RETScreen, Wind Energy Payback Period Workbook (v1.0) is a spreadsheet which is used for preliminary evaluation of wind energy projects. The main features are as briefly described below:

Financial Assumptions: the type of financing of the project, interest rate, loan agreement and debt term are input here. The program gives room for user-defined financing.

Site Characteristics: site description (average wind speed, site elevation, anemometer height etc.) is done here. System Properties: this worksheet provides the cost of the wind turbine (installed, variable costs etc.) and describes the technical characteristics of the wind turbine.

Cash Flow: this sheet shows the revenue and the expenses (cumulative cash flow) of a wind energy project over the lifetime of the wind energy system.

Cash Flow Graph and Power Curve Graph: the graphs of the cash flow and the power curve of the wind turbine are depicted here.

3.4.3

Constraints and Limitations

The following were some of the major problems and challenges faced during the compilation of data for this thesis: 1. The thesis focuses on small wind turbines for electricity generation and not for applications such as water pumping 2. The case study project was ongoing and therefore, onsite wind speed data was not enough.

35

CHAPTER FOUR

APPLICATIONS OF SMALL WIND TURBINES IN GHANA

4.1

TYPICAL APPLICATION OF SMALL WIND TURBINES

A classification of small wind turbine application consists of twelve areas of use: Commercial, Industrial, Urban, Rural, Private, Educational, Offshore, Remote, Mobile, Portable, Recreational and Water Pumping. [Koenemann, 2005] Meteorological and communication stations in remote areas, lighthouses and measurement buoys, fishing boats, traffic signs on country roads and on motorways and recreational vehicles that often find themselves in the deserts, are mostly powered with wind generators. Most of these applications are with storage. Figures 4.1 and 4.2 show some of the applications. Also, businesses that have equipment requiring large amount of power for a short time, such as the bakeries, and other small businesses which have to heat an electric oven once a day to produce, for example large plastic products, use small wind energy technology. In most cases small wind turbines with less than 1 kW of power are used, often in combination with solar PV modules.

Fig. 4.15: A Boat powered by AIR X marine Wind Turbine

36

Fig. 4.16.2: Recreational Vehicles powered by Small Wind Turbines

4.2

WATER PUMPING

Windpumps are windmills for pumping water. They are usually used for pumping drinking water (either for livestock or human consumption) from boreholes in remote arid and semi-arid rural areas. Water pumping is basically for the following:

Livestock watering. Small-scale crop irrigation. Residential water pumping for human consumption and domestic usage Pumping of seawater brine for sea-salt production Dewatering of waterlogged land. National & State Park facilities. Direct Coupling/Mechanical Pumping

4.2.1

Wind machines are coupled directly to a reciprocating pump or diaphragm pump for water pumping. Direct coupling requires installation directly over the well. Multibladed wind turbines and windmills are mostly used for this application because direct coupling requires high torque and low rotational speed. Figure 4.3 shows a diaphragm windpump being used for irrigation.

37

Fig. 4.3: Diaphragm windpump being used for Irrigation

4.2.2

Electric Pumping

Using newly developed wind-electric pumping technology, wind turbine systems are also being used for village water supply and irrigation. The wind turbines are connected to electric pumps such as submersible pumps, circulating pumps and surface water pumps. Wind-electric pumping system allows one to place the wind turbine in the best wind location up to several hundred meters away. These new wind turbines provide an alternative to the traditional diesel powered pump. In Morocco the government, with the support of US-AID, is using wind-electric pumping systems to replace diesel powered pumps that are too expensive for the local people to operate. In the Naima Rural Commune, near Oujda in northeast Morocco, two 10 kW wind turbines are supplying four villages with several times the water volume previously pumped by diesels generators. The villagers prefer the wind turbines both because they deliver more water and because they cost nothing to operate [Small Turbines, 2004]. Submersible Pumps The submersible pumps are used for deep well application and surface water application. They can be submersed as deep as necessary and can be installed in a stream, pond, tank or shallow well, in any position. Submersion depth does not affect the performance or place additional stress on the pump or motor.

38

The pumps can lift water from as deep as 760 ft (230 m) and can pump an amount of 25,000 gallons (135 m3) per day for use and/or storage. Submersible pumps connected to a wind turbine eliminate the costs of fuel, delivery, engine maintenance, and pollution [Small Turbines, 2004]. Surface Pumps Surface pumps are installed at ground level to lift water from shallow water sources such as shallow wells, ponds, streams or storage tanks. Surface pumps can also be used to provide pressurized water for irrigation or home water systems. Some use wind electric power to pump as much as 50,000 gallons of water per day from shallow sources and can lift water up to 90 feet (27 m) at lower flow rates.

4.3

OTHER APPLICATIONS

The application can also be classified according to the technology or system used: stand-alone, hybrid or grid connected systems. 4.3.1 Stand-Alone System

Basically, for this system, a single energy technology is used alone without the supplement of any other technology. During low wind speeds or down-time no power is generated for any application or battery charging. 4.3.2 Hybrid System

Hybrid systems combine two or three different energy technologies to produce power in order to save fuel and provide 24-hour power supply. These systems run alternately when one system is down, i.e. wind speeds are low; the sun is set, or diesel fuel is usedup or unavailable. As one runs, the other(s) serves as a back-up system. The hybrid system tends to be cost effective to the stand-alone system and most suitable for remote application. Hybrid systems include batteries which add to the cost and complexity of the installation, but provide an uninterruptible power supply. A typical wind/diesel hybrid system with a storage system consists of the following elements [Stand-alone System]: a: Wind turbine

39

b:

Rectifier, which transforms the variable voltage / frequency output of the wind turbine generator to a DC output. The battery bank, which is required to cover 12 to 24 hours of consumption The charge controller, which prevents the batteries from over-charging. Grid management system transforms the DC current to a 230/ 400 VAC output of 50 Hz in such a way that it can run in a stand alone mode or grid connected mode. Diesel generator set Automatic start/stop system for the diesel generator set, which activates when the load is greater than the output of the wind turbine

c. d. e:

f: g:

4.3.3

Grid-Connected System

This system is most suitable for urban or residential application. In this system, the wind generator is connected to the utility's lines or the grid to supplement the grid when there are blackouts. Through a grid management system the current generated by the wind generator can be converted into AC current according to the requirements and standards of the local utility. In general, annual average wind speeds of 5 m/s are required for grid-connected applications. Annual average wind speeds of 3 to 4 m/s may be adequate for non-connected electrical and mechanical applications such as battery charging and water pumping.

4.4

SPECIFIC APPLICATION IN GHANA

There are a number of small wind turbines installed throughout the country for electric power production. These include one mounted by DENG Ltd. at Alajo, Accra; one installed at a residence at Anlo; and ten (10) installed under the Ministry of Energy Power to the Poor in Ghana project. 4.4.1 Commercial (DENG Ltd.)

DENG Ltd. has mounted on top of their two storey office complex at Alajo junction, Accra, a 900W Southwest Windpowers Whisper H40. The wind turbine produces 12 to 48VDC, and it is mounted on a 3 m guyed tower as shown in Figure 4.4.

40

The prevailing wind direction is south-west and has an average wind speed of 3.5 m/s at 12 m hub height. There are few buildings around but in the prevailing wind direction is a road under construction. Buildings are located about 200-300 m in that direction The turbine used to power few lights but is now running on no load.

Fig. 4.4: Whisper H40 Mounted on Top of DENG Building

4.4.2

Private Residence

A wind generator is mounted on a wooden pole about 6 m above ground level at a private residence at Anlo. It is mounted just by the house which is situated in the direction of the prevailing wind serving as a worth mentioning obstacle as shown in Figure 4.5. The prevailing wind direction is south-west.

Fig. 4.5: A Small Wind Turbine Mounted in front of a Residence at Anlo

41

4.4.3

Power to the Poor in Ghana Project

Power to the Poor in Ghana Project (to be discussed in the next section) has ten sites where small wind turbines are used.

The various applications of the small wind energy technology under this project are as follows: Lighting of 18 CFLs and powering of refrigerator and TV for a residential house Lighting of three 60 W fluorescent lights for a salt production centre Powering of seven 40 W fluorescent lights, Computer, 30" television and two ceiling fans for a primary school Powering of Computer, Table-top refrigerator and Projector at IIR, CSIR Soldering at IIR, CSIR Battery charging Lighting for a pub Powering of church musical equipment

42

4.5 4.5.1

POWER TO THE POOR IN GHANA PROJECT 3 Background and Objective

On the 22nd of July 2004, the first Ghanaian made wind turbine was launched at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Accra, under the project dubbed Power to the Poor in Ghana, to use wind power to generate electricity in rural areas. Power to the Poor in Ghana was a collaborative effort of Ministry of Energy (MOE), the World Bank, Enterprise Works Worldwide (EWW), Rural Energy and Environment Systems (REES), Accra Polytechnic and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The main objective of the project was to demonstrate that wind-powered generators made by local artisans are the most sustainable and commercially viable option for providing electricity to businesses and service providers in poor, isolated, off-grid, communities in Ghana with suitable wind conditions.

The key activities were as follows: a. Select and train manufacturers to build and install 500-watt wind turbines using locally available materials. b. Select ten demonstration sites (businesses, private service providers) and fit premises with wind-power units. c. Monitor units for reliability, ease of operation, power output and other impacts.

The target of the project was existing businesses or well-run private service providers in isolated communities. The project also sought to demonstrate the sustainability and commercial viability of electric power production from Ghanaian-made wind turbines for isolated communities. Eighteen local artisans were therefore trained to build and install ten 500-Watt capacity wind turbines from materials from the local market. The local wind turbine was the design of Mr. Hugh Piggot of Scoraig Wind Electricals, United Kingdom, who was also the main Technical Consultant and responsible for the training of the local artisans. The project was funded by the World Bank Development Marketplace program.
3

Information on this project was from Renewable Energy Unit of Ministry of Energy, Enterprise Works Ghana, REES, personal site visitation and interview of some project team members, and personal observations.

43

4.5.2

Project Sites

The first locally manufactured wind generator was installed at the Institute of Industrial Research of CSIR to facilitate easy monitoring and better understanding of the project. With information from the Meteorological Service Department, Energy Commission, District Assemblies, the Tourist Board and other sources, the following communities were selected: Tomefa, Ga District; Togbloku, Dangbe East District; Alorkplem, Dangbe East District; Afiadenyigba, South Tongu District; Kpenu, South Tongu District; Taxe-Anloga, Keta District and Nyanyano, Efutu District. Wind speed of 5 m/s was estimated for all the sites. This was because most of the sites are around Adafoah, which has favourable annual average wind speed of 5.3 m/s at 12 m a.g.l. [Energy Commission, Ghana, 2003]. These adopters were mainly small-scale business entrepreneurs and service providers living in isolated off-grid communities on islands where grid electricity cannot immediately reach. Applications included electric power for residential homes, primary schools, a health centre, a grocery kiosk and battery charging, The following criteria were used to select the communities and adopters: i. ii. iii. iv. Location having favourable wind speed. Location not immediately accessible to the national electricity grid. Community having moderate to high economic activity Location within 200 km from Accra to enhance easy monitoring and troubleshooting. v. Ability of beneficiary adopter to pay for the locally manufactured wind turbine.

4.5.3

Residential House

At the residence of the Head of Renewable Energy unit of the Ministry of Energy and Director of Rural Energy and Environment Systems (REES), at Taxe-Anloga, Keta District, a 1 kW Bergey XL 1 has been installed on a 20 m lattice tower, to supply power to light fourteen 5W CFLs, four 15W CFLs for the house, a television set, refrigerator and for a radio. The prevailing wind direction is south-west. The turbine site is next to a storey building with few 10 m-high coconut trees around. There exist no

44

major obstacles to the turbine. Four 12V 100 Ah batteries connected to a 1 kW inverter produce 220V AC output.

Fig. 4.6: Bergey XL 1 Mounted at a Residence at Taxe

4.5.4

Salt Production Unit

A local salt production centre at Afiadenyigba, South Tongu District, is being lit with a 600 W locally-made wind turbine mounted on an 18 m guyed-tower. The prevailing wind direction is south. The site is located near the sea on a flat, plain, low grass land in an isolated area. The only load is three 60 W fluorescent bulbs with 1000W inverter. A two series-connected 12V, 100 Ah battery is being used.

45

Fig. 4.7: Locally-made Wind Turbine Mounted at a Salt Production Unit

4.5.5

Primary School

A 1 kW Bergey XL 1 shown in Figure 4.8 has been mounted at Kpenu Primary School, Kpenu in the South Tongu District. It is mounted on an 18 m guyed-tower in front of the school. There are few mango trees around, about 30 m away. The wind prevails in the south-west direction. As shown in Figure 4.9, a 30" television set is being powered by the wind generator through a two series-connected 12V, 100 Ah battery and an inverter. The school has seven 40W fluorescent lights, a computer, and two ceiling fans which are also being powered by the wind generator.

Fig. 4.8: Bergey XL 1 Mounted at Kpenu Primary School

46

Fig. 4.9: Primary School Children and Community Members Watching a Television Powered by the Wind Turbine

4.5.6

Research Centre

A 600 W locally-made wind turbine mounted on an 18 m guyed-tower is installed at the Institute of Industrial Research (IIR) of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), East Legon, Accra. The prevailing wind direction is south-south-West, with residential buildings located about 60 m in the direction of prevailing wind. The topography of the site is flat with grass around. At the CSIR, the wind generator is located about 25 m away from the building which houses the battery, controller and the inverter. Cables are laid underground to carry power from the generator to a two seriesconnected 12V, 100 Ah battery. AC from the 2 kW inverter is used to power a set of computer with internet facility, a table-top refrigerator, a projector for power-point presentation and for soldering. During high winds power output of 700 W is provided to support all these equipment concurrently.

Fig. 4.10: A Locally-made Wind Turbine Mounted at Institute of Industrial Research (IIR), CSIR, Accra

47

Fig. 4.11: A Computer with Internet Facility being Powered by the Wind Turbine at IIR, CSIR, Accra

4.5.7

Battery Charging Centre

A 600 W locally-made wind turbine used to be mounted on a 20 m lattice tower at Tomefa in the Ga District, across the Weija dam, for commercial battery charging, but the system was removed because of frequent breakdown. It used to charge batteries at 4,000 per battery as against 5,000 when charged at Weija. The system was also intended to power a refrigerator for a drinking bar. The system was mounted right in the centre of the town with few buildings around. 4.5.8 Chief Palace and Pub

A 1 kW Bergey XL 1 was mounted at Tomefa in the Ga District, across the Weija Lake. It is mounted on an 18 m guyed-tower, very few metres from the shore of the Weija Lake. The system had been removed because of frequent breakdown, but it was being used to supply power for lighting, radio/tape recorder, 30" television set and a refrigerator. Inverters were frequently being damaged. 4.5.9 Church

A 1 kW Bergey XL 1 is mounted on 18 m guyed tower at Alorkplem, Dangbe East District, across the Volta Lake. There are few trees and a building around. The prevailing wind direction is south-southwest. It provides power for lighting for Bethel Evangelical Church for its evening activities. The church intends to use it to power some few musical equipment. The system produces a 220V AC output from four 12V 100 Ah batteries with 1000 W inverter. About three imported and locally built inverters have been blown by the system.

48

4.5.10

Battery Charging Centre & Pastors Residence

A 600 W locally-made wind turbine is mounted on an 18 m guyed tower at Alorkplem, Dangbe East District, for battery charging. The system is mounted about 30 m off the shore of the Volta Lake and produces 220V AC output from one 12V 100 Ah batteries with 1000 W inverter. The prevailing wind direction is south-southwest. A heavy storm and downpour in April, 2005 broke the wooden blades which has rendered the system inactive to date. Two to three batteries could be charged per week at 5,000. The system is also used by the resident pastor of Bethel Evangelical Church for residential use as shown in the Figure 4.12.

Fig. 4.12: The Beneficiary Enjoying Clean Lighting and TV at his Residence

4.5.11

Residential House

At Togbloku, Dangbe East District, a 1 kW Bergey XL 1 is mounted at the residence of a former member of Council of State. The system is mounted on a 20 m lattice tower just by his house and about 20 m to a lake as shown in Figure 4.13. Prevailing wind direction is south-southwest. The beneficiary uses it to power two CFLs, ten incandescent lights and a 14" B/W TV. He intends using the system to power his refrigerator for his drinking bar business.

49

Fig. 4.13: 1 kW Bergey XL1 Mounted at Tobloku for Residential use

4.5.12

Beach Resort

A 600 W locally-made turbine is mounted on an 18 m guyed tower at Nyanyano, Efutu District, and it is used to run a beach resort.

Table A-1 in Appendix A shows a summary of the application of small wind turbines in Ghana.

50

4.6

TECHNICAL DATA OF THE IMPORTED WIND TURBINE AND LOCALLY-MADE WIND TURBINE

Table 4.1 below shows the specifications for the imported Bergey and locally-made wind turbines used for the Power to the Poor in Ghana project. The blades of the locally-made turbine are from seasoned wood and are designed to run at tip-speed ratio of 7. The blades are tapered and twisted up to a tip chord of 55 mm from a root width of 150 mm. The alternator consists of a stator disk sandwiched between two magnet rotors [Piggot, 2004]. Table 4.1: Specifications of Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines Imported Wind Turbine Specification Locally-made Wind Turbine2 (Bergey XL11) Type Rotor diameter Blade material Drive Rated Power Start-up wind speed Cut-in wind speed Rated wind speed Cut-out wind speed Tip-speed ratio Generator Max. Power Output
1 2

3 blade upwind, HAWT 2.5m Fibreglass Direct 1000 W 3 m/s 2.5 m/s 11 m/s Permanent Magnet Alternator 1600 W

3 blade upwind, HAWT 2.4m Emire wood Direct 600 W 3 m/s

7:1 Permanent Magnet Alternator

www.bergey.com Wind Power to the Poor in Ghana, www.enterpriseworks.org; Piggot, H. (2004), How to build a Wind Turbine, www.scoraigwind.com/ghana.html

Table 4.2 shows the electrical energy output estimated for the locally-made wind turbine on a site with average wind speed of 5 m/s: Table 4.2: Energy Output of Locally-made Wind Turbine Diameter Average Power Energy per day Amp-hours @ 24V Amp-hours @ 12V 2.4 m 80 W 2 kWh 80 Amph 160 Amph

Source: How to build a Wind Turbine (Piggot, 2004)

51

CHAPTER FIVE

VIABILITY OF VARIOUS SMALL WIND TURBINE APPLICATIONS

This chapter discusses the technical and economic viability of the small wind turbine application discussed in the previous chapters. Data taken from some sites are analysed. Also, the levelised energy cost of electricity of the wind turbine is compared to other decentralised energy alternatives such as petrol generator and solar photovoltaic.

5.1

DATA TAKEN

Data taken on the performance of the small wind turbines were at only two sites, at the residence at Taxe-Anloga and at the Kpenu Primary School, Kpenu. The data were taken for two months, March and April, 2005. Tables C1-C4 in Appendix C show the two months data taken at Taxe and Kpenu. 5.1.1 Analysis of Data

Various deductions were made from the analyses of the data. Out of the 47 days observed, the turbine ran continuously for 37 days at the residence at Taxe, resulting in 78% running time. Also, the turbine at Taxe ran for about 96% of the day while the one at the Kpenu ran for about 88% of the day as indicated in Table 5.1.

It should be noted that the blades of the wind turbine could not rotate, for about half a day, after every heavy downpour. Table 5.1: Wind Generator Average Daily Operating Hours March 05 April 05 Average Site (hrs) (hrs) (hrs) Residential House @ Taxe 22.52 23.70 23.11 Primary School @ Kpenu 20.59 21.44 21.02

(%) 96.3 87.6

From Figures 5.1 to 5.4 drawn from Tables C1-C4 in Appendix C, it was realized that the evenings recorded higher battery voltage than the mornings for Kpenu primary school. On the contrary, for the residential house at Taxe, the mornings were higher

52

than the evenings. The average number of green lights, which indicates the level of energy in the battery, was 5 for the day and 4 for the evening. This means that the system was most utilised in the evenings. It also means that wind speeds were higher in the day than in the evening.

VARIATION OF VOLTAGE FOR MARCH '05 FOR TAXE 36

Battery Voltage (V)

32 28 24 20 16 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 Days
MORNING EVENING

Fig. 5.1: Variation of Voltage at Residential House at Taxe for March 05

VARIATION OF VOLTAGE FOR APRIL '05 FOR TAXE 36

Battery Voltage (V)

32 28 24 20 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Days 10 11 12 13 14 15
MORNING EVENING

Fig. 5.2: Variation of Voltage at Residential House at Taxe for April 05

53

VARIATION OF VOLTAGE FOR MARCH '05 FOR KPENU 36

Battery Voltage (V)

32 28 24 20 16 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 Days
MORNING EVENING

Fig. 5.3: Variation of Voltage at Kpenu Primary School for March 05

VARIATION OF VOLTAGE FOR APRIL'05 FOR KPENU 36

Battery Vlotage (V)

32 28 24 20 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Days
MORNING EVENING

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Fig. 5.4: Variation of Voltage at Kpenu Primary School for April 05

It could also be seen from Figures 5.1 and 5.2 that the battery voltages were always above the rated voltage of 24V both in the mornings and the evenings, ranging from 26.1V to 28.9V, which is an indication that enough power could be provided all the time. The voltage at Kpenu primary school ranged between 23.2V and 28.4V.

From data taken, it could be observed that the wind turbine usually stops rotating between the hours of 03:00 and 05:00 hours GMT and resumes rotating between 08:00 and 10:00 hours GMT.

54

5.1.2

Energy Consumption

Figure 5.5 shows the daily average energy consumption at the various sites based on Equation (3.1). Details of the daily average energy consumption of the sites are shown in Appendix B. The last column on the table describes when the peak load occurs. It should be noted that some of the electrical gadgets had irregular use.
Daily Average Energy Consumption (kWh/day)
8.00

Energy Consumption (kWh/day)

7.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00

6.720 5.720

3.220 2.160 1.704 0.685 IIR-CSIR 0.126

3.248

Taxe Kpenu Afiadenyigba Alorkplem1 Alorkplem2 Tobloku Tomefa1 Tomefa2 Nyanyano (Beach (Battery (Residence) (Prim. Sch.) (Salt Prod. (Pastor's (Church) (Residence) (Chief's Palace) Charg. Unit) Resort) Hse.) Sites Unit)

Fig. 5.5: Daily Average Energy Consumption for various Sites

5.2

PERFORMANCE OF SYSTEM

Economic viability of small wind turbine technology depends on wind speed at the site of interest, performance of a wind turbine system, and unit cost of electricity generated. 5.2.1 Wind Speed

With an average wind speed of 5 m/s at 12 m a.g.l used for the application it is realised that adequate power could be generated and was sufficient for all the various applications. The turbines ran over 90% of the day which made the selected sites suitable for the technology in terms of wind speed. The wind speeds may be too high for the technology which resulted in overcharging of the batteries. Wind speed of 5 m/s at 12 m a.g.l used for the applications suggests that the wind speed at hub heights using Power Law was 5.57 m/s, which satisfied the minimum suggested wind speed of 5 m/s for cost-effective application of small wind systems [Hulscher & Fraenkel, 1994], as shown in Table 5.2. The sites selected were therefore suitable for the application of the technology.

55

Table 5.2: General Relationship between Economic Viability and Wind Speed Average annual wind Possibilities for wind energy use speed @ 10m a.g.l < 3 m/s Not usually viable 3 4 m/s Unlikely to be viable for wind generators; may be an option for wind pumps 4 5 m/s Stand-alone wind generators may be viable; wind pumps may be competitive with diesel pumps > 5 m/s Viable, both for stand-alone generators and wind pumps > 7 m/s Viable for stand-alone, grid-connected wind generators and wind pumps
Source: Hulscher & Fraenkel (1994)

5.2.2

Performance of a Wind Turbine Technology

Table 5.3 shows a compilation of observations made on the performance of the imported and locally-made wind turbines. Whereas some of the systems were running smoothly at some sites, intermittent breakdowns occurred at some sites. Critically observing the performance of the wind turbine, one would realise that the actual breakdowns occurred with the accessories. The turbines were running smoothly with the exception of two, which had water entering the packing, and blades getting broken as a result of a heavy storm. The locally-made inverters got blown frequently, but surprisingly, replaced imported inverters got blown likewise. The seriousness of the problem was such that three (3) to four (4) inverters blew up within less than half a year at one particular site. From observation, Improper sizing: the turbines most of time generate more power than needed, as shown in Figures 5.1 to 5.4, because of high wind speeds. The excess power at most places was not well dissipated. Only three sites had a mechanism of dissipating the excess power, by using a DC bulb as a dump load. The design of the systems of the Power to the Poor project did not match the load or demand. Bad wiring also contributed to the breakdown of the system. Rewiring at some places curbed the problem though it could not eliminate the problem.

56

Noise during windy periods: during stormy and windy weather the wind generator produces disturbing, irritating noise, and vibrates the tower. These increase as the intensity of the wind speed increases. No instrument for monitoring or data recording: it was also observed that all the project sites, except for IIR of CSIR, had no measuring instruments, such as data logger and anemometers for the monitoring of the project. Battery charging centres are not able to check battery level when charging. Inadequate data: not much technical data was taken. The only parameters taken were battery voltage, time the turbine starts turning and stops turning, and the energy level of the battery using the number of green lights from the battery controller. The most important parameter, the wind speed, was not recorded.

57

Table 5.3: Evaluation of the Sites under Power to the Poor in Ghana Project SITE Date Type of Application Condition of system Usage visited wind turbine 14th Locally Powering of The system was At the time of Institute of April, made computer with running smoothly and visit, the Industrial 2005 internet computer was producing the Researchfacility, on and the required voltage. CSIR projector and internet being Ga District refrigerator used. 15th Imported Lighting of 16 The system was At the time of Taxe-Anloga (Private and Bergey incandescent running smoothly and visit (evening Residence) 16th XL1 bulbs, latter producing the time), all the replaced with required voltage. The bulbs could be April, 18 CFLs system produces Keta District 2005 lit. irritating noise during stormy weather. th 16 Imported Lighting of The system was At the time of Kpenu (Primary April, Bergey fluorescent running smoothly. visit (evening School) 2005 XL1 lamps, The battery was time), the computer, almost empty battery was South Tongu ceiling fans because the TV was empty. The District and TV. used the previous inverter night to watch a therefore could football match. not convert DC to power any of The hub of the rotor the lights or had been removed gadgets. The after a heavy storm. turbine started running late due to a heavy downpour early 58

Major problem

Cost and Affordability

Social Acceptability

None -

2 technicians I talked to appreciated the innovation and hoped that it continues.

None. System has dump load (DC bulb) which takes care of the excess load. Inverters were getting spoilt but an official from REES went to fix a device (dump load) which rectified the situation.

Members of the household appreciated the system and wished the project be extended to other households.

Did not meet the Headteacher at the time of visit to ask if the school could afford.

Some teachers were very happy and recounted they could now enjoy their evening and even charge their mobile phones. Community could now be entertained and educated, especially, in the evenings.

Afiadenyigba (Salt Production Unit) South Tongu District

16th April, 2005

Locally made

Lighting of 3 fluorescent lamps

part of the day before. The system was The time of visit Inverters used to running smoothly was in the day. get blown but and producing the problem ceased required voltage. after rewiring was done The switch was not working making it impossible to shut the down the turbine. System is underutilized looking at the rated capacity of the turbine and the load. System had stopped Batteries had running. Blades were run down; 2 to 3 broken after a heavy batteries could storm about 3 months be charged per ago. (May be during week at 5,000. heavy storm and downpour throughout the country on 15th April, 2005)

2 men at the site were very happy to have the system.

Alorkplem1 (Battery Charging Centre and Pastors Residence) Dangbe East District

15th July, 2005

Locally made

Battery charging; powering of 5 CFLs, radio/tape recorder and TV.

Blades of turbine broken. System had dump load fixed to take care of the excess load produced.

Alorkplem2 (Bethel

15th July,

Imported Lighting of 5 Bergey CFLs for the

System was running The time of visit Local inverter smoothly. was in the day. kept blowing, 59

Asked whether the beneficiary was ready to pay for it, he expressed the interest to buy the system though financial standing was not good. He was ready to pay an initial deposit of 1.5 million ($167) and pay 250,000 per month. Asked whether the care taker was

The beneficiary and family disliked the idea of the closure of the project and removal of the turbine.

The care taker said they liked the system

Evangelical Church) Dangbe East District

2005

XL1

church.

Tobloku (Former Member of Council of States Residence) Dangbe East District Tomefa1 (Chiefs Residence and Drinking Spot)

15th July, 2005

Imported 2 CFLs, 10 Bergey incandescent XL 1 lights, 14" B/W TV and intended for operating a refrigerator

The system was At the time of running smoothly and visit the producing required beneficiary was voltage. listening to the radio.

even after repairs by manufacturer. Imported inverter which replaced the local inverter got blown. At the time of visit, the 4th inverter (imported) is blown. System has no dump load to take care of the excess load produced. None

ready to pay for it, he said he could pay 6 million ($667) but the rest would depend on the farming and fishing season.

Preferred imported to locally-made since the imported is what he is used to and it still runs whiles the locallymade is broken down.

Asked whether he was ready to pay for it, he was ready to pay an initial deposit of 5 million ($560) and spread the rest over some months.

16th July, 2005

Imported Lighting of Bergey two (2) 7W, 2 XL1 radio/tape recorders, 21" TV, Refrigerator

System had been removed at the time of visit.

Though electricity is getting to the beneficiarys end in about 3 to 4 months time, he still requested or desired to own the wind turbine because he was satisfied with the performance of the wind turbine. Asked whether The beneficiaries think they were ready to they have been pay for it, the deceived and beneficiaries said threatened to take the they cannot afford Ministry of Energy to court (may not be the 38 million

60

Ga District

they were told was the cost of the system but were willing to pay an initial deposit (could not disclose the amount) though they preferred the option of an independent provider selling the power to them, as in the case of electricity tariff in the urban areas. 16th July, 2005

Tomefa2 (Battery Charging Centre and Drinking Spot) Ga District

Locally made

Commercial battery charging and power for operation of a drinking bar.

System had been removed at the time of visit, only foundation of towers remained. But reports indicate that the system intermittently went off.

Used to charge batteries at 4,000 per battery as against 5,000 when charged at Weija -

Asked whether she was ready to pay for it, the bar operator preferred that the power be sold to them by an independent operator, as in the case of electricity tariff in the urban areas. Some few people around at the time of visit expressed the same sentiment. They

serious about that statement, just wanted to express their dissatisfaction). They said they would appreciate it much if the system is reinstated and the necessary rectification done, though their interest was dwindling because of the intermittent power supply, the cost mentioned to them and the removal of the system in an impromptu manner. The man in charge of the battery charging centre was not present at the time of visit. The bar owner was very furious and disappointed because she spent money to wire the bar and bought a refrigerator in anticipation of being provided with power. She was not provided with the needed power for her bar. She had

61

Nyanyano (Beach Resort) Efutu District

16th July, 2005

Locally made

Operating of the beach resort.

System had been removed at the time of visit.

rejected the idea of only one person owning the system since the whole community contributed to put up the power house for the battery, controller and inverter. They wished that the whole community benefit from the project. Did not meet beneficiary at the time of visit.

decided to write to the Ministry of Energy.

Did not meet beneficiary at the time of visit.

62

5.3

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF POWER TO THE POOR IN GHANA PROJECT

The prices of the components are considered constant which indicate that the overall effect of a general price inflation has been removed. Where current or nominal prices are adjusted for general inflation, it is assumed that inflation will affect the prices of the inputs and outputs in the project statements to the same extent, such that prices retain the same general relationship to each other. Using constant prices ensures that the future costs and benefits of the identified project alternatives are estimated in the same units as the costs and benefits measured at the time the decision to invest in the project is to be made [Asian Development Bank, 2005]. The project was basically funded with concessionary loans and thus, the nominal discount rate used is between 6-12%. Table D-1 in Appendix D is used for the cost analysis of the Power to the Poor in Ghana project based on the Equations (3.3) to (3.9) earlier discussed. The following economic parameters are used for the cost analysis: Period of analysis: 20 years

Nominal Discount rate (6-12%): 9% Inflation rate: ~ 0%

The following are calculated from Equation (3.5): Discount factor: 0.94

Annualisation factor: 11.47

The analysis is based on the following assumptions: Average wind for all sites is 5 m/s at 12 m The petrol generator has an efficiency of 15-18% [SNEP, 2004]. The power output of the solar PV, petrol generator, the imported and locallymade wind turbines are the same: 913 kWh/yr (4.8 kWh/day). Annual O&M cost is 1% of capital cost for solar PV Annual O&M cost is 2% of capital cost for imported wind turbine Annual O&M cost is 3% of capital cost for locally-made wind turbine Annual O&M cost is 10% of capital cost for petrol generator Fuel cost for petrol generator is 8 litres per day @ $0.50/lit [SNEP, 2004].

63

5.3.1

Cost Analysis

5.3.1.1 Capital Cost The capital costs of the imported and locally-made wind turbines used in the project have been shown in Table 5.4 while Figure 5.6 shows the comparative capital cost of the various technologies analysed. Table 5.4: Total Capital Cost of Imported and Locally-made Wind Generators 600W Wind Generator 600W Wind Generator Capital Costs (Imported) (Locally-made) Imported Wind Turbine US$ 2,300 Local Wind Turbine US$ 1,300 20m Galvanised Mast US$ 500 500 Transport of Mast US$ 100 100 Erection of Mast US$ 56 56 House Wiring US$ 98 98 Inverter 1000W US$ 1,011 1,011 Installation of Turbine & Inverter US$ 320 320 Engineering & Supervision US$ 278 278 Batteries (4) US$ 667 667 Total Capital Cost TCC ($) 5,329 4,329
Total Capital Cost of Energy Technologies
6000 5500 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0
5,536 5,329 4,329

Cost ($)

1,080

500Wp Solar PV

1000W Petrol Generator

600W Wind Generator (Imported)

600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Energy Source

Fig. 5.6: Total Capital Cost for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines 5.3.2 Annual Worth

When the life cycle costs were discounted to present values it was shown that the annualised life cycle costs of the solar PV, petrol generator, imported and locally-made wind turbines were $760, $1,725, $789 and $702, respectively, giving the wind turbine, especially the locally-made one, an advantage over the other alternatives. It would also 64

cost $13, $134, $17 and $19 per month, respectively, to run the technologies as shown in Figures 5.12. The capital costs of the imported and the locally-made wind turbines were $5,329 and $4,329 respectively with corresponding $1,871 and $2,084 as running cost over a 20 year period of analysis. The batteries and regulator were to be replaced every 5 years at an annualised replacement cost of $98 for the renewable energy technologies. More details are given in Table D-1 in Appendix D. It can clearly be seen from Figures 5.7 to 5.13 that solar PV has the highest capital cost and the lowest running cost. Petrol generator may be the best option for short term application but not for long term application because of very low capital cost and very high running cost. Considering short term application, wind turbine and solar PV may not be the best option because of the high initial cost, but for long term application the two systems can really be competitive. The levelised energy cost of electricity (to be discussed) will be the best element for economic judgement.
Total Life Cycle Cost of Energy Technologies
16,000 14,000 12,000 15,749

Cost ($)

10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 500Wp Solar PV 1000W Petrol Generator 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 600W Wind Generator (Locally made) 6,939 7,200 6,412

Energy Source

Fig. 5.7: Total Life Cycle Cost for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines
Life Cycle Operation & Maintenance Costs of Energy Technologies
14,314

15,000 14,000 13,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 -

O & M Cost ($)

505

973

1,186

500Wp Solar PV

1000W Petrol Generator Energy Source

600W Wind Generator (Imported)

600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Fig. 5.8: Life Cycle O&M Cost for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines 65

2,000 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 -

Annualised Life Cycle Cost of Energy Technologies

1,725

Cost ($/yr)

760

789

702

500Wp Solar PV

1000W Petrol Generator

600W Wind Generator (Imported) Energy Source

600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Fig. 5.9: Annualised Life Cycle Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines
Annualised Capital Cost of Energy Technologies
606 584 474

700 600 500 400 300 200 100 -

Cost ($/yr)

118

500Wp Solar PV

1000W Petrol Generator

600W Wind Generator (Imported) Energy Source

600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Fig. 5.10: Annualised Capital Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines
Annualised O & M Cost of Energy Technologies
1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 1,568

Cost ($/yr)

55

107

130

500Wp Solar PV

1000W Petrol Generator

600W Wind Generator (Imported) Energy Source

600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Fig. 5.11: Annualised O&M Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines

66

160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 -

Monthly O & M and Replacement Cost of Energy Technologies

133.90

Cost ($/month)

12.81

17.08

19.02

500Wp Solar PV

1000W Petrol Generator

600W Wind Generator (Imported) Energy Source

600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Fig. 5.12: Monthly O&M and Replacement Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines

120 100

Annualised Replacement Cost of Energy Technologies

98 98 98

Cost ($/yr)

80 60 40 20 500Wp Solar PV 1000W Petrol Generator 600W Wind Generator (Imported) Energy Source 600W Wind Generator (Locally made)
39

Fig. 5.13: Annualised Replacement Cost of Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines

5.3.3

Levelised Energy Cost of Electricity

Figure 5.14 below shows the levelised energy cost of solar PV, petrol generator, imported and locally-made wind turbine, based on the life cycle cost analysis discussed earlier, and the levelised energy cost of electricity from hydro as $0.83, $1.89, $0.86, $0.77 and $0.065 per kWh respectively.

67

Comparative Levelised Energy Cost of Electricity

2.00 1.80 1.60 1.40 1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 1.89

Unit Cost of Electricity (Residential) ($/kWh)

0.83

0.86

0.77

0.065
500Wp Solar PV 1000W Petrol Generator 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 600W Wind Hydro (ECG) Generator (Locally made)

Energy Source

Fig. 5.14: Comparative Levelised Energy Cost of Electricity from Solar PV, Petrol Generator, Wind Turbines and Hydro (Grid)

Wind Turbine vs. Petrol Generator Comparing the wind turbine technology to petrol generator, which is the prevailing technology in the rural communities, the running cost is far less, making the levelised cost of wind turbine lower than the petrol generator. This effect is as a result of the high running cost for petrol generator and low O&M cost for the wind turbine though the petrol generator has a very low capital cost compared to the wind turbine. The wind turbine is a more suitable and an economically viable option for rural application and therefore preferred to the petrol generator. It can be seen from Figure 5.15 that low period of analyses favours the petrol generator.

Wind Turbine vs. Solar PV Though the capital cost of the solar PV is about 4% higher than that of imported wind turbine and 28% higher than the locally-made wind turbine, the operation and maintenance cost is lower than that of the wind turbines making its levelised cost competitive to the wind turbines, especially, within 15-20 years period of analysis as shown in Figure 5.15. Nevertheless, the wind turbine technology stands a better chance in terms of cost.

68

Levelised Energy Cost within Period of Analyses

7.00
500Wp Solar PV

Levelised Energy Cost ($/kWh)

6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 1 2 3 4 5 10 15 20

600W Wind Generator (Locally made) 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 1000W Petrol Generator

Period of Analysis (years)

Fig. 5.15: Variation of Levelised Energy Cost within the 20 years Period of Analyses for Solar PV, Petrol Generator and Imported and Locally-made Wind Turbines

Wind Turbine vs. Grid The grid is the cheapest energy technology. The current unit cost of electricity from the grid provided by the Volta River Authority (VRA) for residential consumption is $0.065/kWh (highly subsidized) while that of the wind turbines ranges between $0.77 and $0.86 per kWh, making the costs incomparable.

Grid connection to some sites will not be favourable though the unit cost of electricity from the grid connection is far lower than the rest of the options. For two sites, namely Alorkplem in the Dangbe East District and Tomefa in the Ga District, it is virtually impractical for them to be connected to the national grid because of their location. Alorkplem is an island at the estuary of the Volta Lake with the only means of transportation being the canoe. Tomefa is also located beyond the Weija Dam; the main means of transportation is by canoe.

The cost of rural electrification (national grid) depends much on the distance from the nearest substation, as shown in Table 5.5 and Figure 5.16. Though the cost of generating electricity is high, rural communities are relieved of the cost burden. More than 90% of the cost is absorbed using concessionary loans and the rural electrification levy urban communities pay for rural electrification, which also depends on the amount of kilowatt consumed within a specified period of time.

69

Table 5.5: Cost of Rural Electrification

Grid 5km Ave. Cost/household/month (40-50 kWh/month) Unit Cost of Electricity Generated ($/kWh) Average Amount Paid by Rural Communities ($/kWh) Amount Absorbed through Levy and Loans $16.15 0.32 - 0.40 0.02 - 0.025 93.81% Grid 10km $31.63 0.63 - 0.79 Grid 15km $47.12 0.94 - 1.18 Grid 20km $62.61 1.25 - 1.57

0.02 - 0.025 0.02 - 0.025 0.02 - 0.025 96.84% 97.88% 98.40%

Source: Ministry of Energy (2004), Renewable Energy Unit

COST ANALYSIS FOR SUPPLYING 50KW ELECTRICITY TO RURAL AREAS

100%
Balance absorbed using Levy/househol d/month Av. Amt Paid/household /month

80%

$15.15

$30.63

$46.12

$61.61

60%

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

40%
$16.15 $31.63 $47.12 $62.61

20%

Av. Cost/househol d/month (4050KWh/month)

0% Grid 5km Grid 10km Grid 15km Grid Distance Grid 20km

Fig. 5.16: Cost Analysis for Supplying 50 kW Electricity to Rural Areas

Source: Ministry of Energy (2004), Renewable Energy Unit

5.3.4

Affordability

Summaries of the comments from some of the beneficiaries are provided in Table 5.3. Though beneficiaries said they could pay for either the system or power sold to them, the reality on the ground should not be overlooked. How much does a peasant farmer or a fisherman earn in a month to be able to pay for the system? Their willingness to pay for the system may be incited by the fact that they desire to have electricity by any means. A more viable option of financing the project should be given much consideration to help the rural communities alleviate poverty through the provision of electricity.

70

5.3.5

Sensitivity Analysis

Sensitivity analyses were carried out to determine the sensitivity of the average unit cost of electricity generation to the variations in the following parameters: Discount rate: 3-15% Specific Investment: + 30% Daily Load: + 30%

Results of the sensitivity analyses are shown in Appendix E. Discount Rate vs. Unit Cost of Electricity The impact of the variations in discount rate on the average unit cost of electricity generated is illustrated in Figure 5.17 below. The analysis shows that the unit cost of electricity from the renewable energy sources, i.e. solar photovoltaic and wind turbine, are the most sensitive to changes in discount rate. Changing the discount rate from 3% to 15% increases the unit cost of electricity by an average change 18%, 2%, 17% and 15% for solar PV, petrol generator, and imported and locally-made wind turbines respectively. It is therefore not advisable to use commercial loans to fund such projects. Grants and concessionary loans which have low discount rates should rather be used.
Average Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Discount Rates
1.40

Ave. Unit Cost of Electricity ($/kWh)

1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 3% 6% 9% Discount Rate 12% 15%

500Wp Solar PV

1000W Petrol Generator

600W Wind Generator (Imported) 600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Fig. 5.17: Sensitivity Results of Discount Rate Variations

Specific Investment vs. Unit Cost of Electricity Figure 5.18 shows the impacts of variations in specific investment of wind turbine on the average unit cost of electricity generated. It can be seen that the effect of specific investment on the unit cost is almost the same as that of discount rate, but discount rate has a much greater effect. Changing the specific investment by + 30% causes a percent change in the unit cost of electricity in the range of 7-11%, 1.7-1.8%, 7-119% and 771

10% for solar PV, petrol generator, imported and locally-made wind turbines respectively.
Average Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Specific Investments
500Wp Solar PV

1.60

Ave. Unit Cost of Electricity ($/kWh)

1.40 1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 -30% -20% -10% 0 10% 20% 30%

1000W Petrol Generator

600W Wind Generator (Imported) 600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

% Change in Specific Investment

Fig. 5.18: Sensitivity Results of Specific Investment Variations

Daily Load vs. Unit Cost of Electricity The sensitivity analysis shown in Figure 5.19 depicts that higher power output of the technologies reduces the unit cost of electricity generated. Changing the daily average output power, which satisfies the daily average load demand, by + 30% changes the unit cost of electricity by an average value of 9% for the all the technologies under consideration.

Average Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Ave. Daily Loads

2.00
500Wp Solar PV 1000W Petrol Generator 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 600W Wind Generator (Locally made)

Ave. Unit Cost of Electricity ($/kWh)

1.80 1.60 1.40 1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 -30% -20% -10% 0 10% 20% 30%

% Change in Ave. Daily Load

Fig. 5.19: Sensitivity Results of Average Daily Load Variations

72

5.4

COMMUNITY ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT

A scenario is described and discussed in this section which illustrates an application of the small wind energy technology in the remote areas where there is no electricity and grid connection is impractical. The scenario is a community-based project which is different from the applications analysed previously in this chapter, which was based on individual, private, residential or single household application of the technology. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction cost is also calculated.

5.4.1

Energy Consumption and Required Wind Turbine

A community with population of 1000 people, typical of Tomefa in the Ga District, across the Weija dam, is assumed. With a household size of five, 200 households are analysed. It is assumed that all households use 14 W fluorescent (outside lights), 8 W CFLs (inside lights) and a radio/cassette player, and one-fourth use colour TV and onefifth use refrigerator. A capacity factor of 24% and a 15% reserve margin for future growth is used. A 50 kW wind turbine is therefore chosen based on Equation (3.2) to supply stabilized 220 V AC to the households. It is assumed that all the energy produced by the turbine will be consumed. Table 5.6: Energy Consumption for Community Project Scenario TYPICAL TOWN - DAILY SYSTEM ENERGY REQUIREMENT Daily Appliance Quantity Power Daily use Number of Load (W) (Hours) Households (Wh)
14 W Fluorescent Light (outside)

Peak Load (kW) 5.60 3.20 7.00 3.85 4.80

2 14 2 8 8W CFL (inside) 1 35 Radio/Cass. 1 77 Colour TV 1 120 Refrigerator Total Daily Energy Demand (Wh) Estimation of Energy Loss (Wh)

12 4 6 4 16 10%

200 200 200 50 40

Total daily system energy requirement

15% as Reserve Margin Total Peak Load Rated Power Rated Power of Turbine 73

Wh/day kWh/day kWh/day kW kW kW

67200 12800 42000 15400 76800 214200 21420 235,620 235.62

270.96 24.45 47.04 50

Table 5.6 shows the energy consumption and the rated wind turbine capacity required for the community under consideration. The advantage of the high capacity wind turbine chosen for the scenario is the economies of scale in wind turbines, i.e. larger machines are usually able to deliver electricity at a lower cost than smaller machines. The technical characteristics of the wind turbine chosen and its corresponding power curve are shown in Table 5.7 and Figure 5.20 respectively. Table 5.7: Technical Characteristics of 50 kW Atlantic Orient AOC 15/50 Turbine CHARACTERISTICS OF 50 kW AOC 15/50 WIND TURBINE Rated Power (kW) Rotor Diameter (m) Rated Wind Speed (m/s) Over speed Control Rotor Speed (rpm) Cut-in Wind Speed (m/s) Cut-off Wind Speed (m/s) Tower Height (m) Number of Blades Turbine Weight (kg) Energy delivered (MWh/yr)
Source: RETScreen (2005)

50 15.0 11.4 Stall 62.0 4.9 22.4 25.0 3 2,420 100

Power and Energy Curves

Pow er Curve Energy Curve

70 60 50
Power (kW)

400 350
Energy (MWh/yr)

300 250 200

40 30 20 10 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Wind Speed (m/s)

150 100 50 0

Fig. 5.20: Power and Energy Curve for 50 kW Atlantic Orient AOC 15/50 Wind Turbine
Source: RETScreen (2005)

74

5.4.2

Life Cycle Cost Analysis

Using the same economic parameters and assumptions described in the previous section Table 5.8 below provides the summary of the cost analysis performed. Table 5.8: Life Cycle Cost Analysis for Community Project LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS FOR SCENARIO Units Economic parameters Period of analysis Discount rate Inflation rate Discount factor Recovery factor Annualisation factor Capital costs Imported Wind turbine 25m Tower Transport of Mast Erection of Mast Installation of Turbine Engineering & Supervision Stabilizer Total capital cost: Operation & Maintenance costs: O&M Annual O&M cost @1% cap. cost Life cycle O&M cost Daily Load Annual Load Economic Indicators Total life cycle cost: Annualised life cycle cost: Annualised capital cost: Annualised O&M cost: Monthly O& M cost: Monthly Cost Levelised Energy Cost
Yrs % %

50 kW Wind Turbine 20 9 0 0.92 0.11 9.129 60,000 11,000 2,000 1,200 7,000 6,000 13,000 100,200 1,503 13,720 270.96 98,901.50 113,920 12,480 10,977 1,503 125.25 1,039.96 0.1262

US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ TCC ($)

US$/yr US$ kWh/day kWh/yr

US$ US$/yr US$/yr US$/yr US$/mon $/mon $/kWh

75

5.4.3

Economic Analysis

The economic analysis of the scenario discussed above is in twofold, based on the investor. The first part assesses the economic performance using an individual or corporate body as an investor and the second part considers the Government of Ghana investing in such venture. The avoided cost of electricity, which defines the cost of electricity of the existing or the alternate technology, in this case is the current unit cost of electricity from the grid. The economic parameters and assumptions made in the analysis are detailed in Table 5.9. Table 5.9: Economic Parameters and Assumption made Parameters Values Period of Analysis (years) Nominal discount rate (%) Tax (%) Nominal Electricity Escalation Rate (%/year) Average wind speed @ 12 m (m/s) Weibull k Avoided Unit Cost of Electricity ($/kWh) Variable Cost ($/kWh) 20 9 0 0 5 2 0.065 0.015

5.4.3.1 Individual or Corporate Investment In this scenario, we look at how economically feasible it is should an individual or independent corporate body take up this scenario as a business project. The summary of the economic indicators is given in Table 5.10. From the scenario, it shows that with an avoided cost of 0.065$/kWh used, i.e. if the consumer avoids a unit cost of 0.065$/kWh, the economic indicators are 20 years simple payback, negative NPV and an IRR less than the nominal discount rate. 5.4.3.2 Government Investment In this scenario, we also look at the economic viability of the scenario if the Government of Ghana should undertake it as a developmental project. The summary of the economic indicators is also given in Table 5.10. It is observed here that this scenario is also not economically viable, but if the avoided cost were to be about 0.2$/kWh, the

76

project will have a SPB less than 6 years, a positive NPV and IRR greater than the nominal discount rate, which will make the project scenario viable. Table 5.10: Summary of Community Project Scenario Avoided Cost Simple Payback Net Present Value Internal Rate of Electricity of Return (SPB) (NPV) (IRR) $/kWh yr $ % Individual or Corporate Investment Government Investment 0.065 $/kWh 0.1 $/kWh 0.2 $/kWh 0.3 $/kWh 20 12 6 4 ($44,903) ($10,997) $85,879 $182,755 3% 8% 19% 29%

5.4.3.3 Other Scenarios Other scenarios are analysed and shown in Table 5.11. Various energy demands from different applications are considered; mini clinic, multiple homes and others. Corresponding wind turbines were selected to satisfy the demand. It is assumed that all the energy produced by the selected wind turbine will be consumed, thus, annual energy production equals demand. RETScreen and Wind Energy Payback Workbook are used to calculate the economic indicators. Table 5.11: Summary of Economic Performance of Scenarios Power to the Scenario 1 Scenario 2 (E.g. (E.g. Mini Poor in Ghana Household) Clinic) Project AEP: Rated Power: Installed Cost: $/kWh SPB (yr) NPV ($) IRR (%)

Scenario 3
(E.g. Multiple Homes)

Scenario 4
(Community Project)

2,102 kWh/yr 6,554 kWh/yr17,424 kWh/yr 25,911 kWh/yr 102,782 kWh/yr 1 kW $ 5,329 0.375 3 kW $ 8,214 0.152 26 ($4,447) 1% 10 kW $ 33,504 0.226 > 30 ($23,153) -2% 17.5 kW $ 28,392 0.135 22 ($13,837) 2% 50 kW $ 100,200 0.122 20 ($44,903) 3%

77

5.4.4

Environmental Benefits

The Green-House Gas (GHG) model in RETScreen calculates the net annual reduction in GHG emissions estimated to occur if a proposed renewable energy project is implemented. The calculation is based on the gross annual GHG emission reduction and the GHG credits transaction fee. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997 in Kyoto at the third Conference of the Parties (COP 3), established three mechanisms: the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint Implementation (JI), and Emissions Trading, which allow project developers to pursue opportunities to cut GHG emissions [RETScreen Wind3, 2005]. From the GHG analysis, assuming a constant baseline using gasoline, the GHG emissions factors are 74.1, 0.002 and 0.002 kg/GJ of CO2, NOX and CH4, respectively. The Net GHG emission reduction calculated is 80/tCO2/yr.

5.4.5

Analysis of Scenario

Analyses discussed above depict that the cost of generating electricity is high and unaffordable to the rural communities. The rural electrification levy and concessionary loans are therefore used to subsidize the high cost. The analyses of the scenarios point out that wind energy technology can be a viable option should it be given a financial and promotional boost. The scenarios are worth analysing because the unit cost of generating electricity of $0.126/kWh is lower than that of the grid.

The following points from the scenarios are raised and discussed: 1. Using the lowest subsidy of 93% and unit cost of electricity of $0.32/kWh given by the shortest grid distance of 5 km, the scenario is analysed as shown in Table 5.12.

The government can stop the grid connection and go in for a 7 year concessionary loan of $110,000, or better still, save 7 years subsidy of $114,000 to install a 50 kW capacity wind turbine at an investment cost of $100,200. The subsidy for the remaining 13 years of the life span can then be used for other projects of the government. This will save the government the headache of subsidizing over 90% of electricity generated cost.

78

Table 5.12: Details of Cost Analysis Activity Calculation Total Energy Consumption 270.96 kWh/day of Community (e.g. Tomefa) as shown in Table 4.2 Subsidy from Rural 93% of $0.32 kWh x total Electrification Levy yearly consumption 7 years Subsidy 7 x $16,116.1 Subsidy can build a 50 kW @ Investment Cost Wind Turbine Revenue @ $0.02/kWh (for <50 kWh/household/month) Surplus of Revenue over Annualised Running cost of $1,978.03 - $1,503 $1,503

Results 98,901.5 kWh/yr $16,102.55 per year $114,817.86 $100,200 $1,978.03 per year $475.03 per year

Revenue from the operation of the wind turbine can then be used for the operation and maintenance of the plant. A surplus of over $475.03 per year will be generated. Excess energy generated over demand can be used by individuals and groups of people to open small-scale businesses which will yield much revenue to operate and maintain the plant, and/or for other developmental activities. 2. From Figures 5.20 and 5.23, it was realised that the community project scenario described has a payback period of 20 years, negative NPV and IRR less than the nominal discount rate at the current avoided cost of $0.065/kWh. Thus, the scenario is not worth investing in at an avoided cost of $0.065/kWh. 3. It should be noted that the scenario becomes viable only when the avoided cost of electricity is at least $0.1114 per kWh, which is also costly to the rural communities, as shown in Figures 5.22 and 5.23. Therefore, though the scenario may not favour individual or corporate investors, the government can undertake it as a rural development wind energy project since the government will only spend $0.126/kWh which is 61% lower than cost of extending grid to rural communities such as the one under consideration. 4. Better still, there could be a subsidy for individual or corporate investment. This is because rural consumers cannot pay the unit cost of $0.126/kWh, which is also needed to sustain the investment. A typical case can be this; a subsidy of about $0.0612/kWh could be given to independent bodies that go into such venture.

79

5. Also, from the other scenarios described in Section 5.4.3.3, which looks at the economic viability of various applications with different energy demands, it could be concluded that wind energy technology may not be a viable option for small applications, especially, when the demand is below 100,000 kWh/year (274 kWh/day). None of the scenarios created looks attractive. The simple payback period is high, NPV is negative, IRR is far lower than the nominal discount rate and the unit cost of electricity is more than the current value. It is noted that the main indicator which affected the scenario is the avoided cost of energy. The variation of the Simple Payback Period (SPB), Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) with the Avoided Cost (AC) are shown in Figures 5.21 to 5.23.

25

Variation of Pay Back Period with Avoided Cost of Electricity

Pay Back Period (years)

20 15 10 5 0

0. 1 0. 11 0. 11 2 0. 12

0. 07

0. 08

0. 09

0. 15

0. 2 0. 25

0. 06

0. 07

0. 08

Avoided Cost ($/kWh)

Fig. 5.21: Variation of Simple Payback Period with Avoided Cost of Electricity

200 150

Variation of Pay NPV with Avoided Cost of Electricity

NPV ($x1000)

100 50 0

0. 07

0. 08

5 0. 09

0. 09

0. 1 0. 11 0. 11 2 0. 12 0. 15

0. 2 0. 25

0. 06

0. 07

0. 08

-50 -100

Avoided Cost ($/kWh)

Fig. 5.22: Variation of NPV with Avoided Cost of Electricity

0. 09

80

0. 3

0. 3

Variation of Pay IRR with Avoided Cost of Electricity

30% 27% 24% 21% 18%

IRR

15% 12% 9%

5 0. 07 0. 07 5

0. 08 0. 08 5

0. 09 0. 09 5

0. 1 0. 11 0. 11 2 0. 12 0. 15

0. 2 0. 25

3% 0%

0. 06

Avoided Cost ($/kWh)

Fig. 5.23: Variation of IRR with Avoided Cost of Electricity

81

0. 3

6%

CHAPTER SIX

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 CONCLUSION

Recent studies on wind resource in Ghana by institutions such as Energy Commission indicate that there exists quite moderate wind resource potential in Ghana which could be exploited for small wind applications, especially, in the rural areas where there exist more than 46% of the countrys households without electricity [Energy Commission, Ghana, 2003]. Grid connection to some of these areas is impractical because of location making renewable energy technologies an alternative. It was observed that small wind turbines are mostly used in low wind speed regimes because small wind turbines have the characteristics of starting at low wind speed, thereby, extracting power from low speeds. The cut-in wind speed is generally 3 m/s. The Power to the Poor in Ghana project was established to demonstrate that windpowered generators made by local artisans are the most sustainable and commercially viable option for providing electricity to businesses and service providers in poor, isolated, off grid, communities in Ghana with suitable wind conditions. Assessing the performance of the small wind turbine and its viability in the rural communities, it has been established that the wind speeds in some areas along the coast are enough for the smooth running of the wind turbines. The turbines run over 90% of the day at some rural communities such as Alorkplem, Tobloku, Taxe, Tomefa, Afiadenyigba and Kpenu. The main problem encountered was with the frequent damage of the inverters due to power hikes. Only few places had dump loads to dissipate the excess energy produced. It was also observed that the total life cycle cost and annualised running cost of 500 1000 W wind turbines ranged between $6,000 and $7,500, and $185 and $250, respectively. The average unit cost of electricity also ranged between $0.77 and $0.86 per kWh, making it very competitive to solar PV technology which is of the same range. The high running cost of petrol generators, which was about 90% of its total life cycle cost, makes it not a good alternative for remote application, especially for longterm application. 82

The competitiveness of small wind energy technology with grid connection from the grid really depends on distance. It costs an average of $16.15, $31.63, $47.12 and $62.61 per household to supply 40-50 kWh/month through a distance of 5 km, 10 km, 15 km and 20 km, respectively. The average unit cost of electricity therefore are $0.359, $0.703, $1.047 and $1.391/kWh for 5 km, 10 km, 15 km and 20 km grid distance respectively, making the small wind turbine technology of unit cost of electricity of $0.77/kWh a competitive option to grid connection [Ministry of Energy, 2005]. A community project scenario suggests that such projects will be viable if the avoided cost of energy is at least $0.112/kWh. It was also realised that small wind energy technology was not economically attractive for small applications, especially, when the energy demand is below 100,000 kWh/year (274 kWh/day). The net present value of such venture is negative with its internal rate of return less than the nominal discount rate. The payback period is also over 15 years, making such application economically unviable. A hybrid system of solar-wind, or solar-generator with storage system may be a viable option, especially, for small loads.

6.2

RECOMMENDATIONS

The small wind turbine application in Ghana could be really enhanced and be a better option for rural electrification if the technology is technically improved, especially the locally-made wind turbine. The following recommendations are therefore made: 1. Since the seasoned wood blade has the tendency of absorbing moisture thereby warping, coating the blade with water resistant material like enamel or oil paint should be researched into. A composite material with elastic property should also be given a consideration. 2. Research should be done on optimising the blade angles to improve on the locally-made wind turbines since they are cost effective compared to the imported ones.

83

3.

Sizing of future projects should be based on the load or the energy demand to avoid damages to appliances.

4.

An option of using DC appliances should be tried for the sites. Inverters are costly, about 14-18% of the capital cost.

5.

Government in its bid to promote renewable energy technology should institute incentive schemes to encourage urban and rural individuals or communities to operate the wind energy technology privately.

6.

Renewable Energy plants and equipment should be exempted from taxes. This will also encourage investors and individuals into wind energy technology, and also reduce the over dependence on the hydroelectric power.

7.

The wind energy community project scenario discussed should be used to set up with the rural electrification levy mobilized. It could be a viable option for rural electrification, especially, towns where grid extension is impractical.

8.

Research should be conducted into the possible option of Hybrid systems such as "wind/PV" system, "wind/PV/diesel" system and wind/diesel" system.

9.

The Solar Laboratory at the Mechanical Engineering Department of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology should be upgraded to Renewable Energy Laboratory, or a Wind Energy Laboratory set up at the Mechanical Engineering Department, and small wind turbines manufactured. This would enhance the research and improvement of the technology.

10.

Research should be conducted into wind pumping technology.

84

REFERENCES

Ancona, D. and McVeigh, J. (2001). Wind Turbine - Materials and Manufacturing Fact Sheet. Princeton Energy Resources International, LLC. Prepared for the Office of Industrial Technologies, US Dept. of Energy. Asante, K. (Ed.). (2004) Energy Review, 02-2004. Energy Commission, Ghana. Asian Development Bank. (2005). Guidelines for the Economic Analysis of Projects. [Online]. Available: http://www.adb.org [2005, March 4]. Ayensu, A. (1993). Untapped Sources of Energy for Agricultural Production in Ghana. Journal of Energy Research and Technology. ERG-BULLETIN VOL. 5 Beaufort Scale. (no date). Beaufort Scale of Wind Force. [Online]. Available: http://www.galeforce.nireland.co.uk [2005, March 4]. Bergey, M. (2005). Wind Generator-A Primer on Small Turbines. [Online]. Available: http://www.kansaswindpower.net [2005, October 13]. Clausen, P. D. and Wood, D. H. (2000). Recent Advances in Small Wind Turbine Technology. Wind Engineering. DNV/Ris (2002). Guidelines for the Design of Wind Turbines. Det Norske Veritas and Ris National Laboratory, Denmark. Dodge, D. M. (2002), Wind Power: An Illustrated History and its Development. [Online]. Available: http://www.telosnet.com [2004, December 26].

Eggleston, E. (1998). What are Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs)? [Online]. Available: http://www.awea.org [2005, October 13]. Energy Commission, Ghana (2003). Solar and Wind Energy Resources Assessment. Developed by Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.

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Gipe, P. (2003), Wind Energy Basics: A Guide to Small and Micro Wind Systems. [Online]. Available: http://www.wind-works.org/books [2004, November 6]. Global Wind Energy Council (2005). [Online]. Available: http://www.gwec.com [2005, February 2]. Gobah, T. & Taylor-Amoah, M. (2004, July 24). Solar, Wind Turbines introduced as Alternative Power. Daily Graphic. P. 27. Gregory, J., Silveira, S., Derrick, A., Cowley, P., Allinson C., and Paish O. (1997). Financing Renewable Energy Projects: A Guide for Development Workers.IT Publications, Stockholm Environment Institute, London. Hulscher, W. and Fraenkel, P. (1994). The Power Guide: An International Catalogue of Small-scale Energy Equipment. Intermediate Technology Publications. Johnson, G. L. and Cliffs, N. J. (1985). Wind Energy Systems. Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood, p 48-75. Jones, J. (Ed.). (1999) Renewable Energy World, James & James (Science Publishers) Ltd. Koenemann, D. (Ed.). (2005). Unlimited Opportunities. Sun & Wind Energy 1/2005, BVA Bielefeler Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Lawson, M.V. (1992). Applications of Aero-Acoustic Analysis to Wind Turbine Noise, Proc. 18th British Wind Energy Assoc. Conference. Ministry of Energy. (2005). Available from Renewable Energy Unit, Ministry of Energy, Ghana.

Mortensen, N. G., Heathfield, D. N., Myllerup, L., Landberg, L., & Rathmann, O. (2004). Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP 8). Ris National Laboratory.

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Muir-Harmony, A. (2001). Obstacles to the Widespread Use of Grid-Connected Small Wind Energy Conversion Systems (SWECS): Zoning, Installation, Maintenance and Other Issues of Implementation. [Online]. Available:

http://www.windturbineplans.com [2004, December 26]. Nkrumah, F. (2003), Wind Energy Assessment for Selected Coastal Sites in Ghana. Unpublished MSc. Thesis, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Piggot, H. (2004a). How to build a Wind Turbine. Available from Renewable Energy Unit, Ministry of Energy, Ghana. Piggot, H. (2004b). Small Wind Turbine Design Notes. [Online]. Available: http://www.users.aber.ac.uk/iri/WIND/TECH/WPcourse [2004, October 4]. Rai G. D. (2001). Non-Conventional Energy Sources. Khanna Publishers. Ramachandra, T. V., Rajeev, K. J., Krishna, S.V., and Shruthi, B. V. (2005). Wind Energy Potential Assessment Spatial Decision Support System. Energy. Education Science and Technology. 14(2). RETScreen Wind3. (2005). [Online]. Available: http://www.retscreen.ca [2004, November 21]. Schultz, J. (2004). Energy Resources: Wind Energy. [Online]. Available: http://www.geology.wisc.edu/geo411/schultz.html [2004, November 15]. Small Turbines. (2004). Small Wind Turbines for Rural Development. [Online]. Available: http://www.altenergystore.com [2004, October 4]. Stand-alone System. (no date). Stand-alone System Guide. [Online]. Available: http://www.galeforce.nireland.co.uk [2004, October 4]. SNEP. (2004). Strategic National Energy Plan (SNEP) 2005-2020, Energy Sector Technology Catalogue. Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DANIDA and Energy Commission, Ghana.

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Twidell, J. (2003). Technology Fundamentals: Wind turbines. James & James (Science Publishers) Ltd [Online]. Available: http://www.jxj.com.html [2004, November 15]. Visser, Kenneth D. (2004). Improving Small Wind Turbines for Low Wind Speeds. Mechanical and Aeronautical Eng. Dept., Clarkson University. Wagner, S., Bareiss, R., and Guidat, G. (1996). Wind Turbine Noise, Springer Verlag. Weisman J. and Eckart R. (1988). Modern Power Plant Engineering. Pentice Hall of India Private Ltd.

Wind Energy Economics (2000). Wind Energy Manual. [Online]. Available: http://www.energy.iastate.edu [2004, November 26].

Wind Energy Resource. (1998). Basic Principles of Wind Resource Evaluation. [Online]. Available: http://www.awea.org [2004, November, 12]. Wind for Electricity. (no date). Wind for Electricity Generation. [Online]. Available: http://www.itdg.org [2004, November 21]. Wind Power Basics. (no date). [Online]. Available: http://www.aocwind.com/wbasics [2005, April 26]. Wind Resources. (no date). Wind Resources and Economics. [Online]. Available: http://www.resources-finder.rmi.org. [2005, January 11]. Windustry Wind Power Calculator program, Version 8, Developed by Thomas A. Wind, PE, (Wind Utility Consulting), Princeton Economic Research Institute. Wood, D. (2002). The Design and Analysis of Small Wind Turbines. University of Newcastle, Australia. [Online]. Available: http://www.wind.newcastle.edu.au [2004, November 21].

88

Yeboah, E. (2004, August 26). Windpumps improve agric in Abokobi District. Daily Graphic. p. 27.

89

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND APPLICATION OF SMALL WIND TURBINES IN GHANA

Table A-1: Technical Characteristics and Application of Small Wind Turbines in Ghana Site Location Description of Site Average Type of SWT Application Max. Hub Load height DENG Ltd. Alajo junction, On top of a 9 m storey 3.5 m/s at 900 W Southwest No Load Accra building. Few 12 m hub Windpowers buildings around. SW height Whisper H40 prevailing wind direction. Road under construction and buildings are located about 200-300 m in that direction Residential Keta, Keta Mounted just by the Mounted Security House District house which is on a lights situated in the wooden direction of the pole about prevailing wind. 6 m high SW prevailing wind direction. Residential Taxe-Anloga, Few 10 m coconut 21 m 24V-1000 W Lighting of (14) 320 W House Keta District. trees around. Next Imported 5 W CFLs to a storey building. Bergey XL 1 (4) 15 W CFLs SW prevailing wind mounted on a TV 90 Output Power Average Electricity Consumption Remarks

Used to light outside lights

Building is a major obstruction

24V DC output from four 12V 100Ah

3.22 kWh/day

direction

Salt production unit

Afiadenyigba, Plain, flat, low South Tongu grass, remote area. District South prevailing wind direction

18 m

lattice tower on a concrete base of 2 m2 24V -600 W Locally-made turbine mounted on guyed tower

Primary School

Kpenu, South Tongu District

Few trees around, about 30 m away. SW prevailing wind direction

18 m

Research centre

Industrial Research Institute of CSIR

Battery charging centre

Tomefa, Ga District

Residential buildings located about 60 m in the direction of prevailing wind direction. S-SW prevailing wind direction Mounted in the centre of the town with few buildings around. Prevailing

18 m

Batteries with no Inverter Lighting of (3) 210W 220V AC 60 W output from 2.16 kWh/day incandescent two 12V bulbs 100Ah Radio Batteries with 1000W Inverter 24V-1000 W (7) 40 W 1320 W 220V AC Imported Bergey fluorescent output from 5.72 kWh/day XL 1 mounted lights two 12V on a guyed Computer 100Ah tower 30" TV Batteries (2) ceiling fans with 1000 W Inverter 24V -600 W 1920 W 220V AC Computer Locally-made output from 6.72 kWh/day Soldering turbine mounted Table top two 12V on guyed tower 100Ah fridge Batteries LCD Projector with 2000 W Inverter 12V -600 W Locally-made turbine mounted on a lattice 91 Battery charging System has been removed due to frequent

Refrigerator

21 m

wind direction is S-SW

tower on a concrete base of 2 m2 18 m 24V-1000 W (2) 7 W CFLs 474W 220V AC Imported Bergey 2 radio/tape output from 3.248 kWh/day XL 1 mounted two 12V recorders on guyed tower 21" TV 100Ah Batteries Refrigerator with 1000 W Inverter 24V-1000 W 482W 220V AC (2) 11 W Imported output from 1.704 kWh/day CFLs Bergey XL 1 four 12V (10) 40 W mounted on a 100Ah incandescent lattice tower on 14" B/W TV Batteries a concrete base with 1000W 2 of 2m Inverter 24V-1000 W Domestic use 42 W 220V AC Imported Bergey Powering of output from 0.126 kWh/day XL 1 mounted four 12V church on guyed tower 100Ah equipment Batteries (few musical with 1000 W instruments) Inverter

breakdown of system

Chief palace and Drinking spot

Tomefa, Ga District

Mounted on an, very few metres from the shore of the Weija Dam.

System has been removed due to frequent breakdown of system

Residential house

Togbloku, Dangbe East District

Church & Residence

Alorkplem, Dangbe East District

The system is mounted just by his house and about 20m to a lake. Prevailing wind direction is S-SW. There are few trees and a building around. Prevailing wind direction is S-SW.

21 m

18 m

92

Battery charging centre & Pastors Residence

Alorkplem, Dangbe East District

System is mounted about 30 m off the shore of the Volta Lake. Prevailing wind direction is S-SW

18 m

12V -600 W Locally-made turbine mounted on guyed tower

Battery charging (3) 11 W CFLs (2) 14 W CFLs Radio/tape recorder 21" TV -

171 W 220V AC output from 0.685 kWh/day one 12V 100Ah Batteries with 1000 W Inverter

Energy consumption is without battery charging taken into consideration

Gamenu Health Centre

Gamenu, South Tongu District Nyanyano, Efutu District

Beach resort

18 m

12V -600 W Locally-made turbine mounted on guyed tower

220V AC output from two 12V 100Ah Batteries with 1000 W Inverter

Only foundation work done. No system installed The controller initially failed to regulate the output voltage of the turbine and as a result destroyed the batteries due to overcharging

93

APPENDIX B: ENERGY CONSUMPTION FOR THE SITES UNDER THE "POWER TO THE POOR IN GHANA" PROJECT
Table B-1: Energy Consumption for the Sites under Power to the Poor in Ghana Project

Energy Consumption for the Sites under the "Power to the Poor in Ghana" Project
Load Site Kpenu Rated Type of Power Voltage Turbine Output Bergey 1000W XL1 Primary School 24V Item Fluorescent lamps Fluorescent lamps Computer 30" TV Ceiling fans Total Alorkplem1 Pastor's Residence & Battery Locally made CFL 21" TV 2 1 14 80 5 4 0.140 0.320 600 W 12V CFL 3 11 5 0.165 Daily Daily Energy Quantity Power Use Consumption Monthly Yearly (W) (hrs) (kWh/day) (kWh/mon) (kWh/yr) 2 5 1 1 2 40 40 800 80 80 1,320 12 3 4 4 4 0.960 0.600 3.200 0.320 0.640 5.720 171.60 Comments

The maximum energy consumption is 5.72 kWh per day. The peak load occurs in the morning when the computer, the fans and 2,087.80 the TV are on The maximum energy consumption is 0.685 kWh per day. The peak load

94

charging centre Total Tobloku Residential house Bergey 1000W XL1 24V

Radio/Tape recorder

30 171

0.060 0.685 20.55

occurs in the evening when the CFLs and the TV are on 250.03 The maximum energy consumption is 1.7 kWh per day. The peak load occurs in the morning when the lights and the TV are on

CFL Incand. bulb Incand. bulb Radio/Tape recorder 14" TV Total

2 5 5 1 1

11 40 40 30 30 482

12 4 2 4 4

0.264 0.800 0.400 0.120 0.120 1.704 51.12 621.96

Alorkplem2 Bethel Evangelical Church

Bergey 1000W XL1

24V CFL 3 14 3 0.126 -

Total

42

0.126

3.78

The maximum energy consumption is 0.126 kWh per day. The peak load occurs in the evening when the lights are 45.99 been used

95

Tomefa1 Chief's Palace & Drinking spot

Bergey 1000W XL1

24V CFL Fluorescent lamps Radio/Tape recorder 24" TV Refrigerator Total 2 5 2 1 1 7 40 30 80 120 474 12 3 4 4 16 0.168 0.600 0.240 0.320 1.920 3.248 97.44

The maximum energy consumption is 3.25 kWh per day. The peak load occurs in the morning when the lights, the refrigerator and the TV are on 1,185.52 The maximum energy consumption is 3.2 kWh per day. The peak load occurs in the morning when the computer, the fans and 1,175.30 the TV are on The maximum energy

Taxe Residential house

Bergey 1000W XL1

24V CFL CFL Refrigerator TV Total 14 4 1 1 5 15 120 70 320 12 3 16 4 0.840 0.180 1.920 0.280 3.220 96.60

IIR-CSIR

Locally

600 W

24V Computer 1 800 6 4.800

96

Research centre

made Table-top refrigerator Total 1 120 16 1.920

920 Afiadenyigba Locally Salt production centre made 600 W 12V Fluorescent lamps

6.720

201.60

consumption is 6.7 kWh per day. The peak load occurs in the morning when the computer and refrigerator, and sometimes projector, are 2,452.80 been used The maximum energy consumption is 2.16 kWh per day. The peak load occurs in the evening when the lights are on 788.40

60

12

2.160 -

Total Tomefa2 Battery charging centre Locally made 600 W 12V

180

2.160

64.80

97

Total Nyanyano Beach resort Locally made 600 W 12V

Total

98

APPENDIX C: DATA TAKEN FROM TAXE AND KPENU SITES 4

Table C-1: Data from a Residential House at Taxe-Anloga for March 2005

DATA TAKEN FROM A RESIDENTIAL HOUSE AT TAXE-ANLOGA, KETA DISTRICT, VR

March '05
MORNING BATTERY # OF GREEN VOLTAGE (V) LIGHT 28.8 28.8 28.5 28.8 27.1 26.9 28.8 26.7 26.6 28.5 27.3 28.8 6 4 6 5 4 4 6 4 4 4 4 6 EVENING BATTERY # OF GREEN VOLTAGE (V) LIGHT 26.2 27.2 27.5 26.7 26.4 27.5 27.3 27.4 27.2 26.2 27.1 27.8 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 5 4 5 DAILY OPERATING HOURS 24 24 24 24 14.5 24 24 24 24 18 24 21

DATE 27-Feb-05 28-Feb-05 1-Mar-05 2-Mar-05 3-Mar-05 4-Mar-05 5-Mar-05 6-Mar-05 7-Mar-05 8-Mar-05 9-Mar-05 10-Mar-05

IC 0.2 5.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2

IC 0.8 0.4 3.4 4.4 3.2 1.3 1.8 2.4 3.2 2.4 1.8 1.1

TIME OFF 8:45 PM 4:20 AM 9:05 AM

TIME ON 6:25 AM 10:30 AM 12:18 AM

REMARKS Wind Throughout Throughout Throughout Throughout No Throughout Throughout Throughout Throughout No Throughout No

The last column is not part of the original data taken

99

11-Mar-05 12-Mar-05 13-Mar-05 14-Mar-05 15-Mar-05 16-Mar-05 17-Mar-05 18-Mar-05 19-Mar-05 20-Mar-05 21-Mar-05 22-Mar-05 23-Mar-05 24-Mar-05 25-Mar-05 26-Mar-05 27-Mar-05 28-Mar-05 29-Mar-05 30-Mar-05 31-Mar-05 AVERAGE

28.8 28.8 26.7 28.8 28.8 28.8 28.8 28.8 27.3 28.8 28.8 26.4 26.4 28.8 26.2 27.3 28.8 28.8 28.8 28.07

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 4 6 6 4 5 6 6 5.31

0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 1.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 2.4 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.57

28.8 27.1 26.6 26.2 26.6 28.8 26.2 26.4 26.6 26.1 27.3 26.4 26.4 26.9 27.3 26.6 26.2 27.1 28.3 26.6 26.97

6 4 4 4 4 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 4 4.38

1.1 1.5 1.6 1.1 2.0 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.6 2.1 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.6 2.0 1.8 2.5 1.5 2.3 1.71

5:38 AM -

9:12 AM -

No Throughout Throughout Throughout Throughout

22.5 24 24 24 24 24 24 19 24 24 24 24 18.5 18 17

5:18 AM 6:14 AM 3:48 AM 5:37 AM 5:30 AM -

10:32 AM 11:45 AM 9:30 AM 12:23 AM 7:05 AM -

Throughout Throughout No Throughout Throughout Throughout Throughout

Throughout

24 21.5

Throughout Throughout Throughout Throughout

24 24 24 24 22.52

100

Table C-2: Data from a Residential House at Taxe-Anloga for April 2005

DATA TAKEN FROM A RESIDENTIAL HOUSE AT TAXE-ANLOGA, KETA DISTRICT, VR

April '05
MORNING DATE 1-Apr-05 2-Apr-05 3-Apr-05 4-Apr-05 5-Apr-05 6-Apr-05 7-Apr-05 8-Apr-05 9-Apr-05 10-Apr-05 11-Apr-05 12-Apr-05 13-Apr-05 14-Apr-05 15-Apr-05 16-Apr-05 17-Apr-05 AVERAGE BATTERY # OF GREEN VOLTAGE (V) LIGHT 27.1 28.9 28.8 28.8 28.5 28.5 28.5 28.5 27.3 26.1 27.7 27.3 27.5 27.5 27.7 28.2 27.5 27.91 4 6 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 4 5 4 5 5 5 4 5 5.18 IC 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.4 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.5 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.76 EVENING BATTERY # OF GREEN VOLTAGE (V) LIGHT 27.1 26.2 28.8 28.8 26.7 27.5 27.5 28.3 27.3 27.1 28.3 27.5 28.6 27.5 26.2 27.56 4 4 5 6 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 4.4 IC 1.6 2.0 1.1 0.6 2.0 1.6 1.6 0.8 1.6 3.2 1.4 1.5 0.8 0.4 1.5 1.45 TIME OFF 5:18 AM 12:00 PM TIME ON 10:42 AM 10:42 AM 12:00 PM 23.70 REMARKS Wind Throughout DAILY OPERATING HOURS 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 19.5

101

Table C-3: Data from Kpenu Primary School for March 2005

DATA TAKEN FROM A PRIMARY SCHOOL AT KPENU, SOUTH TONGU DISTRICT, VR

Mar-05
LOAD OPERATION DATE 1-Mar-05 2-Mar-05 3-Mar-05 4-Mar-05 5-Mar-05 6-Mar-05 7-Mar-05 8-Mar-05 9-Mar-05 10-Mar-05 11-Mar-05 12-Mar-05 13-Mar-05 14-Mar-05 15-Mar-05 TIME OFF 8:00 PM 9:00 PM 10:00 PM 10:00 PM 9:30 PM 9:00 PM 10:30 PM 10:00 PM 9:00 PM 9:00 PM 9:00 PM 9:20 PM 9:30 PM No Light 9:20 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:35 PM 5:30 PM 6:45 PM 5:00 PM No Light 6:00 PM TIME ON 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:00 PM 9:00 PM BATTERY VOLTAGE (V) MORNING 25.4 24.7 23.4 26.4 27.9 27.8 26.4 23.4 25.2 24.9 24.4 23.9 24.7 23.9 25.2 EVENING 25.3 27.5 26.9 27.4 26.5 26.8 28.3 26.4 27.5 26.8 27.8 25.8 24.8 24.3 27.3 TURBINE OPERATION TIME OFF 4:00 AM TDB 4:00 AM 4:00 AM 4:00 AM 5:00 AM 4:00 AM 5:00 AM 3:00 AM 2:00 AM 4:00 AM TIME ON 6:00 AM TDB 8:00 AM 8:00 AM 8:00 AM 8:00 AM 10:00 AM 8:45 AM 8:40 AM 11:45 AM 10:00 AM Low wind Non-stop Non-stop It rained Non-stop Non-stop REMARKS Wind throughout Wind throughout DAILY OPERATING HOURS 22 24 20 24 24 20 20 21 18 20 24 24 18.5 15 18

102

16-Mar-05 17-Mar-05 18-Mar-05 19-Mar-05 20-Mar-05 21-Mar-05 22-Mar-05 23-Mar-05 24-Mar-05 25-Mar-05 26-Mar-05 27-Mar-05 28-Mar-05 29-Mar-05 30-Mar-05 31-Mar-05 AVERAGE

6:30 PM 9:00 PM 8:30 PM 6:00 AM 6:00 AM 6:30 AM Light TDB Light TDB Light TDB 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:20 PM 7:00 PM 6:00 PM 5:00 PM 8:00 PM

6:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 6:30 PM 6:00 PM 6:00 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 8:00 PM 8:00 PM 6:30 PM

23.5 24.1 24.4 24.5 23.7 24.5 24.8 25.3 25.7 23.5 23.4 24.7 25.4 23.6 24.5 25.6 24.8

25.6 27.3 26.9 27.3 28.4 26.5 25.3 25.2 24.6 27.5 25.8 26.8 27.4 26.3 26.4 27.8 26.60

5:00 AM 4:00 AM 4:00 AM 3:00 AM 4:00 AM 4:00 AM Wind Wind Wind 4:00 AM 5:00 AM 4:00 AM 5:30 AM 3:00 AM 3:00 AM 3:00 AM

10:30 AM

19.5 24

7:50 AM 7:00 AM 8:00 AM 7:45 AM Wind out 7:50 AM 7:30 AM 8:00 AM 8:30 AM 10:00 AM 9:30 AM 8:30 AM 8:45 AM 6:00 PM Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall

19 21 21 19 24 20 19.5 18 20 19.5 19 21 20.59

103

Table C-4: Data from Kpenu Primary School for April 2005 DATA TAKEN FROM A PRIMARY SCHOOL AT KPENU, SOUTH TONGU DISTRICT, VR Apr-05
LOAD OPERATION DATE 1-Apr-05 2-Apr-05 3-Apr-05 4-Apr-05 5-Apr-05 6-Apr-05 7-Apr-05 8-Apr-05 9-Apr-05 10-Apr-05 11-Apr-05 12-Apr-05 13-Apr-05 14-Apr-05 15-Apr-05 16-Apr-05 AVERAGE TIME OFF 7:30 PM 9:00 PM 6:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:20 PM 9:00 PM Light No Light TIME ON 6:30 PM 7:00 PM 6:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:00 PM 6:30 PM Light No Light BATTERY VOLTAGE (V) MORNING 25.4 23.7 24.3 23.2 24.4 24.9 24.4 24.8 24.7 25.6 24.4 25.6 24.7 23.9 23.6 23.6 24.45 EVENING 27.8 28.3 26.7 25.2 26.2 26.4 25.5 26.4 24.4 24.5 26.4 24.8 26.7 23.6 23.6 23.6 25.63 6:00 PM 7:00 AM 21.44 No Light No Light TIME OPERATION TIME OFF 4:30 AM 5:00 AM 3:00 AM 4:00 AM 4:00 AM 5:00 AM TIME ON 9:00 AM 10:00 AM 8:00 AM 7:30 AM 8:00 AM 7:30 AM REMARKS DAILY OPERATING HOURS 19.5 19 19 21.5 21 24 24 23.5

104

APPENDIX D: COST ANALYSES OF THE POWER TO THE POOR IN GHANA PROJECT

Table D-1: Organization of the Excel Worksheet used for the Energy Generation Cost Estimate

LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS FOR DECENTRALIZED RURAL POWER GENERATION

500Wp Solar PV 1000W Petrol Generator 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 20 9% 0% 0.92 9.13 600W Wind Generator (Locally-made) 20 9% 0% 0.92 9.13

Economic Parameters Period of analysis: Discount rate: Inflation rate: Discount factor: Annualisation factor: Capital Costs 500W Solar PV Array Petrol Generator Imported Wind Turbine Local Wind Turbine 20m Galvanised Mast Transport of Mask or Structure Erection of Mast House Wiring Inverter 1000W Installation of PV, Turbine & Inverter Engineering & Supervision Batteries (4) Mounting Structure Total Capital Cost

Yrs % %

20 9% 0% 0.92 28.63 3,200

20 9% 0% 0.92 9.13

US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ US$ TCC ($)

839 2,300 500 100 56 98 1,011 320 278 667 5,329 1,300 500 100 56 98 1,011 320 278 667 4,329

50 98 1,011 200 110 667 200 5,536 105

20 98

73 50 1,080

Operation & Maintenance Costs: O&M Annual Fuel cost 8 lit/day @ $0.50/lit Annual O&M cost @1%, 2%, 3% cap. cost Life cycle O&M Cost Replacement Cost Year PWF Battery, Regulator 5 0.65 10 0.42 15 0.27 Total Replacement Cost US$ Daily Load kWh/day Annual Load kWh/yr Economic Indicators Total life cycle cost: US$ Annualised life cycle cost: US$/yr Annualised capital cost: US$/yr Annualised O&M cost: US$/yr Annualised Replacement cost: US$/yr Monthly O, M & Rep cost: $/mon Monthly Cost $/mon Levelised Energy Cost: $/kWh

55 505 Present Worth 433.29 281.61 183.03 898 2.5 913 6,939 760 606 55 98 12.81 63.34 0.83

1,460 108 14,314 Present Worth 354.40 354 2.5 913 15,749 1,725 118 1,568 39 133.90 143.77 1.89

107 973 Present Worth 433.29 281.61 183.03 898 2.5 913 7,200 789 584 107 98 17.08 65.73 0.86

130 1,186 Present Worth 433.29 281.61 183.03 898 2.5 913 6,412 702 474 130 98 19.02 58.54 0.77

106

APPENDIX E: SENSITIVITY ANALYSES

Table E-1: Unit Cost of Electricity Variation with Discount Rate Discount Rate 3% 6%

Unit Cost of Electricity ($/kWh)

500Wp Solar PV 0.58 0.70 1000W Petrol Generator 1.23 1.25 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 0.62 0.74 600W Wind Generator (Locally-made) 0.57 0.67

9%
12% 15%

0.83
0.98 1.13

1.27
1.29 1.32

0.86
1.00 1.15

0.77
0.88 1.00

Table E-2: Percentage Change in Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Discount Rates 600W Wind 600W Wind Discount 500Wp 1000W Petrol Generator Generator Rate Solar PV Generator (Imported) (Locally-made) 3% 6% 21% 19% 17% 16% 1.7% 1.8% 1.8% 1.9% 19% 17% 16% 15% 16% 16% 15% 14%

9%
12% 15%

Average

18%

2%

17%

15%

Table E-3: Unit Cost of Electricity Variation with Specific Investment Change in Specific Investment -30% -20% -10%

Unit Cost of Electricity ($/kWh)

500Wp Solar PV 0.62 0.69 0.76 1000W Petrol Generator 1.20 1.22 1.25 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 0.64 0.71 0.79 600W Wind Generator (Locally-made) 0.57 0.64 0.70

0
10% 20% 30%

0.83
0.91 0.98 1.05

1.27
1.29 1.31 1.34

0.86
0.94 1.02 1.09

0.77
0.84 0.90 0.97

107

Table E-4: Percentage Change in Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Discount Rates Change in 600W Wind 600W Wind 500Wp 1000W Petrol Specific Generator Generator Solar PV Generator Investment (Imported) (Locally-made) -30% -20% -10% 11% 10% 9% 8% 7% 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1.7% 1.7% 11% 10% 9% 8% 7% 10% 9% 9% 8% 7%

0
10% 20%

Average

9%

2%

9%

9%

Table E-5: Unit Cost of Electricity Variation with Average Daily Load Change in Daily Load -30% -20% -10%

Unit Cost of Electricity ($/kWh)

500Wp Solar PV 1.19 1.04 0.93 1000W Petrol Generator 1.81 1.59 1.41 600W Wind Generator (Imported) 1.23 1.08 0.96 600W Wind Generator (Locally-made) 1.10 0.96 0.86

0
10% 20% 30%

0.83
0.76 0.69 0.64

1.27
1.15 1.06 0.98

0.86
0.79 0.72 0.66

0.77
0.70 0.64 0.59

Table E-6: Percentage Change in Unit Cost of Electricity at Different Average Daily Loads 600W Wind 600W Wind Change in 500Wp 1000W Petrol Generator Generator Daily Load Solar PV Generator (Imported) (Locally-made) -30% -20% -10% -11% -10% -9% -8% -8% -11% -10% -9% -8% -8% -11% -10% -9% -8% -8% -11% -10% -9% -8% -8%

0
10% 20%

Average

-9%

-9%

-9%

-9%

108