ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF WIND POWERGENERATION

Abstract

Wind energy, commonly recognized to be a clean and environmentally friendly renewable energy resource that can
reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. Its mature technology and comparatively low cost make it promising as an important
primary energy source in the future. India ranks fifth in the world with an installed capacity of about 21421 MW till mid
2014. Many options can be effectively used to meet the future power needs of a country in ways which would be more
economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially justified. A least-cost generation expansion planning study can be
conducted to find the economic feasibility of large scale integration of wind farms in the main interconnected transmission
system. This paper aims to provide an economic overview of world wind energy scenarios, the current status of wind turbine
development, various financial aspects in developing the wind farms and a briefly focuses to their environmental impacts