Tutorial 4 – Wind Turbines (SS 2025)

Patagonian Wind Farm

A remote community in Patagonia has 10,000 inhabitants. Average electricity consumption is 3 kWh/person/day. The community is to be powered by wind turbines and any surplus electricity is used for desalination (replacing diesel generators).

Wind turbine specs:

• Rated power: 2 MW/turbine
• Capacity factor: 35%
• Lifetime: 20 years

Financial parameters:

• Specific investment: €1,500,000/MW
• Discount rate: 6%
• O&M: 2% of investment/year

Desalination: Surplus wind electricity replaces diesel generation at an avoided cost of €0.15/kWh.

Task 1: Calculate the total annual electricity demand of the community [kWh/year].

Choose one

Or enter your answer (±1% tolerance)

Task 2: What installed wind capacity [MW] is required to exactly cover the annual demand?

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Or enter your answer (±5% tolerance)

Task 3: How many 2 MW turbines are needed? (round up)

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Or enter your answer (±1% tolerance)

Task 4: Calculate the LCOE [€/kWh] for the installed wind farm (2 turbines). Use the annuity method.

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Or enter your answer (±8% tolerance)

Task 5: How much is saved annually [€] by using surplus wind electricity for desalination instead of diesel?

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Or enter your answer (±5% tolerance)

Task 6: What is the effective LCOE [€/kWh] after accounting for the desalination revenue?

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Or enter your answer (±8% tolerance)