Reliability evaluation of a grid connected wind farm - A case study of Ramgiri Wind Farm in Andhra Pradesh, India

The application of renewable energy in electric power systems is growing rapidly due to enhanced public concern for adverse environmental impacts and escalation in energy costs, shortage of fossil fuels associated with the use of conventional energy sources throughout the world. Wind energy resources are being increasingly recognized as cost effective generation sources in bulk power generation. In the modem age, we need failure-free electric supply. This leads to reliable supply, since most of the failures occur due to insufficient generation. The generation system reliability evaluation has become the most important component of power system reliability. This paper presents the results of a case study concerning reliability evaluation of Ramgiri Wind Farm in Andhra Pradesh, India. It consists of several 250 KW wind electric generators connected to the grid. The unit-wise data was collected for 2 years. The failure and repair rates were presented. "We developed and used a method of sequential addition algorithm through a computer program in 'C' language". From the results, one can go for system planning for certain base loads and addition of Wind Turbine Generators and selection of wind site.