Powering Telecommunication Towers Using Vertical Axis Wind Turbines: A Feasibility Study in Saudi Arabia

Abstract This paper presents a road map to select and integrate an existing off-the-shelf Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) for telecommunication towers. A comprehensive feasibility analysis is performed based on technical, economic, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction factors. More than 80% of these towers have a maximum power requirement of less than 3.5 kW. Hence, the study is conducted for wind turbines with 10 kW rated power. Four commercially available VAWTs are selected and analyzed at two locations within Dhahran using hourly wind data recorded between 2019 and 2020. The study found that the best wind turbine has a capacity factor of 18.7% and 19.1% for these sites at 10 m hub height, and the capacity factor increases to 21.6% and 22.3% at 50 m hub height. Similarly, the specific yield of the turbine also increases from 137 to 263 kWh/m2 as the hub height is increased from 10 m to 50 m. Economic analysis revealed that the best wind turbine results in 15,043 kWh of energy exported to the tower leading to 7.2 years’ payback period. Emissions analysis for the best case reduces the GHG emissions by 83%, which amounts to 23.3 tons of CO2.