Pre-feasibility study of wind power generation in holyrood, newfoundland

The largest commercial thermal generating plant in Newfoundland is in Holyrood, Conception Bay. It has a generating capacity of 500 MW of electricity. During peak generation (winter months), the plant runs at near capacity with generation reaching as high as 500 MW. In addition to thermal generation about 900 MW is supplied to the grid by a number of hydro plants. This paper presents a pre-feasibility study of 25% of thermal power generation using wind turbines in the Holyrood area. Purpose of supplementing power generation from the thermal plant is to reduce emissions and fuel costs. Simulation results indicate that 16 Enercon's E-66, 2 MW wind turbines if installed near the site will provide a 25% renewable fraction. Supplementing 25% of the generation at Holyrood with wind power will reduce the cost of energy by CA$0.013/kWh. It will also reduce carbon emissions by almost 200,000 tons/year. This study indicates that a wind farm project at the Holyrood thermal generation station site is feasible.