Wind power cost assessment in Oman

Oman has great potential of harnessing Solar and wind energy sources for future energy generation. This work assesses wind power cost per kWh of energy produced using four types of wind machines at 21 locations within Oman. These sites cover all regions in Oman. Hourly values of wind speed recorded between 2000-2009, in most cases, were used for all 21 locations. Wind duration curves were developed and utilized to calculate the cost per kWh of energy generated from four chosen wind machines. It was found that the cost of energy is small in the south and middle regions of Oman compared with the north region.