Abstract

The aim of this work is to investigate the potential of wind energy for the future power supply in Albania. The level of information available about wind zones in Albania requires highly reliable data supplied by our institutions. However, no significant investments have been recorded in the sector in the recent years. A number of studies published a wind map with wind speeds over 5 m/s and its annual number of hours. Based on this data and a boundary layer model with the roughness of the landscape as an input, maps of wind speeds at 50 m and 100 m (typical elevation heights of modern wind hubs) are developed. In order to estimate the potential yield of the most promising Albanian locations, the density of the annual energy output assuming different wind turbine characteristics and wind speed distribution have been carried out. In this paper a basic cost analysis based on simple payback method is performed. Cost of electricity generation from wind power and payback period have been  etermined.