Wind energy has become an attractive alternative to satisfy the ever-growing energy demands worldwide. One important factor that contributes to efficient energy harnessing from a wind farm is the selection of appropriate wind turbines for a specific site. This paper addresses this important issue through a goal programming based multi-criteria wind turbine selection approach. The approach considers four decision criteria in the selection process which are hub height, wind speed, zero output percentage, and rated output percentage. The four criteria are aggregated into a scalar decision function developed using goal programming. The approach is then applied to selection of turbines for three potential wind farm sites, namely, Dhulom, Qassim, and Rawdat ben Habbas, all located in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, seven different turbine types are used in the selection process. Results indicate that turbine Fuhrlder FL 600 model is the most suitable choice for all three sites. © 2017 IEEE.

View