Potential of wind energy resources around Nasawana village in Nabouwalu, Vanua Levu, Fiji

Fiji is located in the South Western part of the Pacific between latitude 18° S and longitude 179° E. In 2018, Fiji has spent approximately FJD 800 million in importing fossil fuel to meet the rising energy demand in the country. In the previous year’s several solar PV and wind resource assessments has been done and results obtained indicated that there is a potential for grid connected electricity generation using recommended resources. This study was carried out in the Nasawana Village (16°55.3 S and 178°47.4 E) to determine the options to use electricity derived from the wind. Wind analysis was carried out using Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) that predicted the wind speed of 6.96 ms −1 and a power density of 256 Wm −2 at 55 m a.g.l. The annual energy production predicted for a single wind turbine (Vergnet 275 kW) is approximately 631.6 MWh with a capacity factor of 26%. The cost of energy per kWh is estimated as FJD 0.10 with a payback period of 7 years.