Meeting increasing electric load demand in a deregulated utility; an economic comparison

Wind power is considered as one of the cheapest and most environmental friendly renewable energy sources available today. The use of this energy source in distribution systems has increased considerably since 1986 due to technological advances. Hybrid wind electric energy generators consist of one or more wind generators and either standby diesel generators or other energy conversion systems or energy storing devices to provide a reliable power source regardless of the amount of wind available at any time. The use of hybrid wind electric generators in distribution systems not only reduces the need for traditional generation capacity increase, but it also smoothes the power demand and reduces system losses.