FEASIBILITY OF POWERING MANZANILLA VIA A WIND FARM

Remote communities on the outskirts of Trinidad and Tobago have the perennial challenge of a reliable supply of electricity. Frequent outages can have a negative effect on the quality of life for persons in such areas. Manzanilla is one such community. It however lies on the east coast of Trinidad. The east coast is commonly thought to have a significant wind resource compared with other areas of Trinidad. This study looked at the feasibility of providing wind energy to a community in the Manzanilla area. Average power consumption was determined by a survey for a total of almost 300 households, businesses and combined establishments in the area. The wind resource was examined to determine if it could meet the electricity demand which has been growing steadily from 2001 to the present. The wind resource was found to be adequate when compared with similar areas considering the generation of wind energy.