Evaluation of the Possibility of Using a Home Wind Installation as Part of the Operation of Hybrid Systems—A Selected Case Study of Investment Profitability Analysis

Abstract

The renewable energy sector is becoming key to the energy transformation processes of modern economies. The energy policy of one of the European countries specifies that by 2030, about 7% of energy production will come fromwindsources. Because wind turbines are becoming more and more efficient, innovative projects are being created to expandtheir potential by integrating them with the energy systems of existing residential buildings. The analysis of the profitability of such investments may be important for the implementation of such an ambitious plan. In particular, this argument may be crucial for the growth of the potential and development prospects of distributed energy systems based on renewable energy sources. The article outlines the challenges related to forecasting generation from this energy source. The article aims to present the methodology, energy potential and forecasting results of energy generation from wind sources for two selected locations in one of the European Union countries, Poland. The NPV-Net Present Value and IRR-Internal Rate of Return methods were used for the study. These methods allowed theauthors to calculate the market value of the investment with the assumed boundary criteria and determine the economic efficiency of the investment. The research was carried out in the period December 2023–November 2024 on test wind installations in households. In addition, the article indicates the challenges related to the variability of atmospheric factors and the self-consumption of the wind turbine, which is often difficult to predict due to the lack of turbine efficiency analysis. The presented models showed that the project in their implementation is fully economically justified and will allow investors to make a rational investment decision. The obtained results only take into account the basic measurement data used in the analysis, including government subsidies. The proposed economic analysis uses average values of meteorological parameters, which do not fully reflect the variability of resources. Each investment should be individually analyzed by a qualified agent, taking into account detailed measurement data for the given investment site. This article presents only a preliminary study of the investment’s profitability. These models can be effectively used in other countries and can also be a starting point for discussions on the direction of the development of energy systems based on renewable energy sources.