Financial Decision Support System for Wind Energy – Analysis of Mexican Projects and a Support Scheme Concept

Abstract

Energy consumption is constantly on the increase all over the world. Especially fast-growing economies in emerging countries contribute to this increase. Governments need to promote the expansion of renewable energies in these countries by providing adequate general conditions and suitable support schemes. We provide decision support for the assessment of wind energy projects and their financial conditions. Following design science research (DSR) principles, a discounted cash flow (DCF) model in combination with a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) to consider project risks was created. On this basis, a decision support system (DSS) was implemented in MATLAB. The applicability of the DSS is evaluated in the course of an analysis of onshore wind projects in Mexico. Based on the analysis’ results, a concept of a support scheme is designed to promote an expansion of onshore wind energy across Mexico.