The choice of wind turbines to fit various specific wind conditions for the purpose of ensuring maximum generation of electric power at least investment expenditures is among the wind power sector overarching challenges. Solving this task involves the evaluation of cost indices for wind turbines of various sizes. A well-known and rather popular with investigators model, made by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA) has been improved for the first time with the aim of determining the cost of wind turbines of various sizes on the basis of their main parameters (rated power, rotor diameter, hub height) for current conditions of application. The established correlation relationships between the cost of wind turbine and its main parameters made possible the transformation of a well-known complex model into a model with linear equations and minimization of computations. Based on the research studies of the evolution of wind turbines main parameters and an average (global) cost of 1 MW of their power, the authors have suggested the first-ever original linear mathematical models that enable evaluating the wind turbine cost for any year of research. In illustration of application of the first ever developed technique, we have made the assessment of operating efficiency of the US wind farms from 2010 to 2019. The results obtained convincingly indicate the high quality of the developed model.

The article presents the results of many years’ experience of industrial operation of wind power plants (WPPs) of the Ochakiv Wind Park. In the course of the research a parametric model of WPP performance was developed; factors influencing the performance of wind power plants in Ukraine were analysed; modern methods of economic and mathematical modelling were studied and appropriate ones were selected to assess the efficiency of WPP operation in wind conditions of the Northern Black Sea region of Ukraine; an algorithm for solving the problem of efficient operation of WPPs in Ukraine has been developed; grounding on six years’ studies of results of the Ochakiv WPP operation in Ukraine unique databases have been created; a model of correlation between the capacity of wind power plant (WPP) FL 2500-100 and wind speed in the Northern Black Sea region of Ukraine was developed; the obtained results were interpreted and conclusions were made based on the parametric model of WPP performance taking into account the specific external factors of the Northern Black Sea region of Ukraine.

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Efficiency improvement in wind conversion field is the most critical scientific-and-technical problem, which is chiefly settled by increasing the power of wind turbines. A new technique was pioneered for determining the efficiency of wind turbines operation in the wind conditions of the Northern Black Sea region of Ukraine. It is found out that the main parameters that have an impact on the cost of electricity are as follows: the cost of a wind turbine itself and annual electric energy production. The cost indicators of wind turbines of the Ukrainian wind farms were defined in the wind conditions of the Northern Black Sea region in 2018, according to which it was ascertained that the cost of electric energy generated in Ukraine was by 17 % cheaper as compared to the world cost value. In illustration of application of the first ever developed technique, we have made the assessment of effective operation of the Ukrainian wind farms in the years of 2019 – 2020. The results obtained bear compelling evidence as to the correlations between the cost of produced electric energy and the size of wind turbines. In view of the above, application of wind turbines of super-large sizes in the conditions of the Northern Black Sea area of Ukraine (as well as in other regions of the world) is hardly expedient due to increase in the cost of electric power generated by them.