WIND ENERGY BASICS
January 24, 2006
Wind power is a reality today. More than 2,400 megawatts of wind generation –
enough to serve more than 650,000 average American homes – was installed in
the United States in 2005 alone. With continued government encouragement to
accelerate its development, this increasingly competitive source of energy will
provide at least six percent of the nation’s electricity by 2020 and revitalize farms
and rural communities – without consuming any natural resource or emitting any
pollution or greenhouse gases.
Wind power is a reality today
• Growing rapidly worldwide on a percentage basis (29% annually for last five
years – 2001-2005)
• Total installed U.S. wind capacity at year's end 2005 was 9,149 MW, or enough
to serve the equivalent of 2.3 million average households
• Globally, 7,976 MW of new wind capacity was added in 2004. Current installed
capacity worldwide at the end of 2004 was 47,317 MW, enough to serve more
than 10 million average U.S. households. Preliminary indications are that
another 10,000 MW or more was added in 2005.
• Denmark, some regions of Spain, and Germany now have 10% to 25% of
electricity generated from wind power
More than 2,400 megawatts of wind generation – enough to serve more than
650,000 average American homes – was installed in the United States in 2005
alone.
• Nearly 25 billion kWh of electricity will be generated by wind power in the U.S. in
2006 (AWEA estimate) – enough for the equivalent of 2.3 million average
American homes (a single new 1-MW turbine generates as much electricity as
250 to 300 average homes use).
• 2005’s new installations include:
− The 50-MW Kumeyaay Wind Power Project near San Diego, the largest
project built on Indian land in the U.S.
− Nearly 300 MW of new capacity in Oklahoma, making it the state with the
fifth largest amount of wind power installed
− The third largest wind power plant in the U.S., the 210-MW Horse Hollow
Wind Energy Center in Taylor County, Tex.
− Two 660-kW wind turbines installed at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base
near Cheyenne, Wyo., and one 660-kW wind turbine installed at the
Camp Williams National Guard facility in Draper, Utah
• Also, in 2005, Pune, India-based wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon held a
groundbreaking ceremony for its new $14 million assembly plant in Pipestone,
Minn. Suzlon has stated that it intends to hire between 100 and 200 employees
1
•
for the new plant and that it could supply 400 MW of turbines to the U.S. in 2006.
The announcement suggests wind energy's enormous economic growth potential
for states and signals a significant turnaround, the United States now showing an
ability to lure high-paying manufacturing jobs from overseas, based on the size of
the ultimate market here.
Sales of small residential turbines also growing
With continued government encouragement to accelerate its development…
• Enact long-term extension of federal wind production tax credit (PTC) – provides
stable financial environment needed to promote industry’s continued growth
(PTC will expire at end of 2007 unless extended). More than $50 billion worth of
wind equipment is now in place worldwide, with another $8-10 billion being
added annually. A long-term, stable PTC would allow companies to plan and
build manufacturing capacity in the U.S. to supply this global market.
• Transmission policy agenda: (1) reform electricity market rules to allow
nondiscriminatory access to transmission system for wind-generated electricity;
(2) targeted upgrades and new transmission lines to remove “bottlenecks” in
existing system; and (3) ultimately, major investment in new transmission – “wind
pipelines” – to tap the immense resources of the Great Plains and West
• Enact national renewables portfolio standard (RPS) of at least 10% by 2020 –
low-cost, market-friendly way to boost clean energy sources (20 states and
District of Columbia now have RPS policies)
• Provide incentive for purchase of small wind turbines – 30% federal investment
tax credit, state cost-share programs
• Maintain consistent research funding
• Access to low-cost financing
• Federal renewable energy procurement – federal leadership needed in green
power purchases
• State incentives – Texas RPS (5,880 MW of renewables by 2015), New York
RPS (increase renewables from 17% of state’s electricity use to 25% by 2012)
and New York government procurement (10% by 2005, 20% by 2010), California
RPS (increase renewables from 12% of state’s electricity use to 20% by 2017),
others – can play major role
…this increasingly competitive source of energy…
• With its federal incentive, "large" wind is now in a competitive range (3-7 cents
per kilowatt-hour, depending on the project size and average wind speed at the
site)
• Wind is "inflation-proof" – once a wind plant is built, the cost of energy is known,
and is not affected by fuel market price volatility
• Technology is steadily improving (rotor blade airfoils specially designed for wind
turbines, variable-speed generators, power electronics, sophisticated computer
modeling of design changes)
• New, larger turbines (1 MW to 3 MW) generate 120 times as much electricity as
1980s models at one-sixth the cost
• Wind plants can be built quickly to respond to electricity shortages
• In windy areas, small machines are most economical self-generation option
…will provide at least six percent of the nation’s electricity by 2020 …
• Enough electricity for 25 million homes
2
•
•
•
100,000 MW (or more than 15 times existing capacity at end of 2004)
Nearly as much electricity as hydropower supplies today
European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) now believes 100,000 MW of wind
can be installed in Europe by 2010
…and revitalize farms and rural communities …
• A single wind turbine can provide $2,000-$4,000/year or more in farm income
even though only 2-5% of the land within wind farm boundary is used for turbines
and access roads.
• Wind plants can be valuable source of property tax income for local governments
(especially rural counties)
• Wind energy helps diversify income for farmers, ranchers, and other landowners
• Each megawatt of wind provides 2.5-3 job-years of employment
• Wind provides ~1 skilled O&M (operations/maintenance) job for every 10 turbines
installed
. . . reduce volatility in natural gas prices . . .
• Natural gas supplies in North America are being depleted
• AWEA estimates that an installed capacity of 9,149 MW of wind power will save
over half a billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (Bcf/day) in 2006, alleviating a
portion of the supply pressure that is now facing the natural gas industry and is
creating volatile fuel prices.
• The U.S. currently burns about 13 Bcf/day for electricity generation, which means
during 2006, wind power will be reducing natural gas use for power generation by
approximately 5%.
• Expanding wind generation and building “wind pipelines” (see above) is one of
the quickest, easiest ways to conserve gas supplies, further reduce price spikes
…and increase the security of U.S. electricity supply
• Domestic energy source
• Inexhaustible supply – U.S. winds could generate more electricity in 15 years
than all of Saudi Arabia's oil, without being depleted
• Wind plants consist of small individual generators which cannot easily be
damaged at the same time and which are easy to replace
• If a wind plant is damaged, there is no secondary threat to the public (such as in
the release of radioactivity, explosions, or the breaching of a dam)
…without consuming any natural resource or emitting any greenhouse gases.
• Using more wind energy can save water in the arid western U.S. To generate
the same amount of electricity as a single 1-MW wind turbine using either fossil
fuels or nuclear power requires, on average, withdrawing roughly 60 million
gallons of water a year from streams, rivers, or aquifers, of which nearly 1 million
gallons is lost to evaporation; generating the same amount with hydropower
means the loss of approximately 50 million gallons a year to evaporation
• A single 1-MW turbine displaces 1,800 tons of carbon dioxide, the primary global
warming pollutant, each year (equivalent to planting a square mile of forest),
based on the current average U.S. utility fuel mix
3
•
•
•
•
To generate the same amount of electricity as a single 1-MW turbine using the
average U.S. utility fuel mix would mean emissions of 9 tons of sulfur dioxide and
4 tons of nitrogen oxide each year
To generate the same amount of electricity as a single 1-MW wind turbine for 20
years would require burning 29,000 tons of coal (a line of 10-ton trucks 11 miles
long) or 92,000 barrels of oil
To generate the same amount of electricity as today's U.S. wind turbine fleet
(9,149 MW) would require burning 12 million tons of coal (a line of 10-ton trucks
over 4,500 miles long) or 40 million barrels of oil each year
100,000 MW of wind energy will reduce CO2 production by nearly 150 million
tons annually
…or causing any other significant environmental impact.
• Pre-construction site surveys are now standard, reduce threat to birds to minimal
levels; cats, hunters, glass windows, communications towers are far more
dangerous to birds
• Bat collisions are significant issue only at a few sites where fatalities are
unusually high; industry is helping fund cutting-edge research effort with leading
bat conservation group aimed at reducing mortality
• Potential habitat (not collision) effect on prairie grouse and grassland songbirds
is concern in areas of the Midwest and West; efforts to reduce potential impacts
are implemented on a project-by-project basis; industry is in process of
organizing a cooperative research effort on this issue as well
• Minimal footprint, can be placed on working farms or ranches
• No pollution impact on people, wildlife, or habitats
• Noise virtually eliminated – a wind turbine a quarter of a mile away is no noisier
than a kitchen refrigerator
Assumptions:
- 33% average capacity factor assumed for machines installed in 2005.
- 31% average capacity factor assumed for entire turbine fleet
- Average annual household consumption (U.S.) = 10,656 kWh
- 10-ton truck is 20 feet long
4