| I saw a posting on Facebook this week that asked, "Is | | | | American Energy Association. Over the past 20 years, |
| wind energy for real? I have been told that it is just | | | | a strong DOE-funded R&D effort combined with |
| hype". My thoughts were that if you lived in the | | | | private partnerships has lowered the base cost of |
| Southwest you would witness daily the progress of | | | | wind energy from around 80 cents/kWh to as low as |
| wind energy. We in the Southeast and Northeast see | | | | 4 cents/kWh. When combined with the government |
| occasional wind generators and do not relate to the | | | | tax incentives which provide an incentive of 1.9 cents |
| future of wind energy. If we visited the European | | | | kWh for the first 10 years of a project, and other tax |
| countries, especially Germany, we would see a major | | | | considerations, the cost of wind energy becomes very |
| growth in wind energy generation. The progression of | | | | competitive, and is sometimes lower than conventional |
| harvesting energy from moving air can no longer be | | | | generation sources. |
| thought of as tilting at windmills. Wind energy will be a | | | | In Canada the wind generating capacity nearly doubled |
| major player in the replacement of fossil fuels. | | | | in 2006, .adding 657 new MW for a total of more than |
| The key reason for the acceptance of wind energy is | | | | 1.3 GW. The Canadian Wind Energy Association's goal |
| its dropping cost for electrical energy. Over the past | | | | is for 10,000 MW of installed wind energy in Canada |
| three decades, the cost of a watt of electricity | | | | by the year 2010, enough to supply 5% of Canada's |
| generated by wind has dropped to equal the cost of | | | | electricity needs. Denmark currently generates over |
| fossil fuel. During the 1970s, turbine blades were 32 | | | | 20% of its power from the wind, an attainable goal for |
| feet long and wind power cost $2.00 per kilowatt | | | | Canada. If wind energy were to generate 20% of |
| (kW-hr). Today, wind turbines with blades 130 feet long | | | | Canada's electricity, it would be the second largest |
| have cut the cost to around .05 cents per kW-hr. with | | | | source of electricity behind hydro and ahead of |
| federal subsidies to build the installation. In the future, | | | | nuclear, natural gas and coal. |
| the cost of wind energy will continue to decease while | | | | European countries are leading U.S. and Canada in the |
| fossil fuels will continue to increase. | | | | adoption of wind energy. The total capacity of new |
| As noted above, the larger blades are more efficient in | | | | wind turbines brought on line across the European |
| producing electricity. This is because more wind is | | | | Union last year was 8,554 MW, an increase of 935 |
| caught by a blade with a larger surface area. A town | | | | MW on the 2006 total. Total wind power capacity |
| of 8,000 needed 40 turbines to meet its power needs | | | | installed by the end of 2007 will avoid about 90 million |
| in the mid-1990s, while just one larger model is needed | | | | tones of CO2 annually and produce 119 Terawatt |
| today to produce the same amount of energy. | | | | hours in an average wind year, equal to 3.7% of EU |
| There is a great deal of ongoing research around the | | | | power demand. In 2000, less than 0.9% of EU |
| world to continue to improve the efficiency of the wind | | | | electricity demand was met by wind power. The |
| turbine. On the drawing boards are turbines with blades | | | | European countries have resolved that wind energy |
| almost 300 feet across. This size blade will drive the | | | | will be 20% of their generating capacity by 2020. |
| cost of wind energy down to less than fossil fuel | | | | The Asian nations are also quickly adopting wind |
| generation. To take advantage of the larger blade, | | | | energy. India added 1.8GW of wind energy in 2006. |
| Energy Unlimited in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania | | | | Suzlon Energy, based in Pune, is the world most |
| has patented the variable length blade or blade with a | | | | consistently profitable wind turbine maker. Meanwhile, |
| blade. This innovation extends or contracts depending | | | | China, which had installed capacity of 2.6 GW in 2006, |
| on wind conditions. A controller in the base of the | | | | plans to install more than 30 GW, enough to power 30 |
| tower responds to changes in wind speed, extending | | | | million average Chinese homes by 2020. |
| the inside blade in lighter winds and retracting it in | | | | The common hurdles to Acceptance of Wind Energy |
| heavier winds. Conventional turbines have to be shut | | | | are: |
| off when the wind is too strong. The variable blade is | | | | Not in my backyard |
| claimed to be 25% more efficient and is operating as a | | | | People do not like the sight or the sounds of windmills |
| prototype since 2002 near Palm Springs, California. For | | | | in their backyards. This seems especially true for |
| those who are technically curious, there is a lot more | | | | ocean views. This is a major hurdle to conquer. It may |
| research occurring in universities and research | | | | be that the wind energy generating platform needs to |
| laboratories on the components of the turbine, the | | | | go further out which brings energy transmission |
| shapes of blades and predictions of the winds. This | | | | problems. |
| research will continue to improve the wind turbine | | | | Kills Birds and Bats |
| efficiency and further reduce the cost of wind energy. | | | | This concern is becoming less each day. A few |
| By almost any measure, wind generated energy is | | | | studies to date have shown that the location of the |
| exploding. The growth is primarily limited by turbine | | | | wind turbine(s) is the major problem. Those turbines in |
| availability as the higher efficiency turbines are | | | | migration paths cause the most problems. Thus the |
| introduced. The global wind-power industry has grown | | | | location of future turbines recognizes the concern for |
| from $11.8 billion in 2005 to $17.9 billion in 2006. Clean | | | | birds and bats. Also, different colors for the blades and |
| Edge Research projects the market will triple to $60.8 | | | | warning noises are being studied to remove this |
| billion by 2016. In the United States in 2006 wind was | | | | hazard. |
| the second-largest source of new generating capacity, | | | | Hurts Tourism |
| trailing only natural gas. More than 2.4 GW of new | | | | There are small studies on this opinion, but there are no |
| capacity was installed, a 27% increase that brought | | | | statistical conclusions. If the turbines can be put out of |
| total U.S. wind generating capacity to 11.6 GW, enough | | | | sight everyone is happy, but we may not always have |
| to power about 2.9 million homes , according to the | | | | this luxury... |