Jonathan J. Miles, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Integrated Science and Technology
Director, JMU Office of the Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative
James Madison University
02 May 2006

Virginians consumed
14.36 MWh/capita of electrical power in 2002
(U.S. Energy Information Agency)
That’s 1,639 W continuously per person!

• Virginia’s predominant primary-energy product is coal , as the state is a major coal producer. Virginia is also a producer of natural gas and of small amounts of petroleum . Several of the state’s rivers are harnessed to generate hydroelectric power.
• Virginia’s only major energy export is coal , as in-state usage in a typical year is less than half of the state’s production. Virginia’s consumption of natural gas and petroleum products exceed in-state production by a substantial margin.
• Virginia imports large amounts of energy, including petroleum products, natural gas , nuclear fuel for the state's nuclear power plants, and electrical energy that comes into the state on transmission lines. In fact,
Virginia's energy imports total more than 50 percent of total in-state usage.
• Petroleum products account for about twothirds of Virginia's net energy imports. Some of the coal used to generate electricity within the state is imported from out-of-state mines even though in-state coal usage is less than in-state production.
Virginia Electricity Generating Capability by Primary Energy
Source, U.S. Energy Information Agency, 1999
• Electricity generation percent of the primary energy consumed within the state was used to generate electricity. is a major use for the primary energy in Virginia. In 1999, about 30

• Mountaintop removal for coal extraction
• Contamination of aquifers
• Acidification of waterways
• Degradation of air quality
• Rising costs & volatility in prices for petroleum and natural gas
• Global climate change & displaced habitat
• Finite availability of primary power sources
• Disposition of spent fuel rods
• National security
• THERE ARE
ALTERNATIVES!

Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States
U.S. Department of Energy, 1987
Class 2 / 12.5-14.3 mph @ 50 m
Class 3 / 14.3-15.7 “
Class 4 / 15.7-16.8 “
Class 5 / 16.8-17.9 “
Class 6 / 17.9-19.7 “
Class 7 / 19.7-24.8 “

AWS TrueWind, LLC, 2003

What Wind Power Is . . . and Is Not!
• Abundant Homeland
Energy Resource
• Increasingly
Competitive
• Fastest Growing New
Source of Energy
• Economic,
Environmental and
National Security
Provider
• Perfect
• Sole Answer to All
Problems
• Best Option
Everywhere courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

• EVERYTHING causes environmental impacts
• Power generation technology is generally ugly, noisy and dangerous
• This is about generating competitive power
• Wind can stabilize costs to customers
• Projects = Economic Development
• We all like making money
• All industries rely on tax incentives
• Wind projects are subject to variety of local, state and federal guidelines
• National investment in wind technology is matter of economic security courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

• Declining Wind Costs
• Fuel Price Uncertainty
• Federal and State
Policies
• Economic
Development
• Green Power Market
• Energy Security courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

Cost of Energy and Cumulative Domestic Capacity
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1980 1984
*Year 2000 dollars
1988 1992 1996 2000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
2004
Increased Turbine Size - R&D Advances - Manufacturing Improvements courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

(1999, 2004) courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

The Wind Farms
242 MW
Wethersfield, NY 6.6 MW on-line 2000
Somerset, PA 15MW on-line 2001
Mill Run, PA 9MW on-line 2001
Fenner, NY 30MW on-line 2001
Mountaineer, WV 66MW on-line 2002
Waymart, PA 64.5MW on-line 2003
Crescent Ridge, IL 51MW on-line 2005
In development:
Atlantic City, NJ 7.5MW Fall 2005
Bear Creek, PA 24MW Fall 2005
Princeton, MA 3MW 2006
Lempster, NH 24MW 2006
Jordanville, NY 150MW 2007
Highland County, VA 39 MW 2007 courtesy of Community Energy, Inc.

courtesy of
Atlantic County Utility Authority

Small (
≤
10 kW)
• homes
• farms
• remote applications
Intermediate
(10-250 kW)
• village power
• hybrid systems
• distributed power
Large (660 kW -
2+MW)
• central station wind farms
• distributed power
• community wind courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

• Construction
• Operations and maintenance
• Property tax revenues
• Landowner revenues
• Manufacturing
• Multiplier effect
• Net economic development impacts of wind vs. fossil fuels courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

• Land Lease Payments : 2-3% of gross revenue $2500-4000/MW/year
• Local property tax revenue: 100 MW brings in on the order of $500,000 - 1 million/yr
• 1-2 jobs /MW during construction
• 2-5 permanent O&M jobs per 50-100 MW
• Local construction and service industry: concrete, towers usually done locally
• Investment as equity owners: production tax credit, accelerated depreciation courtesy of P.J. Dougherty

16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
N.Engl Mid-Atl Calif
Land
Offshore
Pac.
NW
*Class 4+ on Land; Class 5+ Offshore and Water Depths <70 ft; No land use exclusions
The U.S. Dept. of Energy estimates there to be 900 GW of offshore wind generation capacity (including deeper waters), an amount greater than the current installed U.S. electrical capacity.
courtesy of
AWS TrueWind

AWS TrueWind, 2003

• Commercial Land Wind
Projects Require Class
4+ Wind Class
• Offshore Wind Projects
Require Class 5+ Due to
Higher Construction
Costs courtesy of AWS TrueWind

• Most Offshore Projects
Have Been Built in
Waters <50 ft Deep
• Some New Offshore
Projects Are In Waters
Up to 75 ft Deep
• Deep-Water Foundation
Designs Are Under
Development courtesy of AWS TrueWind

• Windy Lands (Class 4+)
With and Without
Parks/Govt. Forests
• 42% of windy lands are in parks/govt. forests
• Windy Waters (Class 5+) with depths <70 ft
• 80% of windy waters beyond 3-mile limit courtesy of AWS TrueWind

SBALP Towers
Active
Decommissioned
Virginia State-Based Anemometer Loan Program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the
Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy

(Awarded)
(Award deferred)
Virginia Small Wind Incentives Program funded by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy

Wallops Island Feasibility Study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy

• SBALP
• VSWIP
• Feasibility Studies
( Wallops Island ,
Tangier Island)
• Tall Towers program
• Next Step initiative
(for self-guided resource assessment)
• Education
– Workshops and meetings
– Small and Large
(Federal) wind guidebooks
– Community outreach
– Briefings to zoning, planning, and legislative groups

• The Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative was created to educate the public and inform decision-makers about wind energy development in Virginia, in support of the
Commonwealth’s need for reliable and affordable energy, environmental quality, and economic development .
• JMU was instrumental in the development of the
Landscape Classification System for Virginia .

Objectives
• To support efforts on the part of the wind energy community to recognize , avoid , and minimize adverse environmental impacts arising from utility-scale wind energy development in Virginia.
– Increase awareness of real and potential adverse environmental impacts for areas with Class 3 and above wind resources.
– Recommend site-specific assessments prior to significant financial commitment to development of a given site.
– Identify critical information gaps likely to impede accurate evaluation of adverse environmental impacts, including assessment of cumulative impacts at appropriate scales.

(Class 3 and above)

Introduction to the Landscape
Classification System for Virginia
• Three categories were defined and overlaid on Class 3 and above wind resources:
– Unsuitable: mapped
– Flagged
– Unclassified

Introduction to the Landscape
Classification System for Virginia
• Unsuitable: mapped
– These are areas of known geographic extent that are unsuitable for utility-scale wind development due to a direct conflict with legal mandates regarding the management of the site and/or to adverse impacts to unique biological and/or recreational resources.

• National Park Service – Appalachian National Scenic Trail and 5-mile buffer zone
• National Park Service – Blue Ridge Parkway
• National Park Service – Shenandoah National Park (SNP)
• U.S. Forest Service – Wilderness Areas
• U.S. Forest Service – National Scenic Areas
• U.S. Forest Service – Special Biologic Areas (SBAs)
• U.S. Forest Service – Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs)
• U.S. Forest Service – Research Natural Areas (RNAs)
• U.S. Forest Service – Wilderness Study Areas
• U.S. Forest Service – Inventoried Old Growth Forest
• Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage –
State Parks and Natural Area Preserves
• Virginia Outdoor Foundation (VOF) Easements
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges
• The Nature Conservancy Preserves
• Submerged Aquatic Vegetation

(western ridges)

(coastal)

Introduction to the Landscape
Classification System for Virginia
• Flagged
– Those areas are known to support sensitive resources or necessitating formal or legal administrative review that will require consultation with the appropriate State and/or
Federal agency and site-specific assessment to determine suitability.

• National Park Service – Appalachian National Scenic Trail and 5 to
10-mile buffer zone
• The Nature Conservancy Ecoregional Portfolio Sites
• Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation, Division of
Natural Heritage – Heritage Sites
• U.S. Forest Service – Candidate Wilderness Areas
• U.S. Forest Service – Uninventoried Roadless Areas
• U.S. Forest Service – Remaining National Forest Lands
• Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries Wildlife
Management Areas
• Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries Cold Water
Streams Survey – Trout Habitat
• Virginia Department of Forestry State Forests

(western ridges)

(coastal)

Introduction to the Landscape
Classification System for Virginia
• Unclassified
– These are areas in Class 2 or lower wind resource or for which insufficient data exist to assess suitability for utility-scale wind energy development.

6% of nation’s electric load
7% of nation’s electric load
24% of nation’s electric load courtesy of
AWS TrueWind

July 2, 2002
Code
Purple
Code Red
Code
Orange
Code
Yellow
Clear
Courtesy of
VA DEQ

• 2002 was a bad summer for Ozone . . .
– 9 Code Red Days
– 19 Code Orange Days
• Washington, DC Ozone Health Effects (Code
Purple/Red/Orange Days)
– Children warned not to play outside for more than 10 minutes
– 130,000 Asthma Attacks
– 2,400 Emergency Room Visits
– 200+ Deaths
• The problem is worsening.
courtesy of
Alden Hathaway

CO
2
: 2,189 lbs/MWh
SO
2
: 18.5 lbs/MWh
NOx: 7.4 lbs/MWh
Hg: 0.0815 lbs/MWh
Note: Mt. Storm is installing SCR controls that should reduce overall NOx emissions by 50%
*Based on EPA E-Grid – 1998 Data

• “Stunning reduction” in Arctic Sea ice for fourth straight year – 2005 ice cover lowest in 100 years
– National Snow and Ice Data Center, NASA,
University of Washington
• 2005 projected to be hottest year on record
– NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

• Be Educated Consumers/Citizens
• Be Active in Community Decisions
• Support Rational Framework for Decisionmaking
• Support Policies That Support You
• Request and Exercise Choice

http://vwec.cisat.jmu.edu
Jonathan J. Miles, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Integrated Science and Technology
Director, JMU Office of the Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative
James Madison University
02 May 2006
Questions?