The Current State
of the Wind Energy
Dialogue in
Oklahoma
Scott Greene
OWPI Director
Professor, Department of
Geography
Why Wind?
• Gain energy independence
• Ease demand on the power grid
•Reduce vulnerability to volatile
utility prices
• Reduce air pollution from fossil
electricity sources
•Economic Development
US Electricity Installations
Cost of Wind Energy
Low wind speed sites
Bulk Power Competitive
Price Band
High wind
speed sites
Wind Energy in Oklahoma
Perceptions of Wind Energy
Perceptions of Wind Energy
Weatherford Wind Energy Center
Florida Power & Light




Phase I: 106.5 MW
Phase II: 40.5 MW
– ~ 44,000 homes
– Public Service Company of
Oklahoma
98 GE 1.5 MW turbines
$150,000 payment in lieu of taxes to
Weatherford School District for 5 years
“We’ve seen our sales tax
increase by about 20%
recently. We attribute part
of that to the guys working
in town, the hotels being
full and having them eat at
our restaurants.”
Mike Brown
Mayor of Weatherford
Fort Supply School District -Revenue Data
•The first year saw a 114% increase.
•Fort Supply received a 466%
increase in funding in two years.
Fort Supply
$1,400,000
$1,166,628.07
$1,200,000
$1,000,000
$800,000
$600,000
$400,000
$441,293.09
$205,879.21
$200,000
$0
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009
Across the State:
•83 % support renewable energy.
•72 % willing to pay more for renewable power.
In Weatherford, Ok
•55% felt wind farms helped property taxes.
•85% said they had a favorable view of wind power.
•84% thought the state should promote wind power.
“Renewables are the future” we are “ready for the transition.”
Chesapeake Chief Meteorologist John Davis
“We aim to play a leading role in the growing low-carbon energy
sector, developing large scale businesses that compete with
traditional forms of power and fuel.” and “Wind farms provide
safe, clean, and increasingly affordable energy.”
BP
“We believe investment in wind is the best solution for Oklahoma”
OG&E
Public-Private Partnerships
River Springs, Oklahoma
• New community in south-central Cotton
County
• Casino and a few neighborhoods exist
• Southwest Oklahoma Regional Development
Corporation has plans for a “main street” with
businesses
• Interested in community scale wind
Feasibility
Study Underway
Yarbrough Public School
Turbine Producing up to 80+% of electrical needs
Recent Legislation
Wind Energy Development Act
• States that, in the best interest of the state, a
renewable energy goal of 15% of all installed
capacity shall be met by 2015.
– AKA “Renewable Portfolio Standard”
Recent Legislation
• Prohibition of severance of wind and solar rights from
surface rights (SB 1787)
• Prohibits the severance of wind and solar rights from surface rights. Wind
or solar leases may only be made with the owner of the surface right of a
real property.
• Decommissioning bill (HB 2973, SB 2132)
• Owners of wind energy facilities shall be responsible, at their expense, for
decommissioning of sites. Decommissioning consists of removal of turbines,
towers, buildings, cabling, electrical components, foundations and other
facilities to a depth of 30 inches and restoring to original condition.
The Future of Wind Power In Oklahoma
•
HB2813 signed into law in 2008
– Enables Upgraded Transmission Cost To
Be Past On To The Consumer
– New OG&E Transmission line
• OKC>Woodward>Panhandle
• OK now has (a very weak) RPS
•
Oklahoma utilities committed to increasing
wind power
– OG&E, PSO, and WFEC plan to increase
wind generated electricity
– PSO at 11%
– OG&E has said it will not need any new
gas, coal or nuclear plants until at least
2020.
• COMMUNITY SCALE WIND
8000+ MW of requested
development have been
submitted to the SPP queue,
4000+ MW of which are for
the panhandle.
Wind Industry Crystal Ball
•
Current US installations –35,000+ MW
–
–
•
•
20% wind energy = 300,000+ MW
DOE Report - 20% Wind Energy by 2030
–
•
Over $40 billion investment
Avoids 55 million tons of carbon emissions
Strategic analysis of implications of rapid
industry growth
www.20percentwind.org
Oklahoma – Economic Impacts
From the 20% Vision
38,484 MW new development
Wind energy’s economic “ripple effect”
Direct Impacts
Payments to Landowners:
• $102.6 million/year
Local Property Tax Revenue:
• $247.6 million/year
Construction Phase:
• 69,860 new jobs
• $7.26 B to local economies
Operational Phase:
• 9,940 new long-term jobs
• $817 M/yr to local economies
Indirect &
Induced Impacts
Construction Phase:
• 64,450 new jobs
• $5.43 B to local
economies
Operational Phase:
• 8,834 local jobs
• $778.6 M/yr to local
economies
Totals
(construction +
20yrs)
Total economic benefit =
$44.6 B
New local jobs during
construction = 134,310
New local long-term jobs
= 18,774
The Bottom Line
• Development of strong wind industry will allow
Oklahoma to:
–
–
–
–
–
–
reduce our carbon footprint,
help to mitigate impacts of climate change,
create jobs,
expand economic development
Improve energy security,
make Oklahoma a Renewable Energy Powerhouse,
and allow us to………..
Carpe Ventum!