Wind Power
Adapted from KidWind.org
Where do we get our electricity?
KidWind Project | www.kidwind.org
What is a Fossil Fuel???
What is “Renewable Energy?”
Wind Energy is the Fastest Growing Energy Source in the World!!
US installed capacity grew 45% in 2007 and
50% in 2008!!!
KidWind Project | www.kidwind.org
2008: 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new wind energy
capacity installed
• 50% growth rate!
• Brings US total installed wind energy capacity
to 25,170 MW
• Enough electricity to power the equivalent of
close to 7 million households!
• 2009 was a slower year due to the economy
KidWind Project | www.kidwind.org
Why such growth…costs!
1979: 40 cents/kWh
2000:
4-6
cents/kWh
• Increased
Turbine Size
• R&D Advances
• Manufacturing
Improvements
NSP 107 MW Lake Benton wind farm
4 cents/kWh (unsubsidized)
2004:
3 – 4.5 cents/kWh
Wind Farms
Modern Small Wind Turbines:
High Tech, High Reliability, Low Maintenance
• Technically Advanced
• Only 2-3 Moving Parts
• Very Low Maintenance
Requirements
• Proven: ~ 5,000 On-Grid
• American Companies are the
Market and Technology
Leaders
10 kW
400 W
50
kW
900 W
(Not to scale)
Does Small Wind Energy Pay?
• Does wind energy have to pay for itself?
– We often buy items of equivalent cost that provide no
monetary value, and often cost money to use
– Off grid customers are looking for least cost option
(connect to grid, diesel generator, solar/wind hybrid, etc..)
• Comparing initial costs is not useful
– Wind has no fuel cost
– Generators are cheaper per kW, but not necessarily
cheaper at producing energy over the entire life
Economic Incentives
Tax Credits
Tax Exemptions
Rebates
Production Incentives & Rebates
Accelerated Depreciation
Grants & Loans
Net Metering Arrangements
www.dsireusa.org
www.masstech.org
Wind Power in AZ
•Dry Lake Wind Farm
•Phases I and II complete
•Mohave County Wind Farm
Spring 2011
•Williams wind farm proposed
•AZ has wind resources
consistent with utility-scale
production
•Rural Wind Development Act
2007
•Current DOE project requires
state-funded buildings to run
on at least 10% renewable
energy
The Siting Process
•Where is the best
location for a wind
farm?
•Is the farm near the
power grid?
•Where is the wind
consistently strong?
•What is the weather
like?
Wind Farm in Palm Springs, CA
Location, Location, Location!
Best sites:
•Hilltops
•Open plains
•Mountain passes
•Coasts
•Offshore
•It is best to build a wind farm where wind
speed and direction has been studied for 13 years
•Strong and steady winds are needed to
produce reliable electricity
•The site should not be prone to hurricanes,
tornadoes, etc.
Off-Shore Wind Farms
Middelgrunden
Why do windmills need to be high in the sky??
Turbulent wind is bad wind
Wind Varies Annually
Average annual wind speeds may vary as much as 25% from
year to year
Wind Varies Seasonally
Wind Varies Daily
Wind varies daily not
only because of
weather but because of
convective heating
Winds typically
strongest in mid-late
afternoon
Convective heating is
less of an influence in
winter, when storms
dominate wind patterns
Transmission Problems
•Where is the wind?
•Where are the
population centers?
•Where are the wind
farms?
•How do we get wind
energy from the wind
farms to the population
centers?
Wildlife & Wind Power
•When siting a wind farm, developers must consider any possible wildlife
impacts.
•Though this was not the case in early wind farm development (1980’s), today
all proposed wind farms must undergo a strict environmental impact
assessment.
What about
the birds?
Wind Turbines kill very few
birds compared to other
human activities
Estimates are ~1-2 bird deaths
per turbine per year
Global warming is the single
biggest threat to wildlife today
A recent study in Nature found
that more than 1/3 of species
worldwide will be extinct by
2050 if global warming trends
continue
“As responsible citizens, stewards, and
advocates, Mass Audubon strongly supports
public policies and private projects that
advance energy conservation and efficiency.
We also support the development of wind
farms, as a renewable energy source to
offset the effects of global climate change
produced by the burning of fossil fuels.”
Sept. 21, 2004
Impact on Birds of Prey and Migratory Birds
•Do wind turbines affect migration
patterns of birds?
•Though the turbines do not kills many
birds each year, the total deaths could
eventually tip the species into decline.
•The majority of birds killed by wind
turbines are birds of prey
•Birds of prey and wind developers are
both drawn to the same sites – hills and
ridges where the wind provides lift for
soaring birds
•Wind farms can create wind vortexes
that draw in birds and cause fatal
collisions with turbines
This experimental turbine built by
Northeast Wind Energy can be
lowered and turned off when birds
migrate through the area, or during
foul weather
What About the Bats?
•Many bats die not from colliding with the
turbines, but from a sudden drop in air
pressure
•Their lungs cannot accommodate for the
change in pressure
•Bats can detect most human-made structures
through echolocation.
•An atmospheric-pressure drop at wind turbine
blades is undetectable through echolocation
•Many migratory bats and bats that live in
forest trees have been affected: the bats come
in at night to eat insects, and the effects of the
bat deaths can be far-reaching
•Proposals to turn off wind turbines
when wind speed is low at night and
bats are migrating to prevent more
deaths
Impacts of Wind Power:
Noise
• Modern turbines are
relatively quiet
• Noise can be mitigated
with setback distance
– Utility scale wind turbines
should be at least ¼ to ½
mile away from residences
Visual Impact
•
Many people think wind turbines are “graceful, kinetic sculptures.”
•
People who have never seen modern wind turbines in person are more likely
to think they will be an eyesore.
•
People may complain that wind turbines look industrial and take away from
the natural beauty of the landscape
•
Though people may support renewable energy, they may not want the
turbines in their “backyard”
– NIMBY
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Thank you!
Questions?