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

• Increased Turbine Size

• R&D Advances• Manufacturing

Improvements

NSP 107 MW Lake Benton wind farm4 cents/kWh (unsubsidized)

2004: 3 – 4.5 cents/kWh

2000:4 - 6 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 kW50 kW

400 W900 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 IncentivesTax CreditsTax ExemptionsRebatesProduction Incentives & RebatesAccelerated DepreciationGrants & LoansNet Metering Arrangementswww.dsireusa.orgwww.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

Wind Farm in Palm Springs, CA

•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?

Location, Location, Location!

•It is best to build a wind farm where wind speed and direction has been studied for 1-3 years•Strong and steady winds are needed to produce reliable electricity•The site should not be prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.

Best sites:•Hilltops•Open plains•Mountain passes•Coasts•Offshore

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 DailyWind varies daily not only because of weather but because of convective heatingWinds typically strongest in mid-late afternoonConvective heating is less of an influence in winter, when storms dominate wind patterns

•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?

Transmission Problems

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 activitiesEstimates are ~1-2 bird deaths per turbine per yearGlobal warming is the single biggest threat to wildlife todayA 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 As responsible citizens, stewards, and advocates, advocates, Mass AudubonMass Audubon strongly supports strongly supports public policies and private projects that public policies and private projects that advance energy conservation and efficiency. advance energy conservation and efficiency. We also support the development of wind We also support the development of wind farms, as a renewable energy source to farms, as a renewable energy source to offset the effects of global climate change offset the effects of global climate change produced by the burning of fossil fuels.produced by the burning of fossil fuels.”” Sept. 21, 2004Sept. 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

This experimental turbine built by Northeast Wind Energy can be lowered and turned off when birds migrate through the area, or during foul weather

•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

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?