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Wind power has been the fastest growing energy industry in the world for almost two decades. File photo |
CommentsWind Power Possibilities Get Stronger
By Brian WoodyPublished: July 19, 2010
I recently attended Windpower 2010, the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference, in Dallas. My first AWEA conference was in 2003 and boasted 3,450 attendees and 160 exhibitors. This year, there were more than 20,000 attendees and over 1,400 exhibitors. It’s inspiring to see the wind energy industry grow with each passing conference. Longtime players like GE Energy, Vestas, and Nordex remain supreme. However, companies like Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Samsung are now producing quality wind turbines. Each year there are more turbine vendors, the booths get bigger, and the exposition hall gets larger.
Wind power has been the fastest growing energy industry in the world for almost two decades. This is the result of important developments in wind energy technology, now competitive with coal-fired power. But coal power hasn’t advanced in over 100 years. In contrast, the largest wind turbines produced in 1980 had a rated capacity of only 25 kilowatts. In 1990, that grew to 225 kW, and in 2000 to 1,650 kW. In 2009, the industry standard was the GE 4.0 megawatt (1 MW = 1,000 kW). In 2010, a Norwegian company announced production of a 10 MW wind turbine. This single wind turbine will be capable of producing enough power for more than 3,000 four-family American homes. Now imagine a field of 100 such turbines, where birds fly and ranching continues undisturbed.
Roadblocks still exist on the transmission side, however. The North American energy grid consists of three disjointed regions, none of which can transmit energy to the other. This tri-section is a huge problem for the wind industry, since the division cuts directly through the Great Plains and America’s vast wind resource. The Tres Amigas SuperStation is a first step in dealing with this issue by connecting all three interconnects using high-temperature superconductor technology. The project is scheduled for completion by 2014 on a 22.5 square-mile range in Clovis, New Mexico.
On a state level, Texas is currently first in wind energy production, with 9,506 MW. Iowa is second with 3,670 MW, and then California with 2,723 MW. The success of wind power in Texas has much to do with wind leases being so lucrative for private land owners, and that most of Texas is privately owned. Ranchers can lease less than 2 percent of their land for wind, which is about 50 times more lucrative than cattle ranching. More important, Texas has its very own energy grid, the Ercot Interconnect.
In bringing all of this information back home, I wanted to let people know that the Truckee Donner Public Utility District will be considering a power contract for 10 percent of our energy to come from the proposed Horse Butte Wind project in Idaho. The district is looking at a mere $71 per megawatt hour for wind energy, which is very attractive for renewable energy. The district will be considering this contract at its Aug. 4 board meeting.
For recent updates and discussion on the TDPUD wind energy project, visit “Wind Energy for Truckee” on Facebook.
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