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With 2,454 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity added in 2006, the U.S. is the fastest growing wind market worldwide. But there still remains substantial room for expansion, as wind power currently generates less than one percent of total U.S. electricity consumption.
That is but one of the findings in a new report from The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program, which recently released "U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2006." With a particular focus on the trends in 2006, it is hoped that this report fills the need for timely, objective information on the industry and its progress.
"Much of the information presented in the report reflects a maturing U.S. wind power industry on solid footing, yet also grappling with the implications of unprecedented growth," notes co-author Mark Bolinger, who with Ryan Wiser, also with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), cites other key findings:
A Note on Scope• Wind power has provided good value in wholesale power markets in recent years, and has generally been priced at or below the cost of conventional fossil generation.
• The cost of turbines has risen since 2002, reversing the decline in total wind project costs and driving up the cost of generating wind power. The full effect of this cost increase will continue to play out in coming years as recent turbine cost increases flow through to wind power prices.
• Wind project performance has increased over the last several years, driven in part by higher tower heights, improved project siting, and technological advancements.
• The wind market is in a period of transition, as electric utilities have shown increased interest in wind project ownership, and merchant wind power plants and sales to power marketers have become more common.
The report concentrates on larger-scale wind applications, defined here as individual turbines or projects that exceed 50 kW in size. The U.S. wind power sector is multifaceted, and also includes smaller, customer-sited wind applications used to power the needs of residences, farms, and businesses. Data on these applications, if they are less than 50 kW in size, are not included.
Much of the data included in the report was compiled by Berkeley Lab in multiple databases that contain historical information on wind power purchase prices, capital costs, turbine transaction prices, project performance, and O&M costs for many of the wind projects in the United States.
The information included in these databases comes from a variety of sources, and in many cases represents only a sample of actual wind projects installed in the U.S. As such, the report cautions that the data are not always comprehensive or of equal quality, so emphasis should be placed on overall trends in the data, rather than individual data-points. Finally, each section of this document focuses on historical market data or information, with an emphasis on 2006; the report does not seek to forecast future trends.
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14 Reader Comments
Comment
2 of 14 |
June 8, 2007
Wind power is one of the most neglected power sources in the United States! Enough useable wind power exists across the country to provide for all our energy needs (20X the needs are available from solar). Yet, the total wind energy output (2.5gW) is less than 1/20th of what California uses on a hot summer day. We need our government to give wind and solar a high priority; and start to invest the vast sums needed to make us energy independent. The technology needs a little tweaking, but it's there - and we need to take advantage of it.
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3 of 14 |
June 8, 2007
Sorry, Paul but deregulation has failed for the same reason regulation also failed: politicians allow the utilities to write the rules. Even Eastern Europe and China look better to our company than the US in terms of opportunities and corruption. |
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4 of 14 |
June 8, 2007
Monopolies are a problem which is why states have been trying to deregulate the industry. I don't believe the generation is really the issue as a farmer with a good location can lease his land to the highest bidder. The larger problem and monopoly that is difficult to tackle is the grid or distribution network. Getting some of these remote wind farms tied into the grid appears to be a challenge. |
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5 of 14 |
June 8, 2007
The report doesn't appear to cover a disturbing trend where utility monopolies build their own wind farms without giving independent power producers a chance to put up their wind farms. Monopolism is discouraging the development of new clean power sources.
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6 of 14 |
June 9, 2007
We are not a wind developer. Our US company is just very interested in how independent wind developers are treated by politicians and utilities. It will determine where we introduce our breakthrough renewable energy technology. The US has failed our test.
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7 of 14 |
June 9, 2007
TO: MIKE HOLLY MIKE: ARE YOU WITH A SMALL WIND TURBINE ENERGY DEVELOPER/PRODUCER? IF YOU ARE, PLEASE CONTACT ME THROUGH THIS POST AND I WILL HAVE AN EXTRAORDINARY PROPOSAL FOR YOU. I WILL CHECK TO SEE IF YOU HAVE RESPONDED. AS A FORMER POLITICIAN, I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE SAID. MALCOLM |
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8 of 14 |
June 9, 2007
We have neither the time nor resources nor inclination to lobby politicians who give to their utility monopoly campaign contributors and their friends most of the opportunities to build renewable energy systems. And virtually all US industries have become this way!
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9 of 14 |
June 10, 2007
The US must create a fair power industry like the EU by: 1) in regulated markets, offer everyone the same fair price. The EU offers fair feed-in tariffs to all renewable generators. The US should have reformed, not gutted, PURPA by requiring state commissions (not utilities) to calculate avoided cost payments. Bidding could avoid cronyism if conducted by state commissions (not utilities) for all generators, and use only objective criteria like price. 2) in deregulated markets, make genuine efforts to create fair competition. The EU is pursuing an international grid and antitrust. The US Congress must stop blocking FERC's efforts to formulate standard market design rules for the creation and fair use of a national grid. The US must enforce antitrust laws including by bringing back PUCHA. Stranded cost payments to utilities cannot exceed the difference between their costs and market prices. Regulated states cannot dump their excess power at below cost into deregulated states. |
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10 of 14 |
June 12, 2007
<blockquote>As long as gas was relatively cheap in the United States</blockquote> Cheap gas is all smoke & mirrors. It's cheap at the pump, you pay thru the nose in hidden taxes, lost jobs, and the lives of soldiers killed in Iraq & Afghanistan.
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11 of 14 |
June 14, 2007
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12 of 14 |
June 17, 2007
Hi Guys,
This report does'nt cover what I'd like to see covered, which is small wind <50kw Wind turbines owned by indiviuals and small business that would more than offset electric bills in coastal locations and other wind ridden areas i.e.southeastern Wyoming, Gulf Coast. I love to discuss small wind with anyone interested. www.ecoenterprise.typepad.com MIchael Brown Eco Builders m.brownhouston@yahoo.com |
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13 of 14 |
June 21, 2007
Hello Michael: I would love to discuss small wind turbine energy with you; and I also have much information compiled on "my" two top production companies. Mind you, they just happen to be my favorite, and that is all. Because I live on the coast I would encourage you to look into water turbine technology as well. Perhaps you already have. There is a market just waiting for some small company with more advanced technology to step forward. You may contact me: mfulcher@ec.rr.com
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14 of 14 |
August 27, 2007
One has to ask Malcom Fulcher what wind energy has to do with gasoline.
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