WIND POWER BLOWS ITS WAY INTO MAINSTREAM AMERICA

publication date: Sep 12, 2008

By Samantha Solomon

Wind energy is capable of producing 20 percent of the United States' electricity by 2030, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The report, which examines the technical aspects of incorporating wind power into the current electric mix, proposes several major changes to meet the 2030 goal. First, the cost of wind technology must come down. Second, we need to devise new ways to transmit power. And third, domestic wind machinery manufacturing must increase. Most notably in the report is the projected amount of CO2 emissions that will be evaded by 2030 and every year thereafter if the 20 percent wind power goal is met. According to a DOE press release, "7.6 cumulative gigatons of CO2 will be avoided by 2030, saving 825 million metric tons in 2030."

Too Much of a Good Thing
Twenty percent is the crucial level at which wind power can be added to the existing grid, according to most industry experts. Any more than that and grid stability could be compromised. To ensure stability, the grid needs a consistent flow of energy, especially during peak consumption times. The nature of wind energy causes "ramping and spiking," said George Marsh, a consultant for Renewable Energy Focus, in his website article, "How Much Can the Grid Accommodate?".

Those dips and spikes create inconsistencies in the amount of power flowing into the grid, which result in blackouts and power surges. To smooth out the energy flow, more traditional back-up energy, such as fossil fuel, is still needed. Marsh's article concludes that the cost to adapt the power grid to accommodate inconsistent renewable energy on a large scale is uneconomical. At 20 percent, however, incorporating wind energy to the power grid does not create unsolvable problems.

Share and Share Alike
Proponents of wind energy point to grid connection as a way to increase the amount of wind energy used while stabilizing its supply to the grid. Denmark has a very successful link with Norway in which they exchange renewable energy when there is a scarcity on one end. "By exporting [Norway's] plentiful hydro-electric power when wind is scare, and conversely, by offloading hydro-electric [energy] and absorbing excess wind-generated power from Denmark at other times, Norway can stabilize the supply in both countries," Marsh explained.

More than one source of energy is ultimately needed to meet our demands. Wind is an effective way to ease dependency on more expensive, less available and polluting sources of energy.

Promoting Wind Power
Many domestic energy companies are embracing wind power and new wind farms are being erected across the nation. Most commonly, the energy generated from these wind parks is integrated into the existing energy mix, which means that although power still comes from traditional sources, such as coal, it now contributes a smaller portion of the energy cocktail.

Some energy companies, like Delaware-based Delmarva Power, are researching the idea of offering an even higher percentage of renewable power for those who want it. Delmarva representative Jim Lanard said the power provider is interested in starting a program to sell a larger percentage of renewable energy to interested businesses.

Schools Get an Education in Small Wind
Hooking into large wind farms is not the only option for companies looking to harvest wind energy -- smaller private or community turbines are also an option. These small wind turbines keep everything on a local scale by providing money and saving energy for the business or community. Excess energy can be sold to power companies, thus generating revenue for the local community.

In a report entitled "Wind Power and Iowa Schools" produced by the Iowa Policy Project (IPP), a department that promotes the environmental health and economy of the state, the authors found that schools and the local economy benefited when school districts installed wind turbines. Those involved in the planning and building processes spend money throughout the community on hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores. Data from the Iowa Schools project was used in a model created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which found that locally owned projects generate a higher economic impact on a community than larger project owned by big investors.

The upfront installation cost ranged from $48,000 to $1.8 million depending on the kilowatt capacity of the turbine. The average annual electricity produced ranged from 36,000kW to 6,000,00kW. Each participating school district has purchase agreements with local energy companies for its surplus electricity -- most receive $.06 per kilowatt. Many schools saved approximately $70,000 on their annual energy costs and earned an annual revenue surplus of $100,000. On average, the estimated time to recoup the initial investment is eight and a half years.

Not all the school districts that tried to build a wind turbine have been successful. In such cases, the plan was terminated because it was not economically feasible to install a turbine. These districts could not afford the upfront installation costs or were offered low purchase rates for their surplus energy. The report suggests that negotiating a favorable power purchase agreement at the start of the project is the key to creating sizable revenue.

Power on the Edge
For business that do not have the space to set up a private turbine or the access to hook into a power grid receiving wind energy, AeroVironment (AV) has devised an alternative. The energy system technology company created small turbines, dubbed Architectural Wind, that are designed to offset the cost of energy for individual companies. The turbines fit on the parapets of buildings in urban and suburban areas and catch the fast moving winds that travel up the sides of the building. According to AV, placing turbines on the edge of a roof can result in up to a 30 percent increase in energy production compared to mounting turbines in the middle of a roof. The turbines are hooked directly into the building's power grid and at night when power usage is minimal, the energy generated by the turbines turns the net meter backwards. Buildings can start with as little a 6kW then add more as needed. The small turbines can operate with as little as 5 mph winds.

A standard installation of 10 turbines, or 10 kWs, has an upfront coast of about $65,000. AV account executive Lisa Mandell said that the systems do not require a lot of maintenance. "Every quarter, you want to visually check the equipment to make sure no damage is done to the blades or body."

The Power of 10
The Massport administrative office in Boston added a set of 20 turbines to its building in the early spring and has yet to see any maintenance fees. The amount of savings generated is dependant upon the wind; however, with the low wind speed at which these turbines can operate, an average installation of 10 turbines will produce a 10 percent savings on energy costs, Mandell said.

Terry Civic, Massport's project manager for wind turbine integration, said that the company expects it will take 10 to 13 years to recoup the costs of their large project. However, they are hoping to save almost 100,000kW hours in the first year.

"We're seeing good power production -- we're offsetting CO2, we're generating some energy and we hope that we get to that two percent of our energy load [from wind power] that we predicted at the beginning of the project," Civic said.

Wind Energy Adds Up to LEED Gold
Kettle Foods has also had good results from its Architectural Wind installation. "We built the building with the intention of getting LEED gold certification through the USGBC," said Kettle Foods representative Jim Green about the new manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. The 18-turbine system has been a large part of that certification and produces 28,000 kW hours of energy per year.

Kettle Foods is doing its part to promote its success with renewable energy to its wholesalers and distributors. "It's been a big success and really [sustainability] is just considered the future of architecture," Green said.

New Skylines on the Horizon
Foreign skylines are already showing wind-powered buildings of the future. In February, residents moved into the first wind-powered building in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The building was designed by Mariani-Peres Maravigila architectural studio and named Cefira in honor of Céfiro or Zephyr, the Greek god of the wind.

The turbine and its generator can produce 4.5 kW -- more than enough to power the eight-story apartment building. In the true nature of sustainability, the building also has intelligent lighting to avoid waste and 80 percent of each apartment's walls are glass so residents can take advantage of solar light.

Even more impressive is the proposed wind-powered rotating skyscraper in Dubai City. According to Alternative Energy (AE), the idea behind Dynamic Architecture's building is that 59 separate levels will rotate independently with the wind around a central core. This building is the vision of Italian architect David Fisher, whose focus is "designing buildings that can adjust themselves to the needs of its inhabitants," reports AE. Fifty-eight horizontal wind turbines will be discretely stacked between each floor so that they will be barely visible from the outside. Each turbine has a potential production of 0.3 megawatts, much less compared to a normal vertical wind turbine. However, because Dubai gets around 4,000 wind hours annually, the turbines should be able to generate more than 1,000,000 kW hours of energy. Dynamic Architecture has not yet set a construction date for this ambitious project.