Adding Clean Energy
In 2008, wind generation accounted for 42% of new installed capacity in the U.S. In parts of Europe wind is providing 10 to 20 percent of annual electricity needs. There is a rapidly expanding body of research and experience with integrating wind into electric power systems around the world.
The output from wind farms varies with the wind and therefore can pose challenges. However, these challenges can be successfully managed. Our electric grid is complex and robust, built to match power supply with a constantly changing electricity demand, so that when an air conditioner clicks on or lights are turned off, the grid responds accordingly. As the wind picks up it reduces demand the utility must meet with other power plants -- paving the way for the benefits of wind energy to positively affect consumers, the economy, the environment, the resilience of overall electricity supply, and our energy security.
Availability and Reliability
Wind technology is proven, and it works. Today, manufacturers routinely guarantee the availability of their wind turbines at 97% or higher. Although the wind resource is variable, wind turbines are highly reliable and operate whenever the wind resource is sufficient to generate electricity.
- Wind turbines generate electricity most (65-80%) of the time.
- No power plant generates at 100% "nameplate capacity" 100% of the time.
- Wind farms are built in areas where the wind blows most of the time, but because of variations in speed, a wind farm will generate power at full rated capacity about 10% of the time, and on average throughout the year the plant will generate 30% to 35% of its rated capacity. This number is expected to increase by 15% from 2006-2030.
For more on wind and grid reliability, please go here, http://www.awea.org/pubs/factsheets/Reliability_Factsheet.pdf
Putting Wind on the Electric System
In recent years, we have seen many studies on various aspects of wind energy integration, ranging from technical reviews of actual performance to scenarios analyzing the potential impacts and feasibility of different levels of wind penetration.
Chapter Four of the Department of Energy’s 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report examines several detailed studies that have looked at the technical and economic impacts of integrating high levels of wind energy into electric systems. It also examines how wind can be reliably accommodated into power system operations and planning.
“The ever-increasing sophistication of the operation of the U.S. electric power system—if it continues on its current path—would allow the 20% wind energy scenario to be realized by 2030. The 20% Wind Scenario would require the continuing evolution of transmission planning and system operations, in addition to expanded electricity markets.”
Air and Water
Grid operators show emissions savings when wind is online. They are including wind energy’s ability to displace carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to our global warming problem, in their reports. A survey of some of them (New York, Texas, Midwest) reveals that for every megawatt-hour produced by wind energy 0.5 to 0.65 tons of carbon dioxide is displaced.
The DOE’s 20% wind report shows that getting 20% of the nation’s electricity from wind would
- Reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses and other atmospheric pollutants by 825 million tons of CO2 annually - the equivalent of taking 140 million vehicles off the road, and
- Reduce water consumption by 17% in 2030.
For more on water, see here, http://www.awea.org/faq/water.html
Wind Integration Studies
In 2006, a paper on “Utility Wind Integration State of the Art,” was jointly prepared by the Utility Wind Integration Group and:
The “Utility Wind Integration State of the Art” paper, which “does not advocate any particular policy or position,” marked a watershed development because these associations together represent nearly all the nation’s utilities. According to the report, the impact of wind resources “can be managed through proper plant interconnection, integration, transmission planning, and system and market operations.”
The Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG), an association of utilities that use wind power on their systems, also provides presentations and studies on its website.
Further Reading
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