Winds of Change
With decreasing costs and improved technology, wind energy now has one of the highest payback ratios of any power technology.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
By Lori Lovely
Introduction
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), wind power is one of the fastest-growing forms of new electricity generation in the United States, adding nearly 40% of all new generation capacity to the nation’s electric grid. Clean and inexhaustible, it’s proving to be a reliable source of energy. Unlike other power plants that rely on the combustion of fossil fuel, wind energy does not pollute the air. Nor do wind turbines produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or greenhouse gases. In the face of increasing global demand for energy, set against headline-making disastrous scenarios, such as the BP Gulf oil spill and the catastrophic meltdown of four nuclear facilities following the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, the need for clean, affordable renewable and safe sources of energy has never been more urgent.
Rising Winds
The AWEA, a national trade association representing wind power project developers, equipment suppliers, services providers, parts manufacturers, utilities, researchers, and others involved in the wind industry, has pledged to continue working at the state and federal levels for beneficial legislation and to promote other sources of demand, including more distributed wind projects and corporate purchasing under the new Windmade trustmark.
According to the AWEA, 31 billion kWh of electricity was generated from wind in this country in 2007, giving wind energy a growth rate averaging 22% over seven years. One of the reasons for the rapid increase, according to Jesse Stowell, national energy solution development engineer for wind energy with Johnson Controls, is that the cost of wind energy has dropped dramatically over the last three decades—from over 30 cents per kilowatt-hour in the mid-1970s, to under five cents per kilowatt-hour today. Not only is the initial cost lower, but the AWEA indicates that wind has one of the highest payback ratios of any power technology.
Contributing to the rising prevalence of wind energy is the success of improved technology. “Improving project economics and low wind speed technology advancements are converging on a market where energy awareness and general acceptance of wind energy is rapidly increasing,” indicates Stowell. “In just a few years’ time, wind energy’s image has evolved from the expensive technology for nerdy environmentalists to the cost-effective poster child of renewable energy—one able to compete against conventional energy generation.”
In fact, he adds, the International Energy Agency predicts wind energy will be the lowest cost form of new electricity generation by 2015.
Despite impressive numbers, there’s room for further growth, with AWEA estimating wind energy potential at 10,777 billion kWh annually—more than twice what is currently generated. Numbers posted by the US wind industry for the third quarter of 2010 indicate its slowest quarter since 2007. However, that dip in new wind installations was being reversed early in 2011: While 2010 saw only 5,115 MW of new wind power—about half of 2009’s construction—first quarter 2011 reported 5,600 MW in new wind energy, with a total of 40,180 MW, for an increase in capacity of 15% over the previous year. Despite this recovery, for the first time, the US lagged behind China in terms of capacity. China experienced a 62% increase in the same time period, according to a report from the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association.
Denise Bode, CEO of AWEA, blames the fluctuation on the absence of long-term, predictable federal policies regarding wind power, which results in an unstable business environment and lack of enthusiasm on the part of utility companies to enter into wind energy power purchase agreements.
Nevertheless, the public demands wind power. A Harris Poll in October 2010 reported that 87% of Americans want more wind energy. AWEA’s 2010 Small Wind Turbine Global Market Study found that despite the economic downturn, the US market for small wind turbines (with capacities rated 100 kW or less) grew 15% in 2009, with 20.3 MW of new capacity and $82.4 million in sales. This growth equates to nearly 10,000 new units and pushes the total installed capacity in the US to 100 MW.
Bode cites wind power’s competitive cost with natural gas for the resurgence of interest in the renewable energy source. A one-year extension of the 1603 Investment Tax Credit for developing renewable energy has encouraged construction. Set to expire at the end of 2011, the tax credit added incentive in an ailing economy struggling with natural gas price increases.
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Photo: LAUSD
Wind power is truly distributed generation:
It can be locally owned and operated onsite. |
Support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has stimulated investment in research projects to develop next-generation renewable energy technologies, such as new wind turbine designs that will create a cost-competitive alternative to electricity generated from coal or natural gas power plants. State targets for renewable energy have also aided wind installations. The top five states for cumulative wind energy capacity in 2010 all have state targets (Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota, and Washington). A total of 38 states have utility-scale wind projects, 14 of which have installed more than 1,000 MW of wind power.
Building Efficiency With Renewable Energy
In recent years, there’s more interest and mainstream acceptance, Stowell says. He believes interest is partially driven because sources of wind power can be locally owned (as opposed to wind farms with multiple turbines, typically owned by outside companies to harvest wind on a large scale for the electrical grid), allowing an increased sense of control and security.
“The trend is more energy awareness from consumers and an awareness of the decentralized security of distributed generation,” says Stowell. Wind power is “green power,” he elaborates; it doesn’t spill into our oceans, and it doesn’t melt down or release toxic substances into our air.
Green power is electricity generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact hydro. Onsite green power is deployed directly at energy users’ facilities rather than at central power plants. Green power electricity generates less pollution than conventional power and produces no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
While wind power reduces the danger to the environment posed by other energy sources, Johnson Control’s performance guarantees reduce the financial risk of wind energy. “There’s currently $4.7 billion in guarantees out there now in the public sector,” says Stowell. Public sector building efficiency projects guaranteed to save more than $4.7 billion in reduced energy, water, and operational costs over the next 10 years.
Johnson Controls, a $32-billion leader in energy and environmental solutions, is working with individual companies to improve energy efficiency and implement wind power strategies. Wind power has an “acceptable return on investment,” insists Stowell, but one way Johnson Controls achieves cost reductions is to bundle wind power with energy efficiency. “Bundling helps pay for the wind project. The total savings can pay for a project.”
Energy Savings Performance Contracts can be a highly effective means to finance a distributed wind energy project, Stowell continues. “Energy conservation is always the wisest step before onsite generation.”
Johnson Controls’ business unit performs energy savings audits, identifying methods for saving 10–40% in energy usage and recommending types of energy and equipment to incorporate for better efficiency. “By bundling the two, the benefit is magnified because the savings generated by the ECMs can actually help fund a portion of the wind energy project.”
High School Lessons
Not only will bundling help reduce energy costs and improve efficiency, it will ensure reliability for a Long Beach, CA, high school. “There’s not wind every day, so they don’t rely on one system,” explains Tony Cocea, PE MSME, principal, IBE Consulting Engineers. Instead, the school will use wind and solar power in conjunction, with full-scale redundancy designed into the plan. “We have inherent over-design.”
Working with CO Architects, out of Los Angeles, CA, IBE extracted site weather data to isolate wind data in order to determine average and maximum wind speed, repetitiveness, and frequency. That data is compared with building use, using Title 24 energy estimates (a benchmark for annual consumption). “Each application is evaluated for the best equipment choice,” sums up Cocea.
Performance and power data were compared to produce a generation curve for every blade design. Precise engineering data goes into spin momentum and properties of the blade. “Each hour’s wind speed times the performance of the wind turbine equals output,” details Cocea, explaining that the matrix helps determine the number and type of turbines required.
Because company strategy is to consider all alternatives, extensive research on wind turbine technology was conducted. IBE selected vertical-axis wind turbines from Clearfield Alternative Energy Inc. (formerly PacWind) to maximize wind capture. Although there were no spatial restrictions issued, the durable aluminum alloy turbines chosen are light in design, without a large radius. Turbine performance and design have evolved: Today’s turbines are streamlined, smaller, less bulky. “They’re half the weight and extremely compact,” says Cocea. They have a small diameter of 34 inches. They are also very quiet: only 15 decibels at 5 feet.
With an output of 9,500 kWh per year, the school will need 36 of the PacWind Delta II turbines, although they are modular, so there is flexibility to alter the amount of the array to hit the estimated target. They will produce an estimated 342,000 MW per year, which translates to 40% estimated energy use. “They’re extremely efficient,” summarizes Cocea.
The school has few requirements for heating and cooling, he notes, but school officials want to minimize energy consumption. “The high school is close to the ocean, so there’s some natural ventilation,” he says. “Their goal is to reach net zero—to be completely self-sufficient. They could also sell excess to the grid to offset the cost.”
Independent Onsite Wind Power
To help the City of Geneseo, IL, cut costs, Johnson Controls is constructing and installing two 1.5-MW wind turbines. The turbine foundations are 18 feet deep, 70 feet in diameter, and contain 25 tons of reinforcing steel and 400 cubic yards of concrete. Each foundation will support turbine generators elevated approximately 200 feet high with blades 127 feet in length. The overall height of the wind turbines is approximately 327 feet.
Funded by municipal bonds and a $1.4-million grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, the turbines will provide as much as 30% of the power for the community’s 6,400 residents. The Foundation invests in clean energy development and supports programs and projects that will improve energy efficiency, develop renewable energy resources, and preserve and enhance natural areas and wildlife habitats throughout the state.
Geneseo is an example of what Stowell describes as, “the vast majority of wind energy projects,” which consist of 20 to 100 modern wind turbines, each rated at 1.5–3 MW, are located in rural areas and are connected via dedicated substations to the high-voltage transmission network. In contrast, onsite wind energy projects usually consist of one to three turbines (rated anywhere between 1 kW–3,000 kW). “The trend is for medium-size turbines (100 kW–1 MW) to focus on distributed wind. It’s easy to match the load better. In simple terms, the turbine is sized so that the annual output will not exceed the facility’s annual electric usage.”
In fact, the US leads the world in the production of small wind turbines, defined as having rated capacities of 100 kW or less, and the market is expected to continue strong growth through the next decade. The market is expanding, in part, because of low wind speed technology that enables turbines to be placed at more sites.
“Ten years ago, not a lot of sites had turbines,” reflects Stowell. “Now, second- and third-tier sites provide the same or better return, due to improved technology such as taller towers, increased rotor diameter, and other improvements to the blade and rotors.”
In addition to improved low wind speed turbine technology, drivers for the rapid expansion of “distributed wind” include state and federal incentives, increasing costs of carbon-based generation, available funds for local long-term project investment, and the increased marketing value of green branding.
Wind projects are often an economical option for generating onsite power. “The fuel from a wind turbine is free!” exclaims Stowell. “Therefore, a wind project is an opportunity to lock in a significant portion of the facility’s electric cost for the next 20 years, effectively hedging against the continued escalation of retail electric rates.”
In addition, wind turbines are a mature technology, with predictable life cycle costs. Despite its many advantages, distributed wind energy can pose some challenges. Because of the variable nature of the resource, available wind doesn’t always correlate with need. Since bigger machines generate power at a lower kilowatt-per-hour cost, Stowell advises selecting “as big a system as possible, for economies of scale,” even though doing so impacts budgets and cost savings.
Another challenge is siting. “There’s a subtle art to sizing,” explains Stowell. “You have to consider the load at the site, metering laws, height, and other site restrictions. Many facilities do not have adequate space to install a wind turbine. In order to ensure that sound, shadow flicker, and ice throw will be non-issues, significant setbacks are required between the turbine and occupied buildings. Depending on the specific site conditions, a setback of two to three times the total height of the turbine is often required.”
Noise can also be a problem if the turbine is too close to buildings or not properly sited.
For the Birds
Siting challenges and local opposition to wind projects are common issues Stowell mentions. Another growing concern faced by proponents of wind power is opposition from conservationist groups such as the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). The ABC, the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, is urging Congress to include language in a renewable energy tax package being considered by the Senate. The new language would require wind energy projects that are seeking federal grants to adopt the US Fish and Wildlife Service Advisory Committee’s recommendations for reducing wildlife impacts from wind turbines and comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and Endangered Species Act.
“Bird deaths from wind power are the new inconvenient truth,” says Mike Parr, vice president of ABC, in a statement. “The total number of birds killed and the amount of bird habitat lost will dramatically increase as wind power build-out continues across the country in a rush to meet federal renewable energy targets.”
Supporting Parr’s contention is an estimate by the National Wind Coordinating Committee—a collaboration of the wind industry, researchers, government agencies and nonprofit groups—that, on average, 3.1 birds are killed per megawatt of wind-generated power per year. At that rate, bird deaths will rise to more than one million birds killed by wind power annually if the wind industry achieves the President’s goal for wind providing 20% of the country’s energy goals by 2030. In addition, birds are further at risk from habitat loss due to siting of wind farms in core breeding areas, as well as from collision with new power lines erected to service wind farms along their migratory pathways.
AWEA is fighting back, claiming that the proposed guidelines threaten 35,000 MW of “homegrown” electricity and $70 billion in private investment. The organization states that wind power is less harmful to birds than fossil fuels. They present a 2009 study by the New York State Research and Development Authority (“Comparison of Reported Effects and Risks to Vertebrate Wildlife from Six Electricity Generation Types in the New York/New England Region”) that states that wind is the only source of energy that doesn’t present population-level risks to birds. A 2007 report from the National Academy of Sciences states that wind turbines cause less than three out of every 100,000 human-related bird deaths, and an even older report (2005) from the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service claims that wind power causes fewer losses of birds than buildings, power lines, radio and cell towers, cars, and pesticides.
The Power of Partners
Despite its concern for the preservation of birds, the ABC encourages the development of alternative energy sources. That’s a stance EPA’s Green Power Partnership can agree with. Launched in 2001, it’s a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity use. The objective of the partnership is to accelerate the pace of new renewable energy, explains Blaine Collison, program director. “This technology works,” he says, “and we need more of it. We work with businesses, colleges, and government agencies for onsite development.”
The role of the Partnership is to connect facilities with “green power” sources by educating them about how the market works and the various power options. “We provide verifiable, quantifiable information,” states Collison.
Participants must meet the 60% energy requirement and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 50%. The Partnership sets the minimum purchase requirement and product requirement, but the participant purchases equipment directly from the suppliers of their choice.
Another benefit of membership is what Collison calls the “recognition component.” In the corporate environment, “it’s helpful to see the leaders, to collaborate for more achievement, to attend webinars to share information. We help companies talk about it. That’s value added.”
There’s plenty of value to go around. Collison points out that the program helps manufacturing jobs as well as the energy supply. “We are actively engaged to dive deeper into how to align the organization with the construction of new facilities to deploy green technology.”
Collison is proud of the work the group is doing to promote wind power. “It’s the most pressing issue of our time,” he says.
Widespread use of wind energy contributes to emissions reduction. That was an important consideration for one member of the Partnership: Zotos International Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Shiseido International Corporation that manufactures and markets a full range of hair care products. “Their goal was to reduce their carbon footprint,” says Collison.
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Photo: LAUSD
Onsite wind generation allows companies to offset CO2 emissions. |
Zotos installed two HQ1650 wind turbines from Hyundai at the 670,000-square-foot, Geneva-based plant as part of a comprehensive sustainability program. With approximately 6.5 million kWh of electricity produced annually, the wind turbines will provide more than 60% of Zotos’ energy requirements and are expected to reduce overall CO2 emissions by 50% in 2011. The company’s energy goal is to utilize 100% renewable energy by 2012.
“Reducing our carbon footprint is a core part of our mission at Zotos,” says Anthony Perdigao, chief sustainability officer.
According to the EPA, Zotos’ expected green power use of 6.5 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the CO2 emissions of nearly 900 passenger vehicles per year, or the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of more than 500 average American homes annually. “Investing in an alternative energy source is a small price to pay when compared to the major benefits the investment creates for our community and environment,” he says.
The total investment for the two 364-foot wind turbines amounted to more than $7 million. Zotos is currently working with the ARRA to cover approximately 30% of the cost. Once installed, Collison says, there are no additional costs. Maintenance is minimal over the 20- to 40-year lifespan of the turbines.
“Wind farm power cost is static,” adds Perdigao.
According to the AWEA, the Zotos Wind Project is one of the top onsite wind projects currently being undertaken by a manufacturing company in the US. Based on their baseload of energy requirements (10,900,000 kWh annually), Zotos needed to generate 5% in green power to join the Green Power Partnership and 50% to be in the group’s leadership circle.
“When I learned about EPA’s Green Power Partnership,” recalls Perdigao, “it seemed a natural fit, as we were in the process of implementing onsite power generation through wind turbines. The partnership adds credibility and validity. While it is becoming more common for companies to offset their carbon emissions, onsite power generation is still in its infancy.”
Generating green power onsite allows Zotos to become more sustainable by switching from traditional sources of electricity generation and supporting cleaner renewable energy alternatives, while also sending a message to others across the US that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice in reducing climate risk.
Setting the standard in the hair care industry as an example of corporate social responsibility, Zotos has made a commitment to the environment and its customers.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, Perdigao reports. “Our environmental initiatives really seem to resonate with consumers [who] are looking for brands that align with their values.”
Author's Bio: Writer Lori Lovely focuses on topics related to transportation and technology.
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