approximate cost of electricity from wind energy?

2 Comments

1. SPLATT says:

   March 11, 2010 at 9:54 am

   That depends on a number of factors. Among them are:

   The cost of acquiring land.
   The cost of the windmill.
   The reliability and strength of the wind.
   The cost of building transmission lines to the users of the electricity.

   Then there’s the environmental impact. Among them are:

   They are notoriously hazardous to birds.
   Many consider them eyesores.
2. Rudydoo says:

   March 11, 2010 at 9:54 am

   Hey Carlos, the cost for wind energy has come down quite a bit in the last 10 years, for 2 reasons. First, we have finally broken through with technology that allows the turbines to be several hundred feet in diameter. What this does is allow the generator inside to synchronize with the utlitiy grid frequency reliably. At that size, it acts as its own fly wheel. In Amsterdam today, there are something like 50 giant wind turbines, and it’s neat to see them running, they all turn exactly the same speed, as though they were geared together. The second reason is they are still subsidized by the government. It isn’t a large amount of money, but enough that the price to produce utility power from one is less than 5 cents per kilowatthour. Most homeowners in the US are paying about twice this amount for electricity, so the power companies can now make a profit on wind power. For this reason, there are hundreds being built and installed right now. You probably never see them, but if you took a cross country drive from New York to Los Angeles, you would likely see 2 or 3 farms in operation.

   Splatt is basically correct on the variables, they do make a difference where you put them, how much the wind blows, the distance to the existing lines, and so on, but the power companies have most of this information available to them before they decide to build, so they know pretty accurately what their return will be in 10 years or so.

   My suggestion is you don’t rely on my word, or anyone elses here, go to the source. The American Wind Energy Association has been studying and collecting data for years on this very subject. They have articles on energy costs, timelines, number and sizes of wind turbines and so on. I will include their link below.

   As far as bird kills, that has been a common misnomer for years. Back in the late 80′s, a new wind farm was built in Altamont Pass near San Francisco. That one farm in less than one year killed over 5% of all the known Golden Eagles in North America. The Golden Eagle is a protected bird, and this was creating quite a problem. Turns out that particular type of turbine there emitted something similar to a mating call, it only attracted rare raptors. Since then the blades on that farm have been modified and the problem no longer existed. But it was enough to leave a good story behind for people to tell and modify for years. Wind turbines today do not kill as many birds as home picture windows or cars have been killing for years. You can find info on that at the American Wind Energy’s website as well. Go check it out and learn some more about wind power today. Or you can check out the local library, Paul Gipe and Mick Sagrillo are authors to look for. Good luck Carlos, and take care, Rudydoo