Wind power in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of available wind power over the United States. Color codes indicate wind power density class.
Map of available wind power over the United States. Color codes indicate wind power density class.
Just a few of the 120 Vestas wind turbines at Maple Ridge Wind Farm. The height at the tip of the blade reaches 390 feet (120 m).
Just a few of the 120 Vestas wind turbines at Maple Ridge Wind Farm. The height at the tip of the blade reaches 390 feet (120 m).

Wind power in the United States is a growing industry. For the third year in a row, the United States was the fastest growing wind power market in the world in 2007 [1].

At the end of March 2008 the United States wind power capacity was 18,302 MW, which is enough to serve 4.9 million average households. $9 billion was invested in 5,329 megawatts of new U.S. wind power capacity in 2007, causing the total U.S. wind power capacity to increase by 46%[1]. Wind power accounted for 35% of all new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2007. American wind farms will generate an estimated 48 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of wind energy in 2008, just over 1% of U.S. electricity supply.[2] In addition, new transmission facilities under development throughout the country will allow the future development of another 200,000 megawatts of wind power.

The growing U.S. wind market spurred new investment in turbine and component manufacturing plants, with enough new and planned facilities to create more than 4,700 new U.S. jobs

The U.S. wind power generation is exceeded only by Germany although Spain is a close third.

As of March 2008, Texas (5,316 MW) is the state with most wind capacity installed, followed by California (2,483 MW).

The largest operational wind farm is the 736 MW Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Texas.


Contents

[edit] Wind power by state

Most new wind power capacity is being built in the central region of the United States. Wind capacity and installed capacity along with existing construction (to end of March 2008) are shown in the table below.

State Potential
capacity
(MW)[3]		 Existing
capacity
(MW)[3]		 Under
construction
(MW)[3]		 Estimated
in state %
by wind
end of 2007[1]
North Dakota 138,400 345 130 3.8
Texas 136,100 5,317 1,997 3.0
Kansas 121,900 465 448 2.3
South Dakota 117,200 98 90 6.0
Montana 116,000 165 0 1.9
Nebraska 99,100 73 0 0.7
Wyoming 85,200 349 0 1.7
Oklahoma 82,700 689 0 3.0
Minnesota 75,000 1,300 46 7.5
Iowa 62,900 1,295 549 7.5
Colorado 54,900 1,067 0 6.1
New Mexico 49,700 496 0 4.0
Idaho 8,290 75 0 1.5
Michigan 7,460 2.6 53
New York 7,080 425 636 0.7
Illinois 6,980 736 171 0.8
California 6,770 2,484 290 2.8
Wisconsin 6,440 152 175
Maine 6,390 42 57 0.8
Missouri 5,960 162 0
Nevada 5,740 0 0
Pennsylvania 5,120 294 0
Oregon 4,870 888 202 4.4
Washington 3,740 1,195 94 2.8
Massachusetts 2,880 4.7 3
Utah 2,770 0.89 0
Arkansas 2,460 0.1 0
Virginia 1,380 0 0
New Jersey 1,200 7.5 0
Arizona 1,090 0 0
North Carolina 835
West Virginia 594 66 264
Connecticut 571
Vermont 537 6 0
New Hampshire 502 1.4 0
Ohio 416 7.4 0
Maryland 338 0 0
Delaware 197
Tennessee 186 29 0
Georgia 171
Rhode Island 109 0.66 0
South Carolina 59
Kentucky 34
Indiana 30 0 530
Hawaii unknown 63 0 2.3
Alaska unknown 1.59 0
Alabama 0
Florida 0
Mississippi 0
Louisiana 0
Total 1,230,299 18,303 5,736.3 1.1

[edit] Largest wind farms

Further information: List of wind farms in the United States

As of March 2008, these are some of the largest wind farms in the United States:

Farm Installed
capacity
(MW)		 Yearly
production
(TWh)		 State
Altamont Pass Wind Farm 576[4]
1.1
 California
Fowler Ridge Wind Farm 750 Indiana
Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center 736 Texas
San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm 619 California
Sweetwater Wind Farm 505 Texas
Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm 690
1.3[5]
 California

Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center is the world's largest wind farm at 735.5 megawatt (MW) capacity. It consists of 291 GE Energy 1.5 MW wind turbines and 130 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines spread over nearly 47,000 acres (190 km²) of land in Taylor and Nolan County, Texas.[6] The first phase of the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center consisted of 213 MW and was completed in late 2005; phase two consisted of 223.5 MW and was completed in the second quarter of 2006; phase three which consisted of 299 MW, was completed by the end of 2006.[6]

The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm is currently under construction in Benton County, Indiana. The wind farm will be completed in two phases and will have a maximum generating capacity of 750 MW total. The first phase of the project, consisting of 222 wind turbines, will bring the first 400 MW on-line by the end of 2008. Phase 2 (350 MW) could begin in early 2009.[7]

A proposed 4,000 MW facility, called the Pampa Wind Project, is to be located near Pampa, Texas.

[edit] Wind power industry and government support

Further information: List of wind turbine manufacturers

The U.S. has a significant wind turbine industry but also relies on imports to supply its rapidly growing industry. GE Energy provided over 2.3 gigawatts of new wind capacity in North America in 2007, an increase of more than 100% over the prior year. To help GE meet the high demand for wind turbines, two component suppliers, Molded Fiber Glass Companies and TPI Composites, announced plans in 2007 to build new wind turbine blade manufacturing plants in Aberdeen, South Dakota and Newton, Iowa respectively. The new plants will enable both companies to increase their capacity for producing blades for GE's 1.5-megawatt wind turbines, which are among the most widely used machines.[8]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will work with six leading wind turbine manufacturers over the next 2 years with an eye toward achieving 20% wind power in the United States by 2030. The DOE announced the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GE Energy, Siemens Power Generation, Vestas Wind Systems, Clipper Windpower, Suzlon Energy, and Gamesa Corporation. Under the MOU, the DOE and the six manufacturers will collaborate to gather and exchange information relating to five major areas: research and development related to turbine reliability and operability; siting strategies for wind power facilities; standards development for turbine certification and universal interconnection of wind turbines; manufacturing advances in design, process automation, and fabrication techniques; and workforce development. [9][10]

In addition, the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced a number of wind technology projects, including a new state-of-the-art wind turbine blade test facility to be build in Ingleside, Texas. The Texas-NREL Large Blade Research and Test Facility will be capable of testing blades as long as 70 meters (230 feet). It will be built and operated through a partnership among NREL, DOE, and a state consortium led by University of Houston, with the university owning and operating the facility's buildings, DOE funding up to $2 million in capital costs, and NREL providing technical and operational assistance. The blade test facility is estimated to cost between $12 million and $15 million and should be completed by 2010. Located on the Gulf Coast, the Texas facility will complement a similar facility that is being built on the coast of Massachusetts. [11]

NREL has also recently signed agreements with Siemens Power Generation and First Wind, a wind power developer. Siemens is launching a new research and development facility in nearby Boulder, Colorado, and has agreed to locate and test a commercial-scale wind turbine at NREL's National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). First Wind (formerly called UPC Wind Partners, LLC) owns and operates the 30-megawatt Kaheawa Wind Farm in West Maui, Hawaii, and has agreed to let the NWTC establish a Remote Research Affiliate Partner Site at the facility. The Maui satellite of NWTC will collaborate with First Wind on studies to develop advanced wind energy technologies, including energy storage and integration of renewable electricity into Maui's electrical grid. [12]

[edit] Additional income for farmers

A 21st century windfarm in the California Central Valley
A 21st century windfarm in the California Central Valley
Main article: wind farm

There is considerable competition for wind farms among farmers in places like Iowa or ranchers in Colorado. Farmers, with no investment on their part, typically receive $3,000–5,000 per year in royalties from the local utility for siting a single, large, advanced-design wind turbine, which occupies a quarter-acre of land. This land would produce 40 bushels of corn worth $120 or, in ranch country, beef worth perhaps $15. In coming years, thousands of ranchers could be earning more from electricity sales than from cattle sales. In addition to the additional income, tax revenue, and jobs that wind farms bring, money spent on electricity generated from wind farms stays in the community, creating a ripple effect throughout the local economy.[13]

[edit] Aesthetics, the environment and quality of life

Landscape and ecological issues may be significant for some wind farm proposals.[14] However, when appropriate planning procedures for site selection are followed environmental problems should be minimal. Some people may still object to wind farms, but their concerns should be weighed against the need to address the threats posed by climate change and fossil fuel depletion, and the opinions of the broader community.[15][16]

Worldwide experience has shown that community consultation and direct involvement of the general public in wind farm projects has helped to increase community approval,[17] and some wind farms overseas have become tourist attractions.[18][19]

[edit] Intrepid Wind Farm

The Intrepid Wind Farm, in Iowa, is an example of one wind farm where the environmental impact of the project has been minimized through consultation and co-operation:

"Making sure the wind farm made as gentle an environmental impact as possible was an important consideration. Therefore, when MidAmerican first began planning the Intrepid site, they worked closely with a number of state and national environmental groups. Using input from such diverse groups as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy, Iowa State University, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, MidAmerican created a statewide map of areas in the proposed region that contained specific bird populations or habitats. Those areas were then avoided as site planning got underway in earnest. In order to minimize the wind farm's environmental impact even further, MidAmerican also worked in conjunction with the Army Corp of Engineers, to secure all necessary permits related to any potential risk to wetlands in the area. Regular inspections are also conducted to make certain that the wind farm is causing no adverse environmental impact to the region."[20]

[edit] Cape Wind

In Massachusetts, two proposed wind farms have had approval difficulties. The Cape Wind project, a proposal to construct 130 offshore wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound, is the subject of heavy debate[21] in the affluent communities of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket as well as among environmentalists. The Hoosac Wind project, which will build 20 turbines on two ridgelines in the rural towns of Florida and Monroe, was initially the subject of little official controversy, but has been delayed by a suit to protect wetlands.

[edit] See also

United States Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation
  2. ^ Installed Wind Capacity Surged 45% in 2007
  3. ^ a b c U.S. Wind Energy Projects
  4. ^ Altamont Pass, California - Encyclopedia of Earth. www.eoearth.org. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  5. ^ Wind Plants of California's Tehachapi Pass. www.ilr.tu-berlin.de. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  6. ^ a b FPL Energy, LLC (2007-09-07). Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center now largest wind farm in the world. FPL Energy, LLC. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  7. ^ Fowler Ridge Wind Farm
  8. ^ GE Energy Reinforces Leadership Position In U. S. Wind Industry, Installing Over 2.3 Gigawatts Of Additional Capacity In 2007
  9. ^ http://www.energy.gov/news/6305.htm
  10. ^ http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/pdfs/41869.pdf
  11. ^ http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2008/604.html
  12. ^ http://www.firstwind.com/aboutFirstWind/news.cfm?ID=09a31a7a%2Daf12%2D4915%2Db486%2D70f8007d66e4&test
  13. ^ "Stabilizing Climate" in Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0 Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006), p. 191.
  14. ^ Gone with the wind, New Scientist, 8 July 2006, pp. 36-39
  15. ^ Wind Farms The facts and the fallacies
  16. ^ Case Study – Arga Where the wild things are
  17. ^ The world's leader in Wind Power
  18. ^ Ten Mile Lagoon Wind Farm
  19. ^ Case Study – Arga Where the wild things are
  20. ^ "Wind Power: MidAmerican's Intrepid Wind Farm." Environmenal Psychology. 2006
  21. ^ CapeCodTimes.com - Wind Farms

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Energy in the United States
Core topics
Politics
Power sources
Coal · Nuclear · Renewable · Solar
Wind (California · Texas · Iowa · Ohio · Oregon)
Environmental issues
v • d • e
Renewable energy by country (list of topics)
Wind
by region
Australia · Brazil · Canada · China · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · India · Iran · Ireland · New Zealand · Pakistan · Portugal · Romania · Spain · Sweden · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States
Solar
by region
Geothermal
Portals: Energy · Sustainable development