
via Wikipedia
Key findings indicate wind energy prices at all-time lows as wind turbines grow larger
Wind energy pricing remains attractive, according to an annual report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). At an average of around 2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), prices offered by newly built wind projects in the United States are being driven lower by technology advancements and cost reductions.
“Wind energy prices – particularly in the central United States, and supported by federal tax incentives – remain at all-time lows, with utilities and corporate buyers selecting wind as a low-cost option,” said Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Ryan Wiser of the Electricity Markets & Policy Group.
Key findings from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Technologies Market Report include:
- Wind power capacity additions continued at a rapid pace in 2017. Nationwide, wind power capacity additions equaled 7,017 megawatts (MW) in 2017, with $11 billion invested in new plants. Wind power constituted 25 percent of all U.S. generation capacity additions in 2017. Wind energy contributed 6.3 percent of the nation’s electricity supply, more than 10 percent of total electricity generation in 14 states, and more than 30 percent in four of those states (Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota).
-
Bigger turbines are enhancing wind project performance.The average generating capacity of newly installed wind turbines in the United States in 2017 was 2.32 MW, up 8 percent from the previous year and 224 percent since 1998-1999. The average rotor diameter in 2017 was 113 meters, a 4 percent increase over the previous year and a 135 percent boost over 1998-1999, while the average hub height in 2017 was 86 meters, up 4 percent from the previous year and 54 percent since 1998-1999. Permit applications to the Federal Aviation Administration suggest that still-taller turbines are on the way. Increased rotor diameters, in particular, have begun to dramatically increase wind project capacity factors. The average 2017 capacity factor among projects built from 2014 through 2016 was 42 percent, compared to an average of 31.5 percent among projects built from 2004 to 2011, and 23.5 percent among projects built from 1998 to 2001.
Low wind turbine pricing continues to push down installed project costs. Wind turbine equipment prices have fallen to $750-$950/kilowatt (kW), and these declines are pushing down project-level costs. The average installed cost of wind projects in 2017 was $1,610/kW, down $795/kW from the peak in 2009 and 2010.
Wind energy prices remain low. Lower installed project costs, along with improvements in capacity factors, are enabling aggressive wind power pricing. After topping out at 7 cents per kWh in 2009, the average levelized long-term price from wind power sales agreements has dropped to around 2 cents per kWh – though this nationwide average is dominated by projects that hail from the lowest-priced region, in the central United States. Recently signed wind energy contracts compare favorably to projections of the fuel costs of gas-fired generation. These low prices have spurred demand for wind energy from both traditional electric utilities and nonutility purchasers, such as corporations, universities, and municipalities.
- The domestic supply chain for wind equipment is diverse. Wind sector employment reached a new high of 105,500 full-time workers at the end of 2017. For wind projects recently installed in the United States, domestically manufactured content is highest for nacelle assembly (more than 90 percent), towers (70 to 90 percent), and blades and hubs (50 to 70 percent). It is much lower (less than 20 percent) for most components internal to the turbine. Although there have been a number of manufacturing plant closures over the last decade, each of the three largest turbine suppliers serving the U.S. market – Vestas, General Electric Co., and Siemens Gamesa – has one or more domestic manufacturing facilities in operation.
Learn more: Report Confirms Wind Technology Advancements Continue to Drive Down Wind Energy Prices
The Latest on: Wind energy
via Google News
The Latest on: Wind energy
- Exclusive: Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy tap hydrogen boom in wind allianceon January 13, 2021 at 2:02 am
Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy are developing a commercial offshore wind turbine that produces hydrogen via electrolysis, the companies said, marking a breakthrough for the mass production of ...
- Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, Inc. Secures $100 Million Wind Construction Contract in ...on January 12, 2021 at 10:47 pm
Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, Inc. (NASDAQ: IEA) (“IEA” or the “Company”), a leading infrastructure construction company with specialized energy and heavy civil expertise, today announced ...
- Wind energy has been around a whileon January 12, 2021 at 11:32 am
While meetings have been in place about a proposed new wind farm to be located east of town, wind energy has been around since the beginning of time.
- WATCH NOW: Wind energy process that could power Danville and Pittsylvania County bring training program to New College Instituteon January 12, 2021 at 11:00 am
The electricity that flows to Danville and Pittsylvania County someday may come from an offshore windfarm that is operated by people trained in Martinsville. New College Institute in Martinsville near ...
- USFWS Issues Rule Excluding Incidental Take from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act: Implications for the Wind Energy Industryon January 12, 2021 at 9:49 am
On January 7, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or Service) published a final rule providing that the scope of the prohibition of take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA or Act) ...
- Consumers Energy Powers On Michigan Wind Farmon January 12, 2021 at 9:39 am
Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider, says its Gratiot Farms Wind Project is operational and contributing 150 MW of renewable energy to customers in Michigan. We ...
- Gratiot County wind farm now operating with 60 turbines, creating energy to power 58,000 homeson January 12, 2021 at 7:10 am
Michigan wind farm owned by Consumers Energy is now online, with enough energy to power the homes of 58,000 residents. Gratiot Farms Wind Project is operational and contributes 150 megawatts of clean, ...
- CMS Energy's (CMS) Gratiot Farms Starts Wind Power Supplyon January 12, 2021 at 7:05 am
CMS Energy Corp. CMS announced that the Gratiot Farms Wind Project, operated by the company’s principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy, has started operations since Dec 16. Installed with 60 turbines, ...
- Schumer urges GE to make wind turbines in Capital Regionon January 12, 2021 at 6:22 am
Charles Schumer personally urged General Electric Co. CEO Larry Culp Jr. in a recent telephone call to build its new Haliade-X offshore wind turbines in New York state — and possibly the Capital ...
- Wind Energy Composite Market 2020 Driving Factors, Industry Growth, Key Vendors and Forecasts to 2025on January 12, 2021 at 4:52 am
Global Wind Energy Composite size is estimated to be xx million in 2020 from USD 898.2 million in 2019, with a change of XX% between 2019 and 2020. The global Wind Energy Composite market size is ...
via Bing News