Good News for Wind

Although it provides only a small fraction of U.S. power generation, wind capacity continues to grow by leaps and bounds. And a flurry of recent developments are blowing in wind's favor.

A study examining how utilities can manage growing amounts of wind capacity says that under the right policies utilities can incorporate wind power into their resource portfolio to a level comprising up to one-fourth of delivered energy without sacrificing reliability and incurring only minor costs associated with absorbing the wind.

The Midwest Wind Integration Study, required by Minnesota's legislature to evaluate reliability and other impacts of higher levels of wind generation, was conducted by EnerNex Corporation and WindLogics. The Minnesota study found that the total integration cost for up to 25 percent wind energy delivered to all Minnesota customers is less than one-half cent ($0.0045 cents) per kWh of wind generation.

Wind capacity is predicted to eventually represent about 25 percent of the generating capacity for the Midwest System Operator (MISO), which is a higher percentage currently provided nationwide by nuclear power and about the same as natural gas and hydropower combined.

"This study is groundbreaking in its examination of the highest level of wind energy penetration ever undertaken in an authoritative U.S. power system study," said Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG) Executive Director J. Charles Smith. UWIG brings together utilities that have wind on their systems or are interested in its development. Smith notes that Denmark and several regions in Europe have already achieved such high levels of wind energy use. "What this study provides is insight into how such levels can also be accommodated here in the U.S., and the conclusion is clear: under good system conditions such as those in the MISO service territory, wind energy can be readily integrated into the utility system," he says.

"The study is especially significant both because of the amount of wind involved and the fact that it was sanctioned by the Minnesota legislature," said Mike Jacobs, deputy policy director for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). "The Minnesota study shows that, when the wind generation is spread around the state, and MISO markets and operators do what they do best, integration costs are a small concern. Like the studies that have come before, this report shows the relative ease in absorbing the wind - opening the way for wind energy's benefits to be reaped on a large scale for consumers and for our economy, environment, and energy security."

Beth Soholt, director of Wind on the Wires, termed the study an important to achieving a higher level of wind penetration in the Midwest.

Meanwhile, several recent events are generating momentum for the wind industry, including the extension by Congress of the renewable energy tax credit to give wind farm construction a boost in 2007 and 2008. Although wind currently provides less than 1 percent of the electricity in the U.S., it is now the secondlargest source of new power generation for the second year in a row, after new natural gas plants. "Wind power now offers a mainstream option with which to meet our growing electricity demand," said AWEA Assistant Director of Communications Christine Real de Azua.

Still, opposition plagues wind development just as it does every other kind of energy source. And wind energy proponents have found themselves at odds with some of the constituencies they have relied on for support. Conservationists have pointed to condor casualties in California, bat fatalities in Appalachia and potential damage to marine life in Massachusetts.

John Flicker, president of the National Audubon Society, wrote a column in the November-December issue of the Society's magazine stating he "strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source," and sees global warming as a much larger threat to bird species than accidental avian deaths from wind turbine blades.

Other concerns about wind facilities have been expressed by military and air traffic controllers, who have cited wind farms as potential national security threats due to possible interference with Doppler radar. A recent report from the Idaho National Laboratory shows that the reflection from a wind turbine tower and disturbance from blade rotation can sometimes affect Doppler systems. But the report found these problems can be mitigated by site planning and inter-agency cooperation among the Department of Energy, U.S. Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) conducted a study on national security impacts from wind turbines in 2006 that produced inconclusive results. The DOD calls for more research into mitigating the effects of radar interference, but acknowledged that the United States should allow construction of wind turbines while maintaining defense readiness capabilities.

"Decades of experience tell us that wind and radar can coexist," said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher. "The American wind energy industry will continue to work collaboratively with government and others on efforts to constructively address challenges and refine solutions."

Wind has faced hostility from some of its civilian neighbors as well, with complaints escalating about visual and noise pollution along with complaints about transmission lines built across landscapes to connect wind turbines to the grid (see "The Coal-Wind Connection", Power Engineering, January 2007). Such complaints have resulted in some of the first lawsuits against wind farms since the wind construction boom began several years ago. Two cases were decided in December and the decisions could establish precedent for future lawsuits.

One case was in Texas, where Horse Hollow is the largest wind farm in the world, consisting of 421 turbines producing 735 MW. But 18 plaintiffs near the farm sued owner FPL Energy charging the wind turbines created enough noise to constitute a private nuisance.

The Abilene jury disagreed and issued a "take-nothing" verdict,findingthat Horse Hollow is not a private nuisance. The case was closely watched by energy industry observers because of the potential impact on future wind farm construction. FPL Energy has invested more than $1 billion in its Texas wind farm operations, and a negative outcome in their case could have had a chilling effect on wind investment.

Far from Texas, the Cape Wind Project, which would be the first U.S. offshore wind farm, is planned to be built off Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts. Energy Management Inc.'s plan to build the 420 MW farm of 130 wind turbines has raised the ire of local groups. Sentiment against the project has marshaled a group of activists called the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound that has spent millions of dollars to stop construction.

The most recent action against the project was an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Court regarding a May 2005 decision by the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (MEFSB) approving construction and operation of undersea transmission lines to serve the Cape Wind Project. The MEFSB approved the application following a 32month review.

In December, the Massachusetts Supreme Juicial Court ruled unanimously in favor of the MEFSB decision, acknowledging the MEFSB's approach in determining that the transmission lines were needed to serve the wind farm, even though the wind farm itself will require the approval of federal agencies.

Copyright PennWell Publishing Company Feb 2007

(c) 2007 Power Engineering. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.