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Wind Power

Wind Power. The United States and Germany Presentation: Denise Remel é-Vezner – April 14, 2004 DJRemele@rcn.com. Contents. Overview of Wind Energy United States Germany Conclusion. The Beginnings…. Old windmill near Hamburg, Germany.

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Wind Power

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  1. Wind Power The United States and Germany Presentation: Denise Remelé-Vezner– April 14, 2004 DJRemele@rcn.com

  2. Contents • Overview of Wind Energy • United States • Germany • Conclusion

  3. The Beginnings… • Old windmill near Hamburg, Germany. • Many old windmills in that area are from the Dutch who came through in the 12th century. The mills in that area have romantic names like “Venti Amica,” the girlfriend of the wind! • Picture from a tourism website – • http://www.city-map.de/city/db/010102010400.html

  4. Today! From: http://www.wind-energie.de

  5. How the Wind reaches the Outlet!From: http://www.wind-energie.de/informationen/informationen.htm

  6. Wind turbines have evolved a great deal… • They increased – • In height • In diameter of rotor blades • In power (capacity, efficiency) • However, they decreased – • In cost: price of wind energy fell from 30 cents/kWh in the early 1980’s to 4 to 6 cents/kWh today! • Source: Dept. of Energy

  7. 500 times more energy capacity since 1980!From: http://www.wind-energie.de/informationen/informationen.htm

  8. For an understanding of the size of modern wind turbines:From: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,292784,00.html(Spiegel Online Article, March 29, 2004, titled “Die grosse Luftnummer”)

  9. What kind of wind power is out there? • Small scale: • Usually one smaller turbine to provide power to, e.g., a farm. • Big scale: • “wind farms” – many turbines together providing power to the public ·        mountain passes ·        on hilltops ·        in large valleys ·        offshore ~~~ anywhere where the wind blows!

  10. The Pros and Cons of Wind Power • Environmental considerations • Birds and noise versus no emissions! • Cost of wind power • Expensive first, but cheap later? • Technical issues • Dispatchability, reliability.

  11. Environmental Issues (Pros): • No air or water emissions • sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and toxic heavy metals • No production of hazardous waste • E.g. nuclear waste material • No depletion of natural resources • Coal, oil or gas • However – • Wind energy does create pollution through the construction, transportation and set-up of turbines.

  12. Environmental Issues (Cons): • Bird and bat kills • Collision with wind turbines, particularly where there is high bird and bat traffic • Erosion • In areas where hard-packed soil must be removed to install turbines • Noise • Through the sound of the wind in the rotors • Aesthetics • Some people find the turbines ugly and incompatible with the landscape.

  13. What looks better to you?From: http://www.wind-energie.de/informationen/informationen.htm

  14. Cost of Wind Energy (1): • High installation cost • About $1,000 per kilowatt installed capacity. • Low operating cost • Mainly maintenance; however - fuel is free! • Production Tax Credit (PTC) • Tax incentive for investing in wind energy.

  15. Cost of Wind Energy (2): • Other savings considered: • Savings of health care costs associated with fossil-fuel powered power plants. • Compare (US $): • Wind – 4-6 cents/kWh (w/o PTC; w/ - 3-5c) • Coal – 4.8 – 5.5 cents/kWh • Nuclear – 11.1-14.5 cents/kWh

  16. Technical Considerations: • Dispatchability • Energy cannot be stored! • It must instead be supplied when needed – • “Peak” problem! • Reliability • No energy when the wind does not blow. • Energy production when maybe not needed. • Need for back-up plans!

  17. Is it worth messing up views of the land and having utilities deal with back-up plans for times of no wind for the benefit of lower emissions or depletion of resources? Is it better to improve conventional energy sources and make them “greener” rather than having the land turned into an “asparagus field?” Considering the Pro’s and Con’s – Do we want wind energy?

  18. Putting aside our subjective opinions – A lot of countries have decided to go ahead and invest in the further improvement and development of Wind Power: Wind Power is the fastest growing renewable energy source!

  19. Worldwide Development of Wind Power[Status of Jan. 2002]From: http://www.wind-energie.de/informationen/informationen.htm

  20. Status of Wind Power in the U.S. • Wind Power in the U.S. has dramatically increased – • 1981 = 10 MW • 1990 = 1,525 MW • 2000 = 2,578 MW • 2003 = 6,374 MW • Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy Wind Energy Program & AWEA

  21. Why is that? • Note the big jumps in the 80’s and since 2000! • Increased concerns about – • Emissions of conventional energy sources • Availability of fossil fuels in general • Dependence on foreign fossil fuels • Accordingly, the law developed to further the development of renewable (and home-made) energy sources.

  22. Federal Laws and Policies Affecting Wind Energy • The Clean Air Act of 1970 • National Energy Act of 1978 • Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) • Energy Policy Act of 1992 • Production Tax Credit (PTC) • [Different state policies: CA, TX]

  23. The Clean Air Act • Amended in 1977, 1990 • Sought to get air pollution under control • Effects on Wind Power? Not much! • Exemptions for older power plants from performance standards imposed on newer plants. • Formulation of most market-based air-pollution control mechanisms in terms of fuel input • Wind power has no fuel input - thus, the mechanisms do not give any incentives in forms of allowances or credits to wind power producers.

  24. PURPA (1) • Purpose: Reduce dependence on foreign fuel and encourage greater diversity in energy for more energy security. • Two types – “qualifying facilities” (QFs): • Co-generators (use excess heat) • Renewable energy sources like solar, wind or geothermal • The Supreme Court upheld PURPA when challenged by utilities.

  25. PURPA (2) • Prevents discrimination of utilities against QFs by requiring utilities – • To interconnect with QFs, • To pay for the power generated by QFs, and • To sell power to QFs as if they were any other customer. • Further, QFs are exempted from utility regulatory laws (to provide a market for QFs electricity and fair prices).

  26. PURPA (3) • Effects on Wind Power? Not as great as expected: • Creating a market for renewable energy sources, but: • Utilities’ barriers to adoption of new technologies • Rate at which power is purchased from QFs varies from state to state because of different calculation methods; thus, avoided costs vary widely and are low.

  27. Production Tax Credit (1) • PTCs acknowledge wind energy’s role and the fact that most federal policies favor conventional energy producers over renewable energy producers. • 1.5 cents/kWh credit for electricity generated from wind at qualifying facilities. • Can be claimed during the first 10 years of wind energy production.

  28. Production Tax Credit (2) • Effects on Wind Power? • Wind energy producers are more competitive as against conventional energy producers. • However, they keep expiring… • 1978 PTC (National Energy Act) expired in the mid-1980’s; • 1992 PTC (Energy Policy Act) expired on 12/31/2003.

  29. Nevertheless, the U.S. is the second largest wind energy market!Picture from: http://www.energy.ca.gov/wind/overview.html • State laws and policies mostly determine whether wind energy develops in the different states. • Big “wind” states are: California (see picture), Texas or Minnesota.

  30. This does not reflect where the strongest winds blow… • State policy rather than state wind determine wind power’s destiny: • California, the strongest wind energy producer, is only the state with the 17th largest wind energy potential. • Texas, currently the “hot” area for wind energy, is not really windy either. • Compare the previous to the following map!

  31. Status of Wind Power in Germany • Steady increase through the 1990’s and ever since 2000. • In 1997, Germany overtook the U.S. as country with the largest installed wind energy. • Currently, almost 6% of all power is generated through wind power; the goal for 2010 is to achieve about 12.5%, and 20% by 2020.

  32. Wind’s Share in Germany’s Power SupplyFrom: http://www.wind-energie.de/informationen/informationen.htmStatus: 12/31/2003

  33. Wind turbines installed in Germany • Red means more than 3000 turbines, as in Lower Saxony • Yellow means 100 to 500 turbines, as e.g. in Bavaria • From: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,292784,00.html(Spiegel Online Article, March 29, 2004, titled “Die grosse Luftnummer”)

  34. Quick introduction –The German Legal System • System of Federal and State (“Länder”) law. • Constitution (Art. 70 et. seq.) provides what is governed by Federal or State law. From a U.S. perspective, a lot more areas are Federal (e.g. all criminal and private law). • Environmental and Energy Law can be either Fed or State (very generalized): • Renewable energy sources are now governed by a Federal law.

  35. Political Steps for Wind PowerFrom: http://www.wind-energie.de/informationen/informationen.htm

  36. 1991 – The Energy “Feed-in” Act(Stromeinspeisegesetz or StEG) • Utilities are required to buy all power generated by renewable energy sources, such as wind. • The price for energy from wind power is 90% of the price paid by the end consumer. • The Federal Government emphasizes that utilities should encourage a higher production of energy from renewable energy sources and co-generating sources (more of an aspiration-type Section!).

  37. 1997 – Construction Act Amendment (Baugesetzbuch) • German Construction Act requires permits for all construction. • Particularly important for construction involving burdens on the environment! • Amendment provides that Wind Energy Turbines are “privileged constructions,” making the permitting procedure much easier.

  38. 2000 –The “Renewable Energies Act”(Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz or EEG)

  39. The EEG (1) • Full title: “Gesetz für den Vorrang Erneuerbarer Energien” – “Act on Granting Priority on Renewable Energy Sources.” • This clearly provided a push! • An English version can be found at: • http://www.geothermie.de/act_on_granting_priority_on_rene.htm • If you read it, consider that the currency changed from “Pfennig” to Euro-Cent (cut Pfennig in half!).

  40. The EEG (2) - Purpose • Section 1 – • sustainable development of energy supply (manage global warming & protect the environment) • increase the percentage contribution by renewable energy sources to power supply (at least to double the share by 2010) • European Union and German objectives

  41. The EEG (3) – Substance • Obligation to connect and purchase electricity • Closest utilities are obliged • Duty to upgrade operations if necessary and reasonable. • Compensation is fixed for 20 years • E.g. Section 7 for wind energy. • Energy producer pays for the connection to the utilities; utilities pay for the upgrade. • Adjustment among utilities for costs associated with the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources.

  42. The EEG (4) – Difference to StEG (“Feed-in” Act of 1991) • Further encourage renewable energy sources • not only wind (which benefited most from the StEG). • Keep it going! • StEG proved that minimum price determinations do not deter productivity and development. • More specific compensation provisions • depending on different energy sources and their particularities. • Adjustment between utilities • make up for unequal burdens in picking up electricity from renewable energy sources.

  43. The EEG (5) – Successes so far • CO2 emissions reduction of about 30 Million tons per year. • Creation of 46,000 jobs related to wind energy. • Increase of renewable energy sources’ share of power to about 8% (about 6% in wind). • German companies developing renewable energy sources are leading the technology. • Mobilizing private capital sources for development (8,1 Billion Euro volume in 2002).

  44. 2001 – Decision of the European Supreme Court • The German compensation model for energy from renewable energy sources complies with European laws regarding subsidies and competition.

  45. 2004 – EEG Amendments • Even more specific for each source. • Prices are now staggered in time, depending on proven capacity of source: • Wind energy (now Section 10) 5.5 Euro Cents; but 3.2 cents more in first 5 years if good capacity. • Incentive to increase quality and capacity of turbines. • Include specific regulations regarding offshore turbines. • No turbines in protected areas. • Costs and financials have to be published.

  46. United States Currently over 6,000! Much more potential! Wind energy could provide for 20% of U.S. energy needs. Great tendencies where policies are in place; see CA, TX. PTC helps and needs to be renewed. Germany Currently over 15,000! Some think – enough! Government plans to extend wind energy to about 20%. Policies and laws are in place; they are all Federal. Tax incentives are in place. Conclusion: Status

  47. Are we “blowing” in the right direction? • Opinions are widespread in both the U.S. and in Germany. • However, most people seem to favor an increase in wind energy. • Complaint about some Germans about too many “asparagus fields” – is not an imminent problem for the U.S. • But: It all depends on the policies! Germany would not be so far ahead if the government (incl. the Green Party) had not pushed so hard.

  48. Sources used for information and pictures: • www.awea.org • www.wind-energie.de • www.energy.ca.gov/wind • www.eere.energy.gov • www.nrel.gov/wind • www.wwindea.org/default.htm • Christine Real de Azua, The Future of Wind Energy, 14 Tul. Envtl. L.J. 485 (Summer 2001) • Professor Bosselman’s Powerpoint

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