“PUSH WIND” SAY THOSE WHO KNOW

Experts call for federal wind power push
Jennifer A Dlouhy, July 13, 2009 (Houston Chronicle)

"The U.S. could dramatically boost electricity generated from wind by investing in research on lighter turbines, taller towers and more efficient generators, energy experts from New York and Texas told a House panel…

"For wind power to play “a more prominent role in the nation's energy mix,” there must be financial support for research aimed at improving “performance and reliability,” said John Saintcross, a program manager with the New York State Energy Research and Development Corp…Andy Swift, the director of the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University, said federal spending to develop more efficient technologies could combat the reliability and cost problems that have limited wind power."

The energy assets await development. (click to enlarge)

"Although the Department of Energy has estimated that wind resources on and off U.S. shores could power the country several times over, wind energy now accounts for just 2 percent of the nation's electricity supplies…The Energy Department last year predicted that wind could provide 20 percent of the nation's electricity portfolio by 2030, assuming that the capital costs of wind energy projects decreased by 10  percent and turbines become more efficient.

"The House…is weighing a bill…that would create an $800 million program for research and development in wind energy technologies…[and] funnel $200 million a year into research aimed at improving efficiency and cutting costs of wind energy systems…"

The more the R&D, the faster the turbines get bigger. (click to enlarge)

"…[A]s wind turbines and rotary blades get bigger, research may be needed in designing component pieces that can be fabricated and installed on site rather than being trucked across the country…[and] research is needed to improve forecasting — and reliability — of intermittent wind. Current forecasting is usually based on data collected…far below the typical turbine height of 80 meters…

"One of the biggest obstacles to wind power is the nation's aging electrical transmission grid, which was designed to accommodate power generation at centralized plants close to the urban customers they serve. Earlier this month, billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens said he was delaying his plans for a $10 billion wind farm in West Texas until a new transmission line is complete."