Tall towers, long blades and manifest destiny: The migration of land-based wind from the Great Plains to the thirteen colonies

Michelle Burt, Jeremy Firestone, John A. Madsen, Dana E. Veron and Richard Bowers

Applied Energy, 2017, vol. 206, issue C, 487-497

Abstract: Until recently, it was not economically feasible to install wind turbines in many locations, including in large portions of the states that border the Atlantic Ocean in the United States, due to the low wind speeds. Newer designs allow turbines to be deployed at higher hub heights (>100m) where wind speeds are greater, and come with longer blades, allowing them to produce significantly more energy at lower wind speeds. We undertake a case study, using rural Sussex County, Delaware, US, to study their economic feasibility. We take an interdisciplinary approach, move beyond theory and general models, and consider micro-scale wind resources (the primary driver of revenue); local site geology, which influences project feasibility and foundation cost; local transmission constraints and expenses related to transmission and connection to the existing electrical grid; local values attributable to the environmental attributes of wind power; operation and maintenance costs (including insurance and replacement parts); land use and zoning considerations, including setbacks from roads, structures and airports; taxes; and rents/royalties. We find the base case levelized cost of energy (LCOE) to be ∼$70/MWh (before accounting for the federal production tax credit) based on a 25year-life of a wind turbine. Sensitivity analyses are undertaken around project life, project finance, the discount rate, and wind speed.

Keywords: Wind power; Tall towers; Rotor diameter; Low wind performance; Levelized cost of energy (LCOE); Micro-scale data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.178

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