WASHINGTON—Wind energy is coming to Greensburg, Kan., a town devastated by a tornado with winds as strong as 266 miles per hour last year. Now the city is trying to harness its wind for electricity.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) brought wind power and $1.3 million in the latest technology and designs to Greensburg. Greensburg will receive another $0.5 million in grant money during 2008 to maintain the program, according to a press release.
"Working with the City of Greensburg, we are helping to harness the potential of wind power—one of Kansas' best renewable energy sources," Samuel W. Bodman, U.S. Secretary of Energy, said in the release.
Greensburg's goal is to supply 100 percent of its energy needs for homes and businesses from renewable energy.
"The City of Greensburg has announced plans to lead by example as a model for sustainability by pursuing common-sense green solutions including wind energy, while retaining its roots as a small rural community," according to the press release.
Leader of the Wind Power Pack
Recent price increases in fossil fuels have made wind power an attractive source of electricity for many municipalities.
Texas is by far the leading wind power producer in the United States with 4,446 megawatts (MW) in installed wind power as of the end of 2007, followed by California with 2,439 MWs and Minnesota with 1,299 MWs.
"Wind power plays an essential role in providing Texans clean, affordable, and reliable energy," said Rich Perry, governor of Texas in the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) 2008 Annual Rankings Report.
The United States is realizing only a fraction [around 1 percent] of its 2007 electricity needs from wind power. According to the AWEA, the country is underutilizing a clean and inexpensive energy source. In 2007, the United States generated about 31 billon kilowatt-hours of electricity from wind power serving 4.5 million homes.
More than 30 U.S. states have energy-producing wind farms, mostly located in Texas, California, Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington.
Incentives for Installing Wind Farms
Initial cost for setting up a wind farm is around $1.5 million to $2 million per MW, which is much higher than the $800,000 per MW cost for setting up a natural gas production facility. On the other hand, once installed, wind is free, while the cost for natural gas is shooting through the roof. Also, operating wind turbines requires minimal cost, while gas production facilities require frequent and costly maintenance.
Construction of wind farms takes only a few months, while traditional power plants take several years to build. "While coal plants require years to construct, solar and wind can all be on-line and producing power in far less time [and] for far less money," according to a 2007 Position Statement by the American Institute of Architects in Nevada.
The Production Tax Credit, first enacted in 1994, further lowers the cost of installing a wind turbine production facility. The Act provides a 1.9 cent per kilowatt-hour benefit for the first ten years of a renewable energy facility in operation.
"Wind-generated electricity has become more economical to produce in the past 10 years, dropping from as much as 30 cents per kilowatt-hour to 4.5 [cents] to 7.5 cents, making it more competitive with other energy sources," according to the FPL Energy, LLC Web site. FPL is a Florida-based energy company that provides energy to 16 states and generates 33 percent of its electricity through wind turbines.
Wind turbines also bring income to U.S. farmers. Farmers can earn $3,000 to $5,000 annually for each turbine installed in their fields, while only 2 percent to 5 percent of the land is used for turbines and access roads. Farmers can continue to grow crops or graze cattle up to the foot of the turbines.
Lucrative Business
GE Energy, a division of General Electric Co., led all wind turbine manufacturers in 2007 with 1,560 turbine installations. Vesta Wind Systems A.S., a Danish manufacturer, is second in the world with 537 turbine installations.
GE was recently awarded a joint U.S. and European wind turbine project worth more than $1 billion in revenues. "Since 2004, GE had achieved a 500 percent increase in wind turbine production, and its wind business revenues exceeded $4 billion in 2007," according to a recent GE press release.
AWEA statistics show that during the first three months of 2008, the wind energy industry installed about $3 billion worth of wind energy equipment, serving a total of 400,000 homes. However, the Production Tax Credit—a major incentive for the wind power industry—will end in December 2008.
"If Congress does not act quickly, this momentum could be derailed at the worst possible time for the economy, placing 76,000 jobs and over $11.5 billion in investment at risk," said Randall Swisher, AWEA executive director, in the press release.
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