Wind Power in the US

Prompted by the oil crises of the 1970s, a wind-power industry flourished briefly in the United States. But then world oil prices dropped, and fundin for research into renewable ener y was cut. By the mid 19!0s US interest in wind ener y as a lar e-scale source of ener y had almost disappeared. "he de#elopment of wind power at this time suffered not only from badly desi ned e$uipment, but also from poor lon -term plannin , economic pro%ections that were too optimistic and the difficulty of findin suitable locations for the wind turbines. &nly now are technolo ical ad#ances be innin to offer hope that wind power will come to be accepted as a reliable and important source of electricity. "here ha#e been si nificant successes in 'alifornia, in particular, where wind farms now ha#e a capacity of 1(00 me awatts, comparable to a lar e nuclear or fossil-fuelled power station, and produce 1.( per cent of the state)s electricity. *e#ertheless, in the US, the ima e of wind power is still distorted by early failures. &ne of the most persistent criticisms is that wind power is not a si nificant ener y resource. +esearchers at the Battelle *orthwest ,aboratory, howe#er, estimate that today wind turbine technolo y could supply -0 per cent of the electrical power the country needs. .s a local resource, wind power has e#en reater potential. /innesota)s ener y commission calculates that a wind farm on one of the state)s south western rid es could supply almost all that state)s electricity. *orth 0a1ota alone has enou h sites suitable for wind farms to supply more than a third of all electricity consumed in the continental US. "he pre#ailin notion that wind power is too costly results lar ely from early research which focused on turbines with hu e blades that stood hundreds of metres tall. "hese machines were not desi ned for ease of production or maintenance, and they were enormously e2pensi#e. Because the ma%or factors influencin the o#erall cost of wind power are the cost of the turbine and its supportin systems, includin land, as well as operatin and maintenance costs, it is hardly surprisin that it was thou ht at the time that wind ener y could not be supplied at a commercially competiti#e price. /ore recent de#elopments such as those seen on 'alifornia wind farms ha#e dramatically chan ed the economic picture for wind ener y. "hese systems, li1e installations in 3awaii and se#eral 4uropean countries, ha#e benefited from the economies of scale that come throu h standardised manufacturin and purchasin . "he result has been a dramatic drop in capital costs5 the installed cost of new wind turbines stood at 61000 per 1ilowatt in 1997, down from about 68000 per 1ilowatt in 19!0, and continues to fall. 0esi n impro#ements and more efficient maintenance pro rams for lar e numbers of turbines ha#e reduced operatin costs as well. "he cost of electricity deli#ered by wind farm turbines has decreased from about 70 cents per 1ilowatt-hour to between 7 and 9 cents, which is enerally less than the cost of electricity from con#entional power stations. +eliability has also impro#ed dramatically. "he latest turbines run more than 9( per cent of the time, compared with around 90 per cent in the early 19!0s. .nother misconception is that impro#ed desi ns are needed to ma1e wind power feasible. &ut of the numerous wind turbine desi ns proposed or built by in#entors or de#elopers, the propeller-blade type,

which is based on detailed analytical models as well as e2tensi#e e2perimental data, has emer ed as predominant amon the more than -0,000 machines now in commercial operation world-wide. ,i1e the as-dri#en turbines that power %et aircraft, these are sophisticated pieces of rotatin machinery. "hey are already hi hly efficient, and there is no reason to belie#e that other confi urations will produce ma%or benefits. ,i1e other ways of eneratin electricity, wind power does not lea#e the en#ironment entirely unharmed. "here are many potential problems, ran in from interference with telecommunications to impact on wildlife and natural habitats. But these effects must be balanced a ainst those associated with other forms of electricity eneration. 'on#entional power stations impose hidden costs on society, such as the control of air pollution, the mana ement of nuclear waste and lobal warmin . .s wind power has been i nored in the US o#er the past few years, e2pertise and commercial e2ploitation in the field ha#e shifted to 4urope. "he 4uropean Union spends 10 times as much as the US o#ernment on research and de#elopment of wind ener y. :t estimates that at least 10 per cent of 4urope)s electrical power could be supplied by land-based wind-turbines usin current technolo y. :ndeed, accordin to the .merican ;ind 4ner y .ssociation, an independent or anisation based in ;ashin ton, 0enmar1, Britain, Spain and the *etherlands will each surpass the US in the eneratin capacity of wind turbines installed durin the rest of the decade. 1 ;hich one of the statements is true< 'ost was a bi factor in pre#entin the de#elopment of wind power ;ind power has de#eloped steadily since the 1970s. ;ind power can pro#ide enou h electricty for the United States Some US states are powered solely by wind - ;hat is the eneral #iew of wind ener y in the United States< it will reduce lobal warmin #ery positi#e it can only pro#ide small amounts of ener y #ery ne ati#e 7 ;hich of these factors has not contributed to the reduced cost of wind ener y< state subsidies economies of scale standardisation of desi n more efficient maintenance 8 ;ind turbine desi ns ...

are e2pected to impro#e in the future are already #ery ood will be much more efficient in the future are ood for the en#ironment ( ;ind ener y is more de#eloped in 4urope than the US. true false

1 ;hich one of the statements is true< a commercially competiti#e price=

'orrect. - =wind ener y could not be supplied at

'ost was a bi factor in pre#entin the de#elopment of wind power ;ind power has de#eloped steadily since the 1970s. ;ind power can pro#ide enou h electricty for the United States Some US states are powered solely by wind

- ;hat is the eneral #iew of wind ener y in the United States< is not a si nificant ener y resource= #ery positi#e it can only pro#ide small amounts of ener y it will reduce lobal warmin #ery ne ati#e

'orrect =wind power

7 ;hich of these factors has not contributed to the reduced cost of wind ener y< 'orrect ;ell done> state subsidies economies of scale more efficient maintenance standardisation of desi n 8 ;ind turbine desi ns ... are already #ery ood will be much more efficient in the future are ood for the en#ironment ( ;ind ener y is more de#eloped in 4urope than the US. 'orrect ="he 4uropean Union spends 10 times as much as the US o#ernment on research and de#elopment of wind ener y= true false 'orrect ="hey are already hi hly efficient=

are e2pected to impro#e in the future