Benchmark Wind turbine plants and Solar tower

Wind Turbine plants

Current cost of wind power
The key parameters governing wind power economics are:
- Investment costs (turbine cost, civil works, Grid connection costs …)
- Operation and maintenance costs
- Capacity factor
- Economic lifetime
- Cost of capital
Environmental costs or impacts:
- A net potential to reduce, degrade or fragment habitat of wildlife, fishes and
plants
- Direct impacts on Wildlife and particularly on birds or bats (cases of deaths
from collisions with wind turbines and due to changes in air pressure caused by
the spinning turbines).
Physic cost in terms of land use:
A survey realized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of various wind
turbine plants in the US found that they use between 30 and 141 acres per megawatt
of power produced.
Public Health and Community Costs:
Two main public health and community concerns associated with these wind turbines
plans are: sound and visual impact (aerodynamic sound generated by the movement
of turbines blades through air, and mechanical sound generated by the turbine itself).
Finally, these wind turbine plants can clearly affect the landscape around public living
spaces.

Solar Tower
Costs
Environmental concerns:
There is evidence that such large area solar concentrating installations can kill birds
that fly over them. Near the center of the array, temperature can reach 550°C witch,
with the solar flux itself, is enough to incinerate birds.
These concentrating installations requiring also water for cooling the different
infrastructures of the plant. Water use depends on the plant design, plant location,
and the type of cooling system.

Physic cost in terms of Land use:

These large solar towers installation requires a considerable land area. Total land area
requirements vary depending on the technology, the topography of the site and the
intensity of the solar resource.
Estimation: 3,5 to 10 acres per megawatt of power produced for plant with PV
systems.

At what point does preventing blackouts can become expensive?

Most of the time, in renewable energy is highlighted the inconsistencies of power
produced by these sources (wind, water and sunlight) which don’t constitute a
propitious to respond to the fluctuating demand of energy. There is also a critical issue
of cost associated to the blackouts and how to prevent them.

But a new research realized by a professor of civil and environmental engineering at

Stanford university and some colleagues in other universities points out three
possibilities of achieving consistent power with renewable energy sources.

Study and development of roadmaps for transitioning 139 countries to 100%

renewable energy by 2050. The fact no blackouts occurred suggests that many possible
solutions to grid stability with 100% wind, water and solar power exist. The study also
shows that the cost per unit of energy in every scenario was 75% less important
compared to the cost if the world continues on its current energy path (elimination of
health and climate costs of fossil fuels). Finally, it was shown that these roadmaps can
clearly cut in half the amount of energy needed in the system, so consumers would
actually pay less.