Wind power is an important environmental strategy for timely mitigation of CO2 emissions. Once produced and installed, renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, need no fuel. Where wind energy is available and utilities could integrate the electric power into existing distribution, wind power becomes a cheaper way for utilities to manage capacity. Indiana is a prime example.
Indiana has some of the best wind potential in the eastern U.S. and has a competitive advantage as a wind producer over most other states because of its location.
There is great potential for harnessing wind power in Indiana. Martin R. Cohen with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) believes it is comparable with North Dakota and Nebraska. While the wind blows stronger in states like North Dakota and Nebraska, Indiana already has the transmission system in place to bring wind-generated electricity to market.
In writing about the need for a fundamentally new point of view on electricity generation, Lena Hansen and Amory Lovins note that “Denmark already is 20 percent wind-powered, heading for 50 percent to 60 percent, and five German states are 30 percent to 40 percent wind-powered (over 100 percent at some times).”
Illustration: Tom Konrad
A wind turbine with a hub height of 50m will have half its swept area above 50m. A wind turbine with 50m blades and a hub height of 80m.
A new report from NREL (the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory) has endorsed such advocacy. This blog recently relayed word from the American Wind Energy Association that the NREL findings from its two-and-a half-year study confirmed by 2024 the eastern U.S. could be over 30 percent wind-powered. Dr. Tom Konrad tells us the gist of the study: taller wind turbines can produce more power.
What is interesting is that we may need to revise all our assumptions about how much wind is available for electric power. In Colorado, NREL found 3x as much wind potential at 80m than a previous Colorado study using the 50m hub height assumption. After all, not only is there more swept in the laminar flow, but there are more areas where tall wind turbines would have the 30% minimum capacity factor NREL assumes is enough to make them economic.
Possibly related posts from Clean Energy Wonk about Wind Power:
- Wind Power and Soil
- Wind Power and Wind Speed
- Better Software Enables Better Wind Integration
- Pissing in the Wind, Part 1
Other AG Posts on HAWTs with 80m Sweep
One Comment
Wind Turbines Net is a web site promoting wind turbines as an alternative energy source.
Wind Turbines Net uses social networking as a means to promote wind energy. “By linking together people from all walks of life that share a similar interest in this technology, we hope to create a better environment for all things related to wind power generation.”
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[...] I appreciated how from an engineering perspective Lena Hansen and Amory Lovins recently questioned the base load idea. Instead, they wrote about how to increase capacity to meet [...]
[...] Lena Hansen and Amory Lovins nevertheless noted recently, “Denmark already is 20 percent wind-powered, heading for 50 percent to 60 percent, and [...]
[...] blog has made much of a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory that endorsed taller wind turbines, i.e., with 50m blades and a hub height of 80m. NREL researchers [...]
[...] Professor Joe relays an analysis from Matt Wasson, Director of Programs for Appalachian Voices*, about how Denmark is reducing GHG emissions in part from using cleaner energy. Denmark leads the world in the largest percentage of wind power. [...]