Energy plan turns nature into money
Major energy players in government and business are trying to chart a billion-dollar wind frontier with Oklahoma in the middle.
They say the biggest hurdle to harnessing the region's renewable, clean and lucrative gusts is the transmission of the energy. Electricity transmission lines in rural areas, such as the Oklahoma Panhandle, are too small to satisfy the needs of population centers like Oklahoma City and Dallas.
At stake is the development of a clean, endless energy source and the billions of dollars it may take to exploit it.
Wind blows hardest across the state's rural west side, far from the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas. Wind farms capture the wind energy with rows of turbines. Wind energy turns their blades, which rotate generators that create electricity. The electricity can power a local facility or go out on a transmission line.
Oklahoma wind farms can produce a maximum 689 megawatts, ranking fifth in the United States, said Oklahoma State University climatology professor Steven Stadler.
Transmission lines, which transport electricity from generation sites to consumers, have a relatively narrow capacity in some rural areas, ranging from 34,000 volts to 169,000 volts, said Les Dillahunty, vice president, regulatory for the Southwest Power Pool, an association of seven states' officials and utilities coordinating transmission.
Tapping a new source of energy would require an upgrade to at least 345,000 volts, he said. It's like turning a byway into a highway.
"Having found wind in those rural areas, we're needing to transport a greater volume over those byways than they were designed to accommodate,” Dillahunty said.
The Southwest Power Pool's suggestion is the X-Plan — a $5 billion electric backbone that would pass through Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The system would pass through the territories of utilities that may not want to develop it, said Oklahoma Secretary of Energy David Fleischaker, who represents the governor's office in the Southwestern Power Pool.
They can transfer that right and still benefit from the grid, but give up responsibilities associated with finance, construction and operation, he said.
Other utilities wanting to get the most from wind face the same option — pay to build it or pay someone else to.
One company, ITC Great Plains, applied for Oklahoma utility status in July to acquire the right of eminent domain. Conflicts over right-of-way are some of the biggest hurdles, other than cost, associated with building transmission lines, said ITC Great Plains President Carl Hulsig. Kansas designated the company as a utility in June. Texas is also considering an ITC Great Plains utility application.
Michigan-based ITC Holdings established subsidiary ITC Great Plains in July 2006 to "address a recognized need for investment in the transmission infrastructure in Kansas and the Great Plains region,” a company statement said.
"They realize the movement of electricity and power is the whole key to everything,” said state Rep. Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell, whose legislation in the last session created a power transmission task force.
Oklahoma's incumbent utilities, such as Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., are expected to fight the company's application when the Oklahoma Corporation Committee holds hearings on it. OG&E spokesman Brian Alford said ITC Great Plains may end up raising rates for customers, who foot the bill for electric generation, distribution and transmission.
"If I'm president of a utility company, I would much rather partner with the Southwest Power Pool and own the transmission line from the beginning than have ITC build it and then say, ‘Well, it cost us $80 million to build it and we'll sell it to you for $100 million,'” Blackwell said.
The company wants to build "non-discriminatory” transmission lines that are open to any generation or demand, Hulsig said.
"We plan on owning, operating and maintaining our facilities for the life of the project,” he said. "We're thinking at least 50 years for most of these transmission lines.”
The company could collaborate with the utilities, but there is no established forum yet to parse out responsibility, Fleischaker said.
"There is no road map in place in Oklahoma for providing opportunity for a private entity to bid for the rights of building transmission,” he said. "This is a new frontier.”
The increased competition would help the development, said Oklahoma Deputy Secretary of Energy Bob Wegener.
"Competition in transmission projects could stimulate additional transmission projects and speed up the process,” he said.
Transmission investment in the United States has been increasing since 1998, following an almost $3 billion decline from 1975 to that time, according to an Edison Electric Institute Survey of Transmission Investment.
"This is a nationwide problem,” said Oklahoma State University professor Rama Ramakumar. "Many places lack transmission capacity because people were not building transmission lines for a long time, because of right-of-way opposition and environmental visual pollution.”
Adding to the uncertainties is financing. A phrase repeated by those studying the issue is that the lines would cost "a million dollars a mile.” The utilities or ITC could develop the transmission lines under the guidance of the Southwest Power Pool and spread the cost among its members. But there are different formulas for cost-sharing between projects intended to improve grid reliability and projects intended to help the area economy, and definitions for each can be confusing.
"One thing you'll hear a lot in meetings like this is that something that may be an economic transmission line today is needed for reliability tomorrow,” he said. "Tomorrow is defined loosely as two years, five years, 10 years down the line.”
Today's problems should not hinder what could be a positive development for Oklahoma, Fleischaker said.
"Wind is a resource, period, and it's worth money,” Fleischaker said "Oklahoma has that resource and to the extent that the laws promote the utilization of that resource, the people of Oklahoma will benefit. It's that simple.”
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Area's first wind turbine will be dedicated Friday
Sept. 12, 2007
KALAMAZOO--The first modern, direct-grid-connected, electricity-producing
wind turbine in the Kalamazoo area will be dedicated at 2 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 14, at Western Michigan University's College of
Engineering and Applied Science.
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton and WMU President John M. Dunn will be
among the principal speakers at the dedication ceremony. Engineering
Dean Timothy Greene will introduce the program, and Dr. John
Patten, chair of the Department of Manufacturing Engineering,
will give a brief overview of the project.
Installed at the end of July by the engineering college, WMU's
Physical Plant and contractor Bauer Power, the generator provides
two kilowatts of power. That is a tiny percentage of the University's
overall electrical consumption, but upgrades scheduled for the
generator call for more than doubling that output to five kilowatts
during the next few years.
Patten also has been fundraising for two larger wind turbines
at WMU--a 10-to-15 kilowatt generator and a 100-to-200 kilowatt
generator.
Facts about the wind turbine generator
The blades only spin about 25 percent of the time, and they
will spin more in the spring, fall and winter when there is more
wind than in the summer. The turbine only needs a little wind,
about 8 mph, to get started, and once it gets started it
doesn't need as much wind to continue operating.
The optimal or design wind speed is 12 mph, and the unit
will continue to operate at a maximum output up to 50 mph
winds. When the wind exceeds this maximum, the unit will shut
down temporarily until the wind dies down to avoid any possible
damage to the turbine.
The generator includes a digital wireless remote interface
that provides information about the number of blade revolutions
per minute (RPM), power output (kW) and accumulated power (kWh)
data directly to University computers at the Parkview Campus.
The cost of building utility scale wind energy plants is comparable
to the cost of coal-fired plants, although for wind turbines
there is no use of fossil fuels like coal.
Media contact: Deanne Molinari, (269) 387-8400, deanne.molinari@wmich.edu
WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/wmu/news
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Man says personal windmill saves energy
By LIZ RAFTERY - Bloomsburg Press Enterprise
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. --
Dan Broadt has turned to the wind to power his home, saying the new turbine towering over his backyard can cut his electricity bill by 50-75 percent a month.
Broadt sells the turbines at his business, but he's become a customer, too, erecting one of the $7,500 windmills at his home along Ridge Road.
It may take five to 10 years for a customer to recoup the initial investment, he said. But as energy costs rise, the payback time becomes shorter.
Monthly savings depend on the amount of electricity a household uses and the wind potential of an area, Broadt said.
One benefit to renewable energy is that prices will hold steady, unlike traditional utility rates, which can go up, according to Tom Tuffey of the environmental advocacy group Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future.
Broadt is using the same model - 33 feet tall and over 600 pounds - that spins outside TPC Power Center along Route 11 in Scott Township, the business he and his brother operate.
Despite the long-term advantages, Broadt said some of his customers still balk at paying $7,500 for a turbine, which doesn't include installation equipment or paying someone to erect it.
"It's kind of a tough sell," he acknowledged.
He's quick to point out that energy savings aren't the only benefit of wind power.
"Everybody likes to save money, but we need to reduce our dependence on coal and foreign oil for energy," he said.
From an environmental perspective, turbine owners can rest assured that they are decreasing the size of their carbon footprint by using "clean energy" to partially power their homes.
It's like using energy-efficient light bulbs, but on a larger scale, Broadt explained.
A typical household uses about 1,000 kilowatt-hours of energy every month, statistics show. A wind turbine, on average, will generate 500 to 700 kilowatt-hours monthly, according to Broadt.
"This is not something that's going to take care of all your energy needs," he said. "It's just a good way to offset costs."
A kilowatt-hour means 1,000 watts of energy produced for one hour. A 50-watt light bulb left on for 20 hours, for instance, would use one kilowatt-hour of energy.
The turbine manufacturer, Skystream Energy, says the windmill can save up to 80 percent on electricity costs.
Here's how the process works, according to Broadt:
The turbine's blades begin turning once winds reach a speed of 6 mph, and an inverter inside the turbine begins generating energy when wind is blowing at 8-10 mph.
Energy is sent through an underground wire to the home's power grid, which is still the primary source of power for the house.
The turbine generates energy even when it is not being used. At night, for instance, when all appliances are turned off but a breeze is still blowing, excess energy is stored on the grid for use during the day.
Energy from the turbine that feeds into the grid can actually turn the meter backward.
Any unused energy can be sold back to the electric company. PPL customers in this area pay between 10 and 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to Broadt, but can sell excess energy back to the company at a rate of 2 to 3 cents per kilowatt-hour.
An early concern for Broadt was how PPL officials would react to wind-energy initiatives, but he said they have been supportive.
Paul Wirth, a spokesman for PPL, said the company buys energy from two wind farms in the area and "would applaud any effort" to generate additional renewable energy.
That might be because PPL can sell excess energy to other states, including New York, at nearly twice the price it charges Pennsylvania residents.
At wind speeds of 20 mph, the turbine reaches its maximum output.
However, the turbine is designed to withstand winds of up to 140 mph, according to Broadt.
The blades automatically start to slow down once winds hit 23 mph, and the turbine will automatically shut itself off at about 55 mph, to avoid overproduction, Broadt said.
In case of a power outage, the unit also shuts down so it won't be pumping electricity into the grid - a safety feature to prevent electrocuting someone trying to reboot the grid.
"It has a lot of built-in protection," Broadt said. "It kind of has a mind of its own."
The turbine also comes equipped with an external, wireless remote display that indicates the wind speed and energy output. Using the remote, the owner can shut down the turbine from up to 1,000 feet away.
Installing a wind turbine increases property value by about $10,000, according to Broadt.
But residents who are interested in one must first obtain permission from a local zoning board, which was Broadt's biggest obstacle.
That was because there are no codes in place regarding wind turbines, since they are a relatively new phenomenon, Broadt explained. And officials are wary about setting a precedent that could open the door for larger-scale, commercial wind farms, he said.
The Skystream 3.7 turbine sits about 190 feet from Broadt's house on his one-acre property. The company recommends that turbine owners have at least half an acre of land.
Broadt said he hasn't heard any complaints from his neighbors so far. The whirring sound of the turbine's generator tops out at 40 to 45 decibels, Broadt said.
By comparison, a normal conversation is about 35 decibels; external air conditioning units and pool pumps can emit more than 80 decibels, according to Broadt.
"You have to get right up next to (the turbine) to hear it," he noted.
Some critics have argued that turbines pose a hazard to birds, Broadt said. But experts say turbines account for only about 1 percent of all bird strikes, whereas household windows and doors are responsible for 4 percent.
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A Mighty Wind Is Pushing U.S. Renewable Energy Success
-- Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 7/24/2007 6:32:00 AM
The United States is expected to be home to an anticipated 49,000 MW of installed wind-power capacity by 2015, making it the world's largest wind-power producer, according to a recent report. Developers are expected to invest more than $65 billion between 2007 and 2015 in wind-power facilities, researchers say.
The report by Cambridge, Mass.-based Emerging Energy Research (EER) estimates the current wind-energy project pipeline at 125 GW of potential capacity at various stages of development. Researchers anticipate U.S. installed capacity in 2015 will total 19 percent of the global wind market.
EER expects 7,650 MW of new capacity to come online in 2007 and 2008, though transmission bottlenecks are projected to slow development between 2009 and 2011. The group believes these issues will be addressed by 2011, and growth could resume at rates as high as 5 GW per year by 2015. Texas is anticipated to account for 23 percent of capacity growth by 2015, with the combined total for California, Minnesota, New York, Colorado and Washington reaching an approximated 30 percent of total market growth.
