Cape Wind Flies in Under the Radar
Hyannis, Massachusetts; [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]; June 21, 2007
The most recent Department of Defense (DOD) report analyzing the effects of offshore wind turbines on early warning radar missile defense systems is good news for Massachusetts' highly publicized Cape Wind project, which is scheduled to come online in 2010.
Issued by the Missile Defense Agency, the nine-page report recommends a 25-kilometer (km) wind turbine offset or buffer zone be established to "mitigate impact" on the PAVE PAWS early warning radar system at the Cape Cod Air Force Station (AFS).
The Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, with its 130 GE 3.6-megawatt XL wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, falls just outside this zone. In addition, the analysis shows the wind turbines in Hull, Massachusetts, are also beyond the recommended buffer.
The analysis by the DOD, however, is the third such report to be issued in recent years that has found the Cape Wind project would not negatively impact or be a concern to the PAVE PAWS radar system.
For wind turbines that lie within the 25 km offset zone, the report notes that further study would be required to assess the impact accounting for location within the radar's field of view and the relative height of the wind turbine and the radar's main beam.
Biomass & Nature's "Extreme" Enzymes
Sandia National Laboratory researchers looking to biology in earth's extreme environments
to help solve lignocellulosic ethanol puzzle
Livermore, California [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] June 15, 2007
Buried beneath a sulfurous cauldron in European seas lies a class of microorganisms known as "extremophiles," so named because of the extreme environmental conditions in which they live and thrive.
Almost as radical, perhaps, is the idea that these organisms and their associated enzymes could somehow unlock the key to a new transportation economy based on a renewable biofuel, lignocellulosic {Fibrous/woody plant (like mesquite) based} ethanol.
However the primary hurdle preventing lignocellulosic ethanol ... its efficient and cost-effective processing. "Extremophiles'" enzymes may get over that hurdle.
Blake Simmons, a chemical engineer and project lead at Sandia's Livermore, California, site, says More than a billion tons of biomass is estimated to be created each year in the timber and agricultural industries, as well as a variety of grasses and potential energy crops."
"Though we're probably decades away from that...." "Because lignocellulosic biomass is such a multifaceted material, we need to have a fundamental understanding of how it works ." {Plant cellulose is strong and highly resistant to rotting and decay. One commenter on the original report pointed out "While there may be millions of tons of lignocellulosic biomass on U.S. soil, collecting and moving it to processing plants may use more energy than is available from lignocellulosic ethanol." Available energy remains a hotly contested quality of ethanol, too.}
Senate Passes Thune Wind Energy Amendment
Washington, DC [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] June 21, 2007
The United States Senate passed U.S. Senator John Thune's energy transmission amendment to the energy bill, which would promote the development of energy transmission infrastructure, on June 19.
"This legislation is critical to promoting the development of wind energy in South Dakota and around the country. As the windiest state in the nation, {whoa, there, Senator! We are ranked fourth-best, according to the American Wind Energy Assoc.} South Dakota will greatly benefit from these provisions {as will the other 19 windy states on AWEA's Wind Energy: An Untapped Resource}.
Thune's amendment, #1609, would promote the creation of energy corridors that would facilitate the transference of wind energy generated in South Dakota to high-demand areas.
"We have the wind energy in South Dakota that the major power consumers in our nation need. The missing link is transmission infrastructure to deliver this power," Thune said.
Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of energy tax credits, including the Production Tax Credit advanced by Senator Thune, which creates incentives for the development of wind energy. "Today's victories should be celebrated by everyone who wants to promote wind energy in South Dakota," Thune said.
The following guide will have information SDans can put to work in their farm and business energy projects as well as their home energy efficiency efforts.
Guide for Homeowners Considering Renewable Energy
Albany, New York [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] June 22, 2007
Citizens' Environmental Coalition has just completed a 100-page resource guide, The World at Home: A Household Guide to Building Green, by Laura McCarthy, which includes information for homeowners, renters, students and contractors looking for green building materials and strategies.
The guide describes problems with conventional building materials; toxic problems in existing homes and then covers greener possibilities and products for all the building steps from the foundation upward. It includes links to all its resources at the end of each section.
____________________________
A handful of low-yield South Dakota wind-
• 5 PM Jun 22, SSW at 7 mph
• 2 PM Jun 22, SSW at 8 mph
• 6 AM Jun 22, SE at 5 mph mist
• Midnight (4) Jun 22, E at 6 mph
• 6 PM Jun 21, ESE at 10 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Wind power is one piece of a farm's energy business
It has been proposed in the 2007 "Farm Bill" that the Secretary of USDA make competitive grants to eligible entities to provide rebates for
• farmers
• ranchers
• rural school districts and
• rural small businesses
to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements. The final draft may include agricultural operations in non-rural areas (such as greenhouses) and schools.
for a range of modern renewable energy technologies like
• biofuels (which includes cellulosic ethanol)
• wind
• solar
• biomass
• biogas and
• energy efficiency.
Amidst these many challenges, lay many opportunities for determining the type of energy production that best fits your operation or situation (such as a community, school, or business).
As Congress produces the final draft of the 2007 "Farm Bill," it may eliminate the direct payment program and redirect funds into this program ... promoting new income-generating opportunities for farmers {and others} in markets such as biofuels, renewable electricity, carbon sequestration, and conservation.
____________________________
Other legislation pending in Congress deal specifically with wind power
The following links to blurbs about each proposal were at
• Contact your Governor, Senators andRepresentatives to urge them to support a national and/or state Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS). They "get the word" only when you as an individual send email, call or write them. Actions speak loudly. One definition of RPS.
• Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) - Urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 969, a bill to create a national RPS
• Extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) - Urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R.197
• Extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) - Urge your Senators to extend the PTC
• Small Wind Investment Tax Credit - Urge your Senators to cosponsor S. 673 to create an investment tax credit for small wind systems and
• Small Wind Tax Credit - Tell your Representative cosponsor H.R. 1772, a bill to create an investment tax credit for small wind systems.
____________________________
The following 5-hour block was the only productive wind in 24 hours. Ouch.
• Noon Jun 20, SSW at 16 mph
• 11 AM Jun 20, SSW at 17 mph
• 10 AM Jun 20, SSW at 17 mph
• 9 AM Jun 20, SSW at 20 mph
• 8 AM Jun 20, SSW at 14 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
• farmers
• ranchers
• rural school districts and
• rural small businesses
to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements. The final draft may include agricultural operations in non-rural areas (such as greenhouses) and schools.
for a range of modern renewable energy technologies like
• biofuels (which includes cellulosic ethanol)
• wind
• solar
• biomass
• biogas and
• energy efficiency.
Amidst these many challenges, lay many opportunities for determining the type of energy production that best fits your operation or situation (such as a community, school, or business).
As Congress produces the final draft of the 2007 "Farm Bill," it may eliminate the direct payment program and redirect funds into this program ... promoting new income-generating opportunities for farmers {and others} in markets such as biofuels, renewable electricity, carbon sequestration, and conservation.
____________________________
Other legislation pending in Congress deal specifically with wind power
The following links to blurbs about each proposal were at
• Contact your Governor, Senators andRepresentatives to urge them to support a national and/or state Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS). They "get the word" only when you as an individual send email, call or write them. Actions speak loudly. One definition of RPS.
• Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) - Urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 969, a bill to create a national RPS
• Extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) - Urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R.197
• Extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) - Urge your Senators to extend the PTC
• Small Wind Investment Tax Credit - Urge your Senators to cosponsor S. 673 to create an investment tax credit for small wind systems and
• Small Wind Tax Credit - Tell your Representative cosponsor H.R. 1772, a bill to create an investment tax credit for small wind systems.
____________________________
The following 5-hour block was the only productive wind in 24 hours. Ouch.
• Noon Jun 20, SSW at 16 mph
• 11 AM Jun 20, SSW at 17 mph
• 10 AM Jun 20, SSW at 17 mph
• 9 AM Jun 20, SSW at 20 mph
• 8 AM Jun 20, SSW at 14 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Monday, June 18, 2007
A Piece of Work, Part I
You know when something is going to be lengthy or "soapboxish" when Roman numerals are used in a title. With that warning, off we go.
A recent wave of large wind turbine orders and project announcements spanning four states suggests that wind power will continue growing strong at least through 2007. That domestic demand for large wind turbines (LWTs) has created a two- to three-year backlog at the manufacturers of LWTs as new wind farms also sprout up throughout America.
Coteau Wind & Power is being developed to meet a dometstic demand for a large wind turbine it the 750 - 900 kW range that is expected to continue and actually accelerate. Price increases of crude oil, natural gas, and coal, and the spectre of nuclear power plants make wind a very appealing alternative power source for electricity generation.
In a 1999 study conducted by the World Energy Council (WEC) projected worldwide wind capacity of 13 gigawatts (GW) by 2000 (actual installed capacity was 13.6 GW by the end of 1999), increasing to 72 GW by 2010 and 180 GW by 2020.
• (1 gigawatt = 1,000 megawatts = 1,000,000 kilowatts; if you're paying 7 cents per kWh, 1 GWh = $70,000,000. "There's money in them thar breezes!")
Coteau Wind & Power will use these numbers as goals in order to be "in the right place at the right time" to profit from the surge in growth in wind turbine installations with a goal of manufacturing and delivering 4,040 turbines by 2020 in the Great and Upper Great Plains.
A faster pace of wind development comes at a crucial time for electricity producers; crude oil peaked at $78.00 per barrel in mid- July, 2006, as did the price of natural gas (NG) ( in dollars per million cubic feet). A main derivative of NG, agricultural nitrogen,
also shot up in price.
By June 2007, the price of crude oil had declined to $68.00 per barrel and Big Oil company executives commented that with the increased production of biofuels, there is much less urgency to expand crude oil refining capacity.
{Americans should expect higher food costs as more food grains are converted into ethanol rather than put in grocery stores as well as higher gasoline and other petrochemical product prices because of "less urgency to expand capacity."}
Even the highest-use fossil fuel for generating electricity- coal- indirectly became more expensive due to pollution-reduction equipment regulations, special-interest groups' objections, and train coal-car derailments.
Nor is hydro-electric power immune from price increases. For decades "hydro" has been a mainstay for rural electricifcation, providing thousands of megawatthours of inexpensive power from major U.S. rivers like the Missouri in the Upper Great Plains.
Extended drought or near-drought conditions in the watersheds of their rivers, compounded by higher average water consumption for water parks, lawns, U.S. Open greens watering, wild-fire fighting, and agricultural irrigation, will result in record-low water levels and subsequent decreased electricity production by water turbines in the rivers' dams. When supply decreases, spot-market electricity purchases lead to consumer rate increases.
Coteau Wind & Power will manufacture wind turbines that efficiently harvest electricity from wind power, a renewable resource that will never "dry up," can't be doled out by foreign governments, and doesn't poison the evironment with mercury, cadmium, and sulfuric acid.
Unlike the traditional fuels of electricity-generating plants, wind turbines are not constrained by
• global geopolitics
• an inability to safely dispose of nuclear or petroleum wastes
• heightened concerns about environmental damage
• almost complete concentration of generation capability in single sites
• labor and transportation disruptions
• increasingly limited water supplies and
• increasing "Not In My Back Yard" resistance stemming from concerns regarding
• land consumption
• aesthetics
• air, noise, traffic pollution and
• materials and time costs
in the construction of new traditional power plants.
____________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind-
• 8 PM Jun 18, W at 25 mph
• 5 PM Jun 18, W at 29 mph
• 10 AM Jun 18, WNW at 14 mph
• 3 AM Jun 18, SE at 6 mph
• 9 PM Jun 17, SSW at 22 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
A recent wave of large wind turbine orders and project announcements spanning four states suggests that wind power will continue growing strong at least through 2007. That domestic demand for large wind turbines (LWTs) has created a two- to three-year backlog at the manufacturers of LWTs as new wind farms also sprout up throughout America.
Coteau Wind & Power is being developed to meet a dometstic demand for a large wind turbine it the 750 - 900 kW range that is expected to continue and actually accelerate. Price increases of crude oil, natural gas, and coal, and the spectre of nuclear power plants make wind a very appealing alternative power source for electricity generation.
In a 1999 study conducted by the World Energy Council (WEC) projected worldwide wind capacity of 13 gigawatts (GW) by 2000 (actual installed capacity was 13.6 GW by the end of 1999), increasing to 72 GW by 2010 and 180 GW by 2020.
• (1 gigawatt = 1,000 megawatts = 1,000,000 kilowatts; if you're paying 7 cents per kWh, 1 GWh = $70,000,000. "There's money in them thar breezes!")
Coteau Wind & Power will use these numbers as goals in order to be "in the right place at the right time" to profit from the surge in growth in wind turbine installations with a goal of manufacturing and delivering 4,040 turbines by 2020 in the Great and Upper Great Plains.
A faster pace of wind development comes at a crucial time for electricity producers; crude oil peaked at $78.00 per barrel in mid- July, 2006, as did the price of natural gas (NG) ( in dollars per million cubic feet). A main derivative of NG, agricultural nitrogen,
also shot up in price.
By June 2007, the price of crude oil had declined to $68.00 per barrel and Big Oil company executives commented that with the increased production of biofuels, there is much less urgency to expand crude oil refining capacity.
{Americans should expect higher food costs as more food grains are converted into ethanol rather than put in grocery stores as well as higher gasoline and other petrochemical product prices because of "less urgency to expand capacity."}
Even the highest-use fossil fuel for generating electricity- coal- indirectly became more expensive due to pollution-reduction equipment regulations, special-interest groups' objections, and train coal-car derailments.
Nor is hydro-electric power immune from price increases. For decades "hydro" has been a mainstay for rural electricifcation, providing thousands of megawatthours of inexpensive power from major U.S. rivers like the Missouri in the Upper Great Plains.
Extended drought or near-drought conditions in the watersheds of their rivers, compounded by higher average water consumption for water parks, lawns, U.S. Open greens watering, wild-fire fighting, and agricultural irrigation, will result in record-low water levels and subsequent decreased electricity production by water turbines in the rivers' dams. When supply decreases, spot-market electricity purchases lead to consumer rate increases.
Coteau Wind & Power will manufacture wind turbines that efficiently harvest electricity from wind power, a renewable resource that will never "dry up," can't be doled out by foreign governments, and doesn't poison the evironment with mercury, cadmium, and sulfuric acid.
Unlike the traditional fuels of electricity-generating plants, wind turbines are not constrained by
• global geopolitics
• an inability to safely dispose of nuclear or petroleum wastes
• heightened concerns about environmental damage
• almost complete concentration of generation capability in single sites
• labor and transportation disruptions
• increasingly limited water supplies and
• increasing "Not In My Back Yard" resistance stemming from concerns regarding
• land consumption
• aesthetics
• air, noise, traffic pollution and
• materials and time costs
in the construction of new traditional power plants.
____________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind-
• 8 PM Jun 18, W at 25 mph
• 5 PM Jun 18, W at 29 mph
• 10 AM Jun 18, WNW at 14 mph
• 3 AM Jun 18, SE at 6 mph
• 9 PM Jun 17, SSW at 22 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Economic Development Impacts of Wind Power
Assessing the Economic Development Impacts of Wind Power, FINAL REPORT; Prepared for National Wind Coordinating Committee; February 12, 2003; an 81-page PDF.
page ES-1
Introduction
Interest in wind power development as a means of expanding local economies is growing. It holds promise for providing a new source of short-term employment during construction of the facility and long-term employment from operating and maintaining the facility. It may add to the supply of electric power in the area and support some expansion of the local economy through the ripple effect of initial increases in jobs and income.
Despite a growing body of information about the local impacts — both positive and negative — of wind power, the economic impacts of existing wind power developments have not been analyzed in a consistent manner. This study uses three case studies {this abstract focuses on the Lake Benton study} to estimate the effects of wind power development on local economies. Both the effects of the construction and the annual operation and maintenance were studied.
Objectives
While there is a growing body of information about the local impacts of wind power, the economic impacts from existing wind power developments have not yet been documented and analyzed thoroughly and consistently.
The primary objective of this study is to provide examples of thorough and consistent analysis and documentation of economic impacts from wind power development.
page ES-2
Case Studies
The three case study areas are Lincoln County, Minnesota; Morrow and Umatilla counties, Oregon; and Culberson County, Texas. In Lincoln County, the project studied was Lake Benton I, placed in operation in 1998 with 107 MW.
To understand how an economy is affected by some external change, we develop a snapshot of the economy at a particular point in time. This snapshot shows us that some parts or “sectors” in the economy are linked to each other.
The extent to which exports {products sold outside the local area} are able to expand the local economy is greatly dependent on how much of the money received remains in the local economy. As money is received for exports, the local supplier then spends that money.
The household sector is linked to all economic sectors as it provides the labor and management needed by all sectors. Changes that affect the incomes of the household sector typically have significant impacts on a local economy compared to a change in the sales of other sectors.
page ES-3
Lake Benton I is the second wind power development in Lincoln County, the first being Buffalo Ridge (25 MW), just southeast of the town of Lake Benton. Lake Benton I consists of an array of 143 Zond 750 kW turbines located in several northwesterly strings from Lake Benton. Enron Wind {now GE Wind} brought the facility into production in August 1998, and the power is sold to Xcel Energy.
This study found that a total of about eight jobs and over $98,000 in personal income in the Lincoln County economy were supported by the construction phase of the project. While this study focused on Lincoln County impacts, additional jobs were also supported in neighboring counties. A total of about 31 jobs and over $909 thousand in personal income in the Lincoln County economy are supported annually by the operation and maintenance phase of the project.
The Lake Benton I wind power development resulted in the payment of $71,800 in total county property taxes in 1999, $611,200 in 2000, and $621,000 in 2001. Assuming that the project caused zero or only minor increases in government and school budgets, these tax payments have decreased the tax burden of other local taxpayers, as they pay less taxes than they otherwise would. This has a direct effect on household income, which is equal to the taxes paid by the project owner.
The Lake Benton I wind development includes lands that have been leased, as well as permanent easement purchases. Landowners receive a total net (after-tax) annual revenue of $501,125, which is a direct effect on household income.
page ES-5
Summary and Conclusions
Tables ES-1, ES-2 and ES-3 summarize the impacts of wind power development on
• employment
• income and
• taxes
for the three case study areas, during the initial construction phase, and the operation and maintenance phase.
Based upon our analysis of the three case study areas, we can draw the following conclusions about the economic impacts of wind power development in local areas
• in each of the case study areas, wind power development provided a modest to moderate source of new economic activity and new family wage jobs
• the leasing of land has an important economic effect on local areas, provided the income from leasing goes to local residents and adds to local household incomes
page ES-6
• tax effects, particularly property taxes that support local entities, were important in all cases
• the counties represented in the case studies had comparatively few economic sectors
• a major difference among the case study areas was the current rate of economic expansion.
--While wind power development was important to the economies of all case study areas, it was relatively more important to the counties in decline and
• the return on capital could be an important component of local annual income.
--In the three case studies, little or none of this income was received by local residents. Local ownership, where feasible, would retain more of this income in the local area and increase the size of the impact. No data was collected on sources of capital for this study, but little apparently came from the local area.
In recent years, there has been considerable interest in a value-added approach {mentioned at the 13 June post} to economic development in rural areas. This generally involves adding additional processing to an existing output or resource, which results in a more valuable product being exported from the area. Wind power development fits this approach by adding value to an existing resource. In this way, it can be a valuable means for adding to the economy.
page 3 - 4
Economic Links in Rural Economies
The more money spent within the local economy, the larger the local impact from the initial money received for the export. This round by round pattern of spending associated with export production is called the multiplier effect.
page 5
Identifying Construction Needs
To measure the effect that the construction of a wind power project has on a local economy, we need to identify the mix of things (inputs) that are necessary to construct a wind power project, and we need to do so in a way that allows us to relate this information to the picture we have of the economy.
page 6
Identifying Operation and Maintenance {O&M} Needs
A similar procedure is followed to estimate the effect of annual operation and maintenance activities on the local economy.
page 8
Local Interest in Wind Power Development
Residents and administrators of rural counties are generally supportive of new businesses locating in their county that will provide family wage jobs locally.
Landowner Revenues
Wind power developments can be a source of supplemental revenue for landowners in rural areas.
page 9
Job Creation
We are interested in the creation of new jobs because new jobs increase business and household income, which in turn creates more jobs which further increase business and household income, and so on. {"Direct" jobs are in the manufacturing, prospecting, planning, assessing, documenting, transporting, construction, installation, operation and maintenance work, where "hands-on" is routine. "Indirect" jobs are those in housing, retailing, hospitality, schools, barbershops and salons, banking/finance, suppliers, vendors, and all others that make "hands-on" possible.
Tax Effects
Taxes are a redistribution of benefits from wind power production to the federal, state, and local government jurisdictions in which the wind power production and sales occur.
pages 12 - 32
Economic Setting for Case Studies and Economic Effects on Case Study Economies
Lake Benton I (1998, 107 MW): The Economy of Lincoln County, Minnesota is promoted by the local tourism groups both as the “Little Europe” of Minnesota, and the “Windpower Capital of the United States.” The county is located in southwest Minnesota, bordered on the west by South Dakota. {Minnesota is ranked 9th in the nation for annual wind power potential; South Dakota is ranked 4th. Minnesota's "wind-friendly legislation and taxation spur its wind industry to outpace South Dakota's by a huge margin, 895 MW to 44 MW.}
In addition, a number of tables and charts are provided in these pages.
____________________________
A boring South Dakota day, mustering only four hours of "fair" (NREL) wind-
• 8 PM Jun 14, S at 15 mph
• 6 PM Jun 14, SSW at 16 mph
• 5 PM (21) Jun 14, S at 16 mph
• 4 PM Jun 14, SSW at 16 mph
• 10 PM Jun 13, Calm.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
page ES-1
Introduction
Interest in wind power development as a means of expanding local economies is growing. It holds promise for providing a new source of short-term employment during construction of the facility and long-term employment from operating and maintaining the facility. It may add to the supply of electric power in the area and support some expansion of the local economy through the ripple effect of initial increases in jobs and income.
Despite a growing body of information about the local impacts — both positive and negative — of wind power, the economic impacts of existing wind power developments have not been analyzed in a consistent manner. This study uses three case studies {this abstract focuses on the Lake Benton study} to estimate the effects of wind power development on local economies. Both the effects of the construction and the annual operation and maintenance were studied.
Objectives
While there is a growing body of information about the local impacts of wind power, the economic impacts from existing wind power developments have not yet been documented and analyzed thoroughly and consistently.
The primary objective of this study is to provide examples of thorough and consistent analysis and documentation of economic impacts from wind power development.
page ES-2
Case Studies
The three case study areas are Lincoln County, Minnesota; Morrow and Umatilla counties, Oregon; and Culberson County, Texas. In Lincoln County, the project studied was Lake Benton I, placed in operation in 1998 with 107 MW.
To understand how an economy is affected by some external change, we develop a snapshot of the economy at a particular point in time. This snapshot shows us that some parts or “sectors” in the economy are linked to each other.
The extent to which exports {products sold outside the local area} are able to expand the local economy is greatly dependent on how much of the money received remains in the local economy. As money is received for exports, the local supplier then spends that money.
The household sector is linked to all economic sectors as it provides the labor and management needed by all sectors. Changes that affect the incomes of the household sector typically have significant impacts on a local economy compared to a change in the sales of other sectors.
page ES-3
Lake Benton I is the second wind power development in Lincoln County, the first being Buffalo Ridge (25 MW), just southeast of the town of Lake Benton. Lake Benton I consists of an array of 143 Zond 750 kW turbines located in several northwesterly strings from Lake Benton. Enron Wind {now GE Wind} brought the facility into production in August 1998, and the power is sold to Xcel Energy.
This study found that a total of about eight jobs and over $98,000 in personal income in the Lincoln County economy were supported by the construction phase of the project. While this study focused on Lincoln County impacts, additional jobs were also supported in neighboring counties. A total of about 31 jobs and over $909 thousand in personal income in the Lincoln County economy are supported annually by the operation and maintenance phase of the project.
The Lake Benton I wind power development resulted in the payment of $71,800 in total county property taxes in 1999, $611,200 in 2000, and $621,000 in 2001. Assuming that the project caused zero or only minor increases in government and school budgets, these tax payments have decreased the tax burden of other local taxpayers, as they pay less taxes than they otherwise would. This has a direct effect on household income, which is equal to the taxes paid by the project owner.
The Lake Benton I wind development includes lands that have been leased, as well as permanent easement purchases. Landowners receive a total net (after-tax) annual revenue of $501,125, which is a direct effect on household income.
page ES-5
Summary and Conclusions
Tables ES-1, ES-2 and ES-3 summarize the impacts of wind power development on
• employment
• income and
• taxes
for the three case study areas, during the initial construction phase, and the operation and maintenance phase.
Based upon our analysis of the three case study areas, we can draw the following conclusions about the economic impacts of wind power development in local areas
• in each of the case study areas, wind power development provided a modest to moderate source of new economic activity and new family wage jobs
• the leasing of land has an important economic effect on local areas, provided the income from leasing goes to local residents and adds to local household incomes
page ES-6
• tax effects, particularly property taxes that support local entities, were important in all cases
• the counties represented in the case studies had comparatively few economic sectors
• a major difference among the case study areas was the current rate of economic expansion.
--While wind power development was important to the economies of all case study areas, it was relatively more important to the counties in decline and
• the return on capital could be an important component of local annual income.
--In the three case studies, little or none of this income was received by local residents. Local ownership, where feasible, would retain more of this income in the local area and increase the size of the impact. No data was collected on sources of capital for this study, but little apparently came from the local area.
In recent years, there has been considerable interest in a value-added approach {mentioned at the 13 June post} to economic development in rural areas. This generally involves adding additional processing to an existing output or resource, which results in a more valuable product being exported from the area. Wind power development fits this approach by adding value to an existing resource. In this way, it can be a valuable means for adding to the economy.
page 3 - 4
Economic Links in Rural Economies
The more money spent within the local economy, the larger the local impact from the initial money received for the export. This round by round pattern of spending associated with export production is called the multiplier effect.
page 5
Identifying Construction Needs
To measure the effect that the construction of a wind power project has on a local economy, we need to identify the mix of things (inputs) that are necessary to construct a wind power project, and we need to do so in a way that allows us to relate this information to the picture we have of the economy.
page 6
Identifying Operation and Maintenance {O&M} Needs
A similar procedure is followed to estimate the effect of annual operation and maintenance activities on the local economy.
page 8
Local Interest in Wind Power Development
Residents and administrators of rural counties are generally supportive of new businesses locating in their county that will provide family wage jobs locally.
Landowner Revenues
Wind power developments can be a source of supplemental revenue for landowners in rural areas.
page 9
Job Creation
We are interested in the creation of new jobs because new jobs increase business and household income, which in turn creates more jobs which further increase business and household income, and so on. {"Direct" jobs are in the manufacturing, prospecting, planning, assessing, documenting, transporting, construction, installation, operation and maintenance work, where "hands-on" is routine. "Indirect" jobs are those in housing, retailing, hospitality, schools, barbershops and salons, banking/finance, suppliers, vendors, and all others that make "hands-on" possible.
Tax Effects
Taxes are a redistribution of benefits from wind power production to the federal, state, and local government jurisdictions in which the wind power production and sales occur.
pages 12 - 32
Economic Setting for Case Studies and Economic Effects on Case Study Economies
Lake Benton I (1998, 107 MW): The Economy of Lincoln County, Minnesota is promoted by the local tourism groups both as the “Little Europe” of Minnesota, and the “Windpower Capital of the United States.” The county is located in southwest Minnesota, bordered on the west by South Dakota. {Minnesota is ranked 9th in the nation for annual wind power potential; South Dakota is ranked 4th. Minnesota's "wind-friendly legislation and taxation spur its wind industry to outpace South Dakota's by a huge margin, 895 MW to 44 MW.}
In addition, a number of tables and charts are provided in these pages.
____________________________
A boring South Dakota day, mustering only four hours of "fair" (NREL) wind-
• 8 PM Jun 14, S at 15 mph
• 6 PM Jun 14, SSW at 16 mph
• 5 PM (21) Jun 14, S at 16 mph
• 4 PM Jun 14, SSW at 16 mph
• 10 PM Jun 13, Calm.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Wind power and wind energy definitions #3
Before getting to the definitions, a proposed change in the 2007 "Farm Bill" and farm energy has to be mentioned so producers can think about their businesses.
In late May, the former Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) released "New Markets for American Agriculture", a report by the 21st Century Agriculture Project, sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center. The report highlights investing in biofuels and wind farms to provide farmers and ranchers with new and diversified sources of income. One mentioned changein farm energy projects was "... streamline the application process for smaller, standardized projects by reducing paperwork."
HR 2154 IH is cited as the "Rural Energy for America Act of 2007" as the amendment of Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8106)
____________________________
Green credits/tags- These are but two of the units that are traded by wind farmers to organizations that want to reduce their pollution impact or that want to promote wind power development. Related term- green revenues.
Hub height- the height (40 - 320 feet and higher) at which the turbine rotor hub turns in the wind.
Interconnection- an electrical connection between one or more wind turbines and the power utility company's transmission line. If a wind turbine is built before an interconnection has been granted to the turbine operator, interconnection is not guaranteed. This predicament would be a "show stopper."
Each utility has its own requirements for an interconnection to prevent damaging the ability of the overall grid to distribute electricity. (Everything is connected to everything else.)
Large wind turbine- a wind turbine that typically generates 500 kW to 2 MW or more. Newspaper and television reports often focus on these turbines in corporate wind farming, but individual installations are also at school districts, colleges, and communities as well as off-shore. Examples are here.
Levelized- the present value of the total cost of building and operating a generating plant over its economic life, converted to equal annual payments. Costs are levelized in real dollars (i.e., adjusted to remove the impact of inflation).
Magnitudes of watt include-
• one watt, the amount of electric current in one ampere acting across a potential difference of one volt. Picture a 4W nightlight- not much ooomph.
• kilowatt (kW), 1,000 watts, the typical unit of measuring electrical power. One kW = 1.34 hp. A South Dakota home may use about 780 kWh per month.
• megawatt (MW), the increasingly common power output of large wind turbines. 1 MW = 1,000 kW = 1,340 hp.
Met tower- A "met tower" is a meteorological tower that collects wind speed and direction data at a number of heights on the tower. These towers are lightweight, guy-wire supported and have simple base plate and anchors for simplified erection. (One type is not guy-wired.) They are temporary structures that do not need a foundation. You may want to conduct a soil analysis to determine the soundness of the area in supporting a met tower and the associated guy wires.
The taller the meteorological tower, the better. Towers may be between 40 and 50 meters (132 and 165 feet) tall. Data is collected for up to 12 months and analyzed to give the site owners
• some sense of where the prevailing winds are
• what the diurnal wind speeds are and
• what the winter, summer and annual speeds are.
Since wind speeds vary from location to location, many lenders and investors tend to be skeptical of the general wind resource maps for site specific data verification. It is important to gather wind data from the location where a wind turbine will be sited.
Micro turbine- a wind turbine that typically generates less than 2 kW. The turbine is considered to be "silent," and can be attached to a home or work building {though this is not usually done}. An example is here.
Mid-size wind turbine- a wind turbine that typically generates from 10 - 500 kW. This power rating is often installed for community and ag operations wind power. An example is here.
____________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind (though not much yield)-
• 7 PM Jun 13, SSE at 10 mph light rain
• 4 PM Jun 13, S at 12 mph light rain
• 11 AM Jun 13, SSE at 10 mph light rain; mist
• 3 AM Jun 13, Calm
• 8 PM Jun 12, S at 18 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
In late May, the former Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) released "New Markets for American Agriculture", a report by the 21st Century Agriculture Project, sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center. The report highlights investing in biofuels and wind farms to provide farmers and ranchers with new and diversified sources of income. One mentioned changein farm energy projects was "... streamline the application process for smaller, standardized projects by reducing paperwork."
HR 2154 IH is cited as the "Rural Energy for America Act of 2007" as the amendment of Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8106)
____________________________
Green credits/tags- These are but two of the units that are traded by wind farmers to organizations that want to reduce their pollution impact or that want to promote wind power development. Related term- green revenues.
Hub height- the height (40 - 320 feet and higher) at which the turbine rotor hub turns in the wind.
Interconnection- an electrical connection between one or more wind turbines and the power utility company's transmission line. If a wind turbine is built before an interconnection has been granted to the turbine operator, interconnection is not guaranteed. This predicament would be a "show stopper."
Each utility has its own requirements for an interconnection to prevent damaging the ability of the overall grid to distribute electricity. (Everything is connected to everything else.)
Large wind turbine- a wind turbine that typically generates 500 kW to 2 MW or more. Newspaper and television reports often focus on these turbines in corporate wind farming, but individual installations are also at school districts, colleges, and communities as well as off-shore. Examples are here.
Levelized- the present value of the total cost of building and operating a generating plant over its economic life, converted to equal annual payments. Costs are levelized in real dollars (i.e., adjusted to remove the impact of inflation).
Magnitudes of watt include-
• one watt, the amount of electric current in one ampere acting across a potential difference of one volt. Picture a 4W nightlight- not much ooomph.
• kilowatt (kW), 1,000 watts, the typical unit of measuring electrical power. One kW = 1.34 hp. A South Dakota home may use about 780 kWh per month.
• megawatt (MW), the increasingly common power output of large wind turbines. 1 MW = 1,000 kW = 1,340 hp.
Met tower- A "met tower" is a meteorological tower that collects wind speed and direction data at a number of heights on the tower. These towers are lightweight, guy-wire supported and have simple base plate and anchors for simplified erection. (One type is not guy-wired.) They are temporary structures that do not need a foundation. You may want to conduct a soil analysis to determine the soundness of the area in supporting a met tower and the associated guy wires.
The taller the meteorological tower, the better. Towers may be between 40 and 50 meters (132 and 165 feet) tall. Data is collected for up to 12 months and analyzed to give the site owners
• some sense of where the prevailing winds are
• what the diurnal wind speeds are and
• what the winter, summer and annual speeds are.
Since wind speeds vary from location to location, many lenders and investors tend to be skeptical of the general wind resource maps for site specific data verification. It is important to gather wind data from the location where a wind turbine will be sited.
Micro turbine- a wind turbine that typically generates less than 2 kW. The turbine is considered to be "silent," and can be attached to a home or work building {though this is not usually done}. An example is here.
Mid-size wind turbine- a wind turbine that typically generates from 10 - 500 kW. This power rating is often installed for community and ag operations wind power. An example is here.
____________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind (though not much yield)-
• 7 PM Jun 13, SSE at 10 mph light rain
• 4 PM Jun 13, S at 12 mph light rain
• 11 AM Jun 13, SSE at 10 mph light rain; mist
• 3 AM Jun 13, Calm
• 8 PM Jun 12, S at 18 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
One example of a wind energy manual
All of the answers to questions about wind farming and all of the solutions to its problems can be made visible at your local library. Quality answers and solutions demand making time to look at and analyze information; only afterwards can knowledge come to mind.
The Wind Energy Manual was written by the Iowa Energy Center; its Table of Contents is linked to the Manual's 89 pages. This online manual is a publication of the Iowa Energy Center, © 2006.
The Wind Energy Manual was funded and compiled by the Iowa Energy Center. A portion of the contents were prepared by Bruce H. Bailey, AWS Truewind, LLC.
The Table of Contents is linked to various sections, such as
Wind Energy Overview
"Wind energy has become one of today's lower cost renewable energy technologies. Wind turbines are becoming a more common sight in Iowa, with a number of turbines and large wind farms in the northeast part of the state."
History of Wind Energy
"The first true windmill, a machine with vanes attached to an axis to produce circular motion, may have been built as early as 2000 B.C. in ancient Babylon. By the 10th century A.D., windmills with wind-catching surfaces as long as 16 feet and as high as 30 feet were grinding grain in the area now known as eastern Iran and Afghanistan. The western world discovered the windmill much later."
{At one time, wind turbines were "rocket science."}
Technology Overview
"This section defines some of the terms used to describe wind energy systems."
{Another thorough description is Wind Energy Technologies. How wind energy works and what to consider if you want to use wind power at home.}
{A third discussion is Wind Energy for Rural Economic Development, a 32-page presentation by NREL.}
Legal Issues
"Utility Interconnections {vary by state}, Zoning Ordinances, Building Codes and Land Use {vary by county and state}, and Liability and Insurance."
{Another thorough description is The Law of Wind.}
Appendix A has Conversion Tables for working meters per second (mps, m/s) as miles per hour (mph). {M/s is the typical unit used in the wind industry}.
A good online web calculator is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Meteorological Calculators {the Feds do these kinds of numbers right}. Scroll down to "Wind Speed Conversion" and put in the value {e.g. 15}, select the units of that value {e.g. m/s}, and click on the "Convert" button. On the right side is mph {33.55} and other units.
___________________________
Similar knowledge can be made visible for all "Ten Steps to Wind Farming," at the top right of this blog. "Food for action," yes?
___________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind-
7 PM Jun 11, S at 23 mph
3 PM Jun 11, S at 22 mph
Noon Jun 11, S 17 mph
5 AM Jun 11, SSE at 15 mph
11 PM Jun 10, ESE at 7 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
The Wind Energy Manual was written by the Iowa Energy Center; its Table of Contents is linked to the Manual's 89 pages. This online manual is a publication of the Iowa Energy Center, © 2006.
The Wind Energy Manual was funded and compiled by the Iowa Energy Center. A portion of the contents were prepared by Bruce H. Bailey, AWS Truewind, LLC.
The Table of Contents is linked to various sections, such as
Wind Energy Overview
"Wind energy has become one of today's lower cost renewable energy technologies. Wind turbines are becoming a more common sight in Iowa, with a number of turbines and large wind farms in the northeast part of the state."
History of Wind Energy
"The first true windmill, a machine with vanes attached to an axis to produce circular motion, may have been built as early as 2000 B.C. in ancient Babylon. By the 10th century A.D., windmills with wind-catching surfaces as long as 16 feet and as high as 30 feet were grinding grain in the area now known as eastern Iran and Afghanistan. The western world discovered the windmill much later."
{At one time, wind turbines were "rocket science."}
Technology Overview
"This section defines some of the terms used to describe wind energy systems."
{Another thorough description is Wind Energy Technologies. How wind energy works and what to consider if you want to use wind power at home.}
{A third discussion is Wind Energy for Rural Economic Development, a 32-page presentation by NREL.}
Legal Issues
"Utility Interconnections {vary by state}, Zoning Ordinances, Building Codes and Land Use {vary by county and state}, and Liability and Insurance."
{Another thorough description is The Law of Wind.}
Appendix A has Conversion Tables for working meters per second (mps, m/s) as miles per hour (mph). {M/s is the typical unit used in the wind industry}.
A good online web calculator is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Meteorological Calculators {the Feds do these kinds of numbers right}. Scroll down to "Wind Speed Conversion" and put in the value {e.g. 15}, select the units of that value {e.g. m/s}, and click on the "Convert" button. On the right side is mph {33.55} and other units.
___________________________
Similar knowledge can be made visible for all "Ten Steps to Wind Farming," at the top right of this blog. "Food for action," yes?
___________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind-
7 PM Jun 11, S at 23 mph
3 PM Jun 11, S at 22 mph
Noon Jun 11, S 17 mph
5 AM Jun 11, SSE at 15 mph
11 PM Jun 10, ESE at 7 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Installing a wind turbine
All of these sites have photos and text that show and describe aspects of installing a wind turbine.
Seven photos about erecting a large wind turbine from the Danes' wind power site for kids.
___________________________
A wind turbine powers the Univeristy of Minnesota/Morris campus; the project is a key component of the campus' renewable-energy initiative. The 367-foot turbine towers above the plain at the Renewable Energy Research and Demonstration Center, part of the University's West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris, Minnesota. The turbine, a Vestas 1.65 MW machine, supplies half the electricity for the campus and its 2,000 students.
___________________________
Home/office renewable energy, A case study- Small Wind turbine installation.
We live in Eastern Ontario, which doesn't have a great wind resource. After looking a long time for a suitable unit we bought an African Wind Power 3.6, so called because its blade span is 3.6 metres, or just under twelve feet.
September 2004
Pouring concrete for the footings. This is the central tower footing. Eight yards of concrete went into the five holes.
Late October
At right is the tower all rigged and ready to raise. No one involved had any real experience with serious towers like this, so it was a major learning process for everyone.
____________________________
Installing a Scirocco at the Woodstock Farm Show
Solacity was invited by Green Breeze Inc. to share their stand at the 2006 Woodstock Farm Show. Farmers in Ontario are putting up wind turbines in large numbers these days. Photos on this page show details of the turbine. A comparison matrix can be read at this link.
____________________________
"5 Things To Keep In Mind When Installing A Wind Turbine" uses as its point of reference the 143-turbine Melancthon Wind Project from Canadian Hydro Developers Inc.
____________________________
Wind turbines can be installed in a variety of ways and at a variety of scales. A single turbine is relatively straightforward to install on a site, requiring basic mounting structures to support it. The requirements for selecting an appropriate site and determining how much electricity a turbine can generate can be more complex.
Because the wind does not blow constantly, the actual power output of a turbine is generally much lower (generally 25 to 40%) of its rated capacity. A 1 MW turbine with a 30% capacity factor would have an average output of 0.3 MW.
____________________________
Frequently Asked Questions Associated with Interconnecting Distributed Generation, Specifically Wind Energy; Four-page PDF; March 2007; Sioux Valley Energy (A Touch Stone Energy Cooperative).
____________________________
For something completely different and to determine how many wind turbines you need, first calculate....
____________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind-
7 PM Jun 11, S at 23 mph
3 PM Jun 11, S at 22 mph
Noon Jun 11, S 17 mph
5 AM Jun 11, SSE at 15 mph
11 PM Jun 10, ESE at 7 mph
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Seven photos about erecting a large wind turbine from the Danes' wind power site for kids.
___________________________
A wind turbine powers the Univeristy of Minnesota/Morris campus; the project is a key component of the campus' renewable-energy initiative. The 367-foot turbine towers above the plain at the Renewable Energy Research and Demonstration Center, part of the University's West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris, Minnesota. The turbine, a Vestas 1.65 MW machine, supplies half the electricity for the campus and its 2,000 students.
___________________________
Home/office renewable energy, A case study- Small Wind turbine installation.
We live in Eastern Ontario, which doesn't have a great wind resource. After looking a long time for a suitable unit we bought an African Wind Power 3.6, so called because its blade span is 3.6 metres, or just under twelve feet.
September 2004
Pouring concrete for the footings. This is the central tower footing. Eight yards of concrete went into the five holes.
Late October
At right is the tower all rigged and ready to raise. No one involved had any real experience with serious towers like this, so it was a major learning process for everyone.
____________________________
Installing a Scirocco at the Woodstock Farm Show
Solacity was invited by Green Breeze Inc. to share their stand at the 2006 Woodstock Farm Show. Farmers in Ontario are putting up wind turbines in large numbers these days. Photos on this page show details of the turbine. A comparison matrix can be read at this link.
____________________________
"5 Things To Keep In Mind When Installing A Wind Turbine" uses as its point of reference the 143-turbine Melancthon Wind Project from Canadian Hydro Developers Inc.
____________________________
Wind turbines can be installed in a variety of ways and at a variety of scales. A single turbine is relatively straightforward to install on a site, requiring basic mounting structures to support it. The requirements for selecting an appropriate site and determining how much electricity a turbine can generate can be more complex.
Because the wind does not blow constantly, the actual power output of a turbine is generally much lower (generally 25 to 40%) of its rated capacity. A 1 MW turbine with a 30% capacity factor would have an average output of 0.3 MW.
____________________________
Frequently Asked Questions Associated with Interconnecting Distributed Generation, Specifically Wind Energy; Four-page PDF; March 2007; Sioux Valley Energy (A Touch Stone Energy Cooperative).
____________________________
For something completely different and to determine how many wind turbines you need, first calculate....
____________________________
A handful of South Dakota wind-
7 PM Jun 11, S at 23 mph
3 PM Jun 11, S at 22 mph
Noon Jun 11, S 17 mph
5 AM Jun 11, SSE at 15 mph
11 PM Jun 10, ESE at 7 mph
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
