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Next Generation 460-Foot Towers To Bring Wind Power to All Fifty States

posted by CoolHand on Thursday May 21 2015, @09:39AM   
from the windmills-not-just-for-tilting-anymore dept.

HughPickens.com writes:

Diane Cardwell reports at the NYT that once the next generation of larger, taller turbines in development hits the market, all 50 states could become wind energy producers and the bigger machines — reaching as high as 460 feet — could eventually make faster winds at higher altitudes an economical source of electricity. “We believe very much the central role of wind in meeting our climate challenges, and we’re very committed in this direction,” says Ernest Moniz, the secretary of energy. “It’s going to require being able to take advantage of a broader set of resources,” and it will give wind power a “bigger footprint,” onshore and off.

Energy officials and executives are pushing toward machinery that would reach 360 to 460 feet high. That would increase the wind development potential in an additional 700,000 square miles — more than a fifth of the United States — bringing the total area to 1.8 million square miles. The potential expansion would affect areas where wind farms already exist and bring areas into the market. The main regions where height would increase potential wind production include the Southeast, Northeast, states around the Ohio River valley and the Great Lakes, and parts of the interior West and Pacific Northwest. In all, the DOE report "Enabling Wind Power Nationwide" says, land-based and offshore wind could produce 16,150 gigawatts of electricity a year, more than 10 times the country’s consumption (PDF). Wind installations now account for 65 gigawatts, just under 5 percent of national demand. “We’ve proven out as an industry in Europe, with a fair number of turbines in Europe at 120 meters,” says Tom Kiernan. “By going to 100 or 110 meters, we can open up all 50 states."

• Gigawatts a Year? Gigawatts a Year? (Score: 3, Insightful) by Rich on Thursday May 21 2015, @10:50AM

  by Rich (945) on Thursday May 21 2015, @10:50AM (#185984) Journal

  produce 16,150 gigawatts of electricity a year

  Huh? (And nowhere in the PDF -which seems like a decent read on first glance- could I find the "16" from that number to see what unit they really might have meant).

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• Re:Gigawatts a Year? (Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Thursday May 21 2015, @11:32AM

  by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Thursday May 21 2015, @11:32AM (#185992) Journal

  page 14:

  The technical potential for land-based wind energy for the contiguous United States is estimated to be 12,000 GW of generating capacity at 100- meter (m) hub height (NREL 2010a)—assuming a net capacity factor of at least 26%; and the technical potential for offshore wind energy is estimated to be 4,150 GW (NREL 2010b). These resources combined are greater than 10 times current total U.S. electricity consumption. While not all of this technical resource potential will realistically be developed, it represents a vast opportunity.

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