PDF《Low Wind Speed Technology》

3 ?/kWh at low wind speed sites by

2010 and supports the U.S. wind industry'

s goal of reaching an installed domestic wind capacity of

100 GW by 2020. NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY PRIORITIES The United States is facing many challenges as it prepares to meet its energy needs during the twenty- first century. Electricity supply crises in California, fluctuating natural gas and gasoline prices, heightened concerns about the security of the domestic energy infrastructure and of foreign sources of supply, and uncertainties about the benefits of restructuring are all elements of the energy policy challenge. In May 2001, the President'

s National Energy Policy Development Group released a set of recommendations that have become the cornerstone of U.S energy policy under the George W. Bush Administration (1). Pursuant to the release of the National Energy Policy recommendations, Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham, described the three priorities of the Department of Energy as: ? Ensuring energy security by strengthening the energy production and delivery infrastructure ? Focusing on programs that increase the supply of domestically produced energy, that revolutionize how the country approaches conservation and energy efficiency ? Directing research and development (R&

D) budgets at ideas and innovations that are relatively immature and ensuring the greater application of mature technologies. The Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, David Garman, stated that implementation of the Secretary'

s priorities will involve nine elements (2). These include: ? Reducing dependence on foreign oil ? Reducing the burden of energy prices on the disadvantaged ? Increasing the efficiency of buildings and appliances ? Reducing the energy intensity of industry ? Creating a domestic biomass industry. Most relevant to the Wind Energy Research Program is the priority to: Increase the viability and deployment of renewable energy, by developing a diverse portfolio of renewable energy technologies that reduce the average cost of renewable energy production by 20% by

2010 and achieving cost-competitive parity with the average cost of energy by 2020.

1 CURRENT MARKET SITUATION AND POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES Competitive cost of energy (COE) levels have been achieved by focusing development on class

6 wind resource sites (average wind speeds of 6.4 m/s @10 m height) and by taking advantage of the production tax credit (1.7 ?/kWh in

2002 $). With favorable financial terms, class

6 sites can market electricity at prices of

4 ?/kWh or less before the subsidy. However, as more sites are developed, easily accessible prime class

6 sites are disappearing. In addition, many class

6 sites are located in remote areas that do not have easy access to transmission lines. The full development of accessible class

6 sites may cause wind energy growth to plateau in the near future unless improvements in technology can make lower wind speed sites more cost effective. Class

4 wind sites (5.8 m/s @10 m) cover vast areas of the Great Plains from central and northern Texas to the Canadian border. Most of North and South Dakota are swept by class

4 winds. Class

4 sites are also found along many coastal areas and along the shores of the Great Lakes. While the average distance of class

6 sites from major load centers is

500 miles, class

4 sites are significantly closer, with an average distance of

100 miles from load centers. Thus, utility access to the........