Wind Energy Basics - Large-Scale Wind Energy Development

The Time is Right for Renewable Energy

Growing concerns over climate change, pollution and energy independence are fueling an intense global interest in economically and environmentally sustainable energy sources such as wind. Across the U.S., 25 states have adopted mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), which require utilities to obtain minimum percentages of their power from renewable energy sources. Congress has proposed a nationwide RPS that would require utilities to source at least 15% of their energy from renewables and through energy efficiency.

The keen interest in renewables is also driven by international, state, and potentially federal regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Kyoto Protocol requires industrialized member countries to reduce their GHG emissions 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. Several U.S. states and regions, including California, the Western states, and a coalition of Northeastern states have adopted similar “cap and trade” programs which will limit total GHG emissions and provide a means of trading emissions credits. These programs will continue to grow the global market in “carbon offsets” generated by renewable energy.

In addition, numerous federal and state tax incentives are making renewable energy an increasingly attractive business prospect as well.

Kyoto Treaty

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an amendment to the international treaty on climate change, assigning mandatory emission limitations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to the signatory nations.The objective of the protocol is the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."As of December 2006, a total of 169 countries and other governmental entities have ratified the agreement (representing over 61.6% of emissions from Annex I countries). Notable exceptions include the United States and Australia. Other countries, like India and China, which have ratified the protocol, are not required to reduce carbon emissions under the present agreement.

According to a press release from the United Nations Environment Programme:

"The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990 (but note that, compared to the emissions levels that would be expected by 2010 without the Protocol, this limitation represents a 29% cut).

RPS Legislation

The renewables portfolio standard (RPS) uses market mechanisms to ensure that a growing percentage of electricity is produced from renewable sources, like wind power. The RPS provides a predictable, competitive market, within which renewable generators will compete with each other to lower prices.

Benefits of an RPS:

Helps Keep Electricity Bills Low:

Diversifying the power supply by developing America’s homegrown renewable energy resources helps shield consumers from spikes in energy prices.
Does not pick technology “winners” and “losers,” but allows renewable energy technologies to compete against each other to further drive down costs.
Is competitively neutral because it applies equally to all competing market participants.

Wind Energy 101

In reality, wind energy is a converted form of solar energy. The sun's radiation heats different parts of the earth at different rates—most notably during the day and night, but also when different surfaces (for example, water and land) absorb or reflect at different rates. This in turn causes portions of the atmosphere to warm differently. Hot air rises, reducing the atmospheric pressure at the earth's surface, and cooler air is drawn in to replace it. The result is wind.

Air has mass, and when it is in motion, it contains the energy of that motion — "kinetic energy." Some portion of that energy can be converted into other forms — mechanical force or electricity — that can use to perform work. A wind energy system transforms the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be harnessed for practical use.

Mechanical energy is most commonly used for pumping water in rural or remote locations — the "farm windmill" still seen in many rural areas of the U.S. is a mechanical wind pumper — but it can also be used for many other purposes (grinding grain, sawing, pushing a sailboat, etc.). Wind electric turbines generate electricity for homes and businesses and for sale to utilities.