Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...

Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative
Renewable Energy Technology Assessments
3.0 Renewable Energy Technology
Options
Table 3-29. Developable Potential from Solar Thermal (Parabolic Trough).
Year Energy,
GWh
Capacity,
MW
Notes
3 0 0 Timeframe too short for development
5 > 500 > 114 Sufficient potential to supply all of Kauai’s electricity
10 > 500 > 114 Sufficient potential to supply all of Kauai’s electricity
20 > 500 > 114 Sufficient potential to supply all of Kauai’s electricity
3.8 Wind
Wind power systems convert the movement of the air to power by means of a
rotating turbine and a generator. Wind power has been the fastest growing energy source
of the last decade in percentage terms and has realized around 30 percent annual growth
in worldwide capacity for the last 5 years. Cumulative worldwide wind capacity is now
estimated to be more than 39,000 MW. Europe now leads in wind energy, with more
than 28,000 MW installed; Germany, Denmark, and Spain are the leading European wind
markets. Installations of wind turbines have outpaced all other energy technologies in
Europe for the past 2 years.
In the US, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has noted that wind
turbine capacity exceeded 6,000 MW at the start of 2004. The booming US wind market
has been driven by a combination of growing state mandates, such as that in place for
Hawaii, and the production tax credit (PTC), which provides a 10-year 1.8 cent/kWh
incentive for electricity produced from wind. The PTC expired at the end of 2003, but
was recently extended through 2005. The PTC will apply to new wind projects placed in
service by December 31, 2005, unless it is renewed again (for further discussion see
Section 6).
Applications
Typical utility-scale wind energy systems consist of multiple wind turbines that
range in size from 0.60 MW to 2 MW. Wind energy system installations may total 5 to
300 MW, although single and small groupings of turbines are common in Denmark and
Germany. Use of single smaller turbines is also increasingly common in the United
States for powering schools, factories, water treatment plants, and other distributed loads.
Furthermore, off-shore wind energy projects are now being planned, which is
encouraging the development of both larger turbines (up to 5 MW) and larger wind farm
sizes.
21 March 2005 3-67 Black & Veatch