Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...

Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative
Renewable Energy Technology Assessments 9.0 Wind
increased by 50 percent and crane costs by 25 percent to represent the difficulties of
working in rough terrain.
The costs for each project assume a limited amount of civil works to bring roads
and transmission to the wind farm. The Hanapepe and Anahola sites are not readily
accessible and will require significant infrastructure upgrades. An additional $1.7 million
(5 miles of road and 3 miles transmission) has been allocated for Hanapepe and an
additional $0.9 million (3 miles road, 1 mile transmission) has been allocated for Anahola
to account for additional road and transmission extensions which would likely be
required.
For each project, indirect costs were added using 10 percent of material and labor
costs plus $1,000,000 to cover development costs such as permitting, environmental
studies, outreach, etc. This fixed development cost makes the smaller project
significantly more expensive on a per MW capacity basis. Installing three distributed
generation installations for a total capacity similar to the central plant projects would
decrease the cost per MW capacity closer to the level for the other projects, but
development would still be more expensive since separate permits, road improvements,
etc., would be required for each project.
Based on the foregoing assumptions, the resulting capital cost estimates are shown
in Table 9-3.
Table 9-3. Kauai Wind Project Capital Costs
Sites Scenario Capital Cost Cost per kW
Kalaheo, Poipu: Flat 6.6 MW $10,750,000 $1,630
Omao, Maha’ulepu: Ridge 6.6 MW $11,150,000 $1,690
Hanapepe Ridge 6.6 MW + T&R * $12,850,000 $1,945
Anahola Ridge 6.6 MW + T&R * $12,050,000 $1,825
Kokee Ridge 2 MW $4,450,000 $2,250
*
Additional transmission and road costs
9.6.2 Operating and Maintenance Costs
The operating and maintenance costs assumed one full time employee at a cost of
$90,000/year. Major maintenance activities would be contracted as required. Operating
and maintenance costs varied with scenario and the results are listed in Table 9-4. The
main factor effecting O&M costs was number of turbines. A capacity factor of 35
percent was assumed for variable O&M which approximately matches most of the easily
developable wind sites.
21 March 2005 9-22 Black & Veatch