Wind Energy Weekly Vol 15, # 700, June 1996
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The following is the electronic edition of WIND ENERGY WEEKLY,
Vol. 15, #700, 3 June 1996, published by the American Wind
Energy Association. The full text of the WEEKLY is available
in hardcopy form for $595/year and is recommended for those with
a serious commercial interest in wind (the electronic edition
contains only excerpts). A monthly hardcopy publication, the
WINDLETTER, more suitable for those interested in residential
wind systems is included with a $50/year individual membership in
the Association. AWEA's goal is to promote wind energy as a
clean and environmentally superior source of electricity. Anyone
sharing this goal is invited to become a member--please help!.
For more information on the Association, contact AWEA, 122 C
Street, NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20001, USA, phone (202)
383-2500, fax (202) 383-2505, email windmail@mcimail.com. Or
visit our World Wide Web site at http://www.econet.org/awea
ENERGY POLICY
Texas campaign pushes efficiency and renewables
TRADE NEWS
Study finds joint wind plant to be a good bet for Iowa munis
TEXANS CALL ON GOVERNOR
FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
Texas Citizen Action (TCA) announced May 21 that it will
deliver over 200 hand-written letters and 250,000 signatures from
Texans calling for the use of renewables energy resources and
energy conservation to meet the state's electric needs.
"This is the message we are bringing to the Governor, and to
the PUC [Public Utilities Commission, and to the utility
companies, from the people of Texas," said Peter Altman, a
representative of Texas Citizen Action. "Texans want clean,
sustainable energy. They want to use Texas' renewable resources,
and they want to conserve energy to reduce bills."
Texas Citizen Action, which operates out of offices in
Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Austin, has been educating and
mobilizing the public about renewable energy and energy
conservation since 1991. The letters have been collected in the
last several weeks.
"People support renewables and conservation because they
make sense for Texas," said Altman. "Texans understand that
hiring people in other states to send us coal at a cost of over
$1 billion per year doesn't make any sense. Texans understand
that being a national leader in utility plant pollution is
unacceptable. They understand that Texas can create more jobs,
reduce pollution, and meet our energy needs at the same or lower
costs than we pay today--by going with renewables and
conservation."
The letters are directed at Governor George W. Bush (R), who
appoints the PUC, the regulatory body that oversees public
utilities. They ask the Governor to tell the PUC to require that
utilities use renewable resources and energy conservation, Altman
said. In response to legislation passed in 1995, the PUC is
writing new rules that will govern how utilities plan to meet
electric needs for the next several years. The legislature
authorized but did not order the PUC to require renewables: "The
Commission shall consider in addition to direct costs the
following: . . . the appropriateness and reliability of the mix
of resources; an appropriate and reliable mix of resources may
include a portfolio of cost-effective sources of power including
but not limited to resources that are fueled and non-fueled, such
as renewable resources and conservation measures . . . "
Texas is second in the nation in potential to produce
electricity from renewable resources, but ranks 45th in actual
use, Altman said. By requiring renewables and conservation the
state could shift a major portion of its job-creating energy
expenditures back into Texas, creating a prosperous energy export
industry. Other benefits would include dramatic reductions in
pollution, more stable and lower electric bills, and an end to
reliance on other states for the energy that drives the Texas
economy.
AWEA joined the Texas Sustainable Energy and Economic
Development (SEED) Coalition May 13 in a call to Gov. Bush to
urge the PUC to adopt the Governor's concept of a "minimum
benchmark" for renewable energy in future utility resource
acquisitions.
AWEA urged its members in Texas, along with other renewable energy
supporters, to join in writing to Gov. Bush on the issue.
AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher said the benchmark
concept, which is included in the Governor's "Vision Texas"
planning document sent recently to state department heads, fits
well with AWEA's proposal of a Renewables Portfolio Standard
(RPS), which the wind group has been promoting as a means to
ensure a minimum market for renewables in a restructured,
competitive utility industry.
Under the RPS, a state would establish a minimum percentage
level of renewable energy which any power supplier within the
state must meet. Suppliers could comply with the requirement by
building renewable energy generation themselves or by acquiring
tradeable credits from other companies.
"The Renewables Portfolio Standard," Swisher said, "is
designed to use market mechanisms instead of a complex and
bureaucratic regulatory process to encourage the development and
use of renewable energy.
"Texas is a very large state with abundant wind resources,
and it stands to realize enormous amounts of income from future
wind energy development on state-owned lands. Adopting a minimum
benchmark for renewables is a good way to begin moving toward
that goal."
Gary Mauro, the state's Land Commissioner, noted at a recent
meeting in Austin that the Land Office had recently received its
first monthly check, for $29,000, from a wind plant in west Texas
(see WIND ENERGY WEEKLY #696, May 6, 1996). Mauro said the state
expects to realize $3 million in rents over the life of the wind
project.
Texas, which has for many years earned money by exporting
oil and gas to other states, has very recently become a net
energy importer. But the state has immense wind, solar and
biomass resources that could easily make it self-sufficient once
again. A report issued in February by the state's Sustainable
Energy Development Council, for example, finds that the Texas's
most windy lands could supply more electricity than the state
uses today.
More information about AWEA's Renewables Portfolio Standard
is available in the Policy section of AWEA's World Wide Web site
at http://www.econet.org/awea
For further information on the SEED initiative, contact
Peter Altman, phone (512) 444-5288, e-mail
peter_altman@txinfinet.com
FEASIBILITY STUDY FINDS WIND
WILL WORK FOR IOWA MUNIS
A recently-completed wind feasibility study for the Iowa
Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU) has found that a
jointly-operated wind plant could be cost-competitive and have
several advantages for Iowa municipal utilities.
The IAMU decided to conduct the study--completed, fittingly,
by utility consultant Thomas Wind--following a Dec. 12, 1995,
meeting where IAMU members expressed interest in the possibility
of developing a joint wind plant (see WIND ENERGY WEEKLY #677,
Dec. 18, 1995). The meeting had been arranged by Glenn Cannon of
Waverly Light & Power (WL&P) of Waverly, Iowa--a municipal with
an 80-kW wind turbine currently operating.
In August 1995, WL&P received a grant from the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the purchase of two Zond
Z-46 750-kW turbines to supply additional power to the WL&P grid.
However, Cannon realized that wind regimes are far more favorable
in northwest Iowa, so he began to consider the possibility of a
partnership to develop a larger, shared plant in that part of the
state. When Cannon presented his idea to other municipal
utilities, he received broad support.
The study found that power from a jointly-owned windfarm in
northwestern Iowa would cost around 3.2 cents/kWh, taking into
account the federal Renewable Energy Production Incentive payment
of 1.6 cents/kWh. Consultant Wind selected a site southwest of
Peterson, Iowa, to use as a reference case in developing his
price projections. Zond has land lease rights to this site and
has indicated that it would hand them over to the utilities if
Zond turbines are used.
Since WL&P had already selected the Z-46 for its own use,
the Z-46 was used to make price estimates, which were based on
the use of 15 turbines and a nameplate capacity of 10.5 MW. If
Zond is not the successful bidder, an alternative site would have
to be selected.
A 29% average annual capacity factor was assumed for the Z-
46 at the site, based on two years of wind speed data collected
there. At that level of production, the windfarm would generate
1,778,000 kWh annually, or 1,725,000 kWh when wheeling losses are
figured in.
The study projected that installed capital costs and
financing costs per turbine would be about $750,000, for a total
cost of $11.2 million for the installation, and concluded that if
at least 8-10 large turbines are installed, the project would be
feasible.
The study concluded that while wind may not be the least-
cost resource choice, it is competitive with other fuel sources
and there are other compelling reasons for its use. Consultant
Wind noted that "Wind generation is being added [by U.S.
utilities] primarly because of customers' concerns about fossil
fuel use and its environmental impact." He suggested that
several non-price factors should be considered, citing
environmental benefits, economic development, and several public
concerns such as pollution, global climate change, fossil fuel
conservation, and development of local resources.
"Adding a renewable resource (such as wind generation) may
be one way to show customers that the utility also shares their
concerns about the environment and conservation of resources,"
said Wind. "Several utilities have recently concluded that
becoming more 'green' is supported by their customers."
In conclusion, Wind said participation in the project would
allow Iowa municipal utilities to:
- "acquire any amount of wind generation that is optimal for
[their] own needs;
- "diversify [their] resource mix as a hedge against an
uncertain future;
- "address customers' environmental and resource use concerns;
and
- "lead the way in utilizing Iowa's most valuable indigenous
energy resources."
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