Wind farm costs rise
We've heard about rising costs of oil and coal. But apparently the cost of building wind turbines is also skyrocketing.
The blog Treehugger reports that the cost of building new land-based turbines has shot up 74 percent over the last three years, in part because demand is rising rapidly. Offshore wind turbine prices are up 48 percent, according to the news article.
It will be interesting to see how these higher prices impact proposals to build wind turbines off the beaches of Ocean City, Md., and in the mountains of Western Maryland. As wind turbines become more expensive, how competitive will their electricity be compared to power produced by burning coal or natural gas?
"The price of offshore turbines rose 48 percent to 2.23 million euros ($3.45 million) per megawatt in the past three years, according to BTM Consult APS, a Danish wind power consultant....
"As we reported recently, GE can't make wind turbines fast enough and there's certainly no recession going on for the wind power industry. The fact that demand is so high pushes prices upward, but that will only serve to attract more players; investors will see that there's money to be made with wind power and large industrial companies might shift more resources to their wind power divisions. In fact, demand has been high for long enough to show the market that wind power is not simply a passing fad," the Treehugger article reports.
I report on the environment and Chesapeake Bay. A native of West Virginia, I have focused mainly on Maryland's environment since moving here in 1983. Along the way, I've crewed aboard a skipjack in the bay, canoed under city streets up the Jones Fall from the Inner Harbor, and gone deep underground in a western Maryland coal mine. Recently, I have been covering the growth and development transforming the landscape. I love seafood, rambles in the country and good stories. I hope to share some here.
Comments
It is true that demand is high and increasing very rapidly. According to the DOE's recent report “20% Wind Energy by 2030”, wind capacity in 2007 was up a big 45%.
I think it is just simple supply and demand. The U.S. government is propelling wind farms with subsidies which is good news for the industry. Personally I believe it is the government's role to tax poor behavior (like polluting) and encourage good behavior (like green energy).
Posted by: John | May 24, 2008 11:58 AM
Has there been any interest in installing off shore wind farms in the Chesapeake Bay?
Posted by: Bruce Owen | July 17, 2008 1:51 PM
Does anyone know how long it takes for a single wind turbine to produce the amount of energy required for it's manufacture?
Posted by: David Allen | August 26, 2008 4:45 PM