Want open space? Don't go wind or solar!
By Robert Applegate Amid the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) latest report1 on the land requirements of solar power generation, others are taking a look at what is really required to power homes using solar and wind and comparing that to another carbon free source, nuclear power generation. A nuclear power plant, the biggest reactors […]
The Limits of Wind Power
Environmentalists advocate wind power as one of the main alternatives to fossil fuels, claiming that it is both cost effective and low in carbon emissions. This study seeks to evaluate these claims.
Existing estimates of the life-cycle emissions from wind turbines range from 5 to 100 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt hour of electricity produced. This very wide range is explained by differ- ences in what was included in each analysis, and the proportion of electricity generated by wind. The low CO2 emissions estimates are only possible at low levels of installed wind capacity, and even then they typically ignore the large proportion of associated emissions that come from the need for backup power sources (“spinning reserves”).
Wind blows at speeds that vary considerably, leading to wide variations in power output at different times and in different locations. To address this variability, power supply companies must install backup capacity, which kicks in when demand exceeds supply from the wind turbines; failure to do so will adversely affect grid reliability. The need for this backup capacity significantly increases the cost of producing power from wind. Since backup power in most cases comes from fossil fuel generators, this effectively limits the carbon-reducing potential of new wind capacity.
The extent to which CO2 emissions can be reduced by using wind power ultimately depends on the specific characteristics of an existing power grid and the amount of additional wind-induced vari- ability risk the grid operator will tolerate. A conservative grid operator can achieve CO2 emissions reduction via increased wind power of approximately 18g of CO2 equivalent/kWh, or about 3.6% of total emissions from electricity generation.
The analysis reported in this study indicates that 20% would be the extreme upper limit for wind penetration. At this level the CO2 emissions reduction is 90g of CO2 equivalent/kWh, or about 18% of total emissions from electricity generation. Using wind to reduce CO2 to this level costs $150 per metric ton (i.e. 1,000 kg, or 2,200 lbs) of CO2 reduced.
EPA report is blessing in disguise for fracking advocates
by Donovan Schafer In a recent report, the EPA linked groundwater contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming, to the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) used to extract oil and gas. You can almost hear the collective “Hooray!” from anti-fracking advocates. But the actual data in the EPA report make it clear that fracking is safe. The […]
Preview of October 26 PUC Hearing on HB 1365: A New Plan
Archive Preview of October 25 PUC Hearing Review of October 25 PUC Hearing Preview of October 26 PUC Hearing: A New Plan Yesterday at 5pm, Xcel filed a new plan to meet HB 1365. The utility’s original plan had been rejected by the PUC because it would have switched fuels at a 351 megawatt Denver […]
[Updated] Review of October 25 PUC Hearing on HB 1365: PUC Deliberations Are Mere Industrial War by Other Means
Review of October 25 PUC Hearing on HB 1365 As I explained this morning, Xcel today filed a new plan to comply with HB 1365, the controversial 2010 law to meet all “reasonably foreseeable” state and federal air quality regulations. The PUC rejected Xcel’s original plan because it would have replaced a 351 megawatt Denver […]
Primer for October 25 PUC Hearing on HB 1365
A Quick Review of HB 1365… HB 1365, the Clean Air Clean Jobs Act, mandates that Xcel file a plan by August 15 2010 that would: be implemented by December 31, 2017; meet “reasonably foreseeable” state and federal air quality regulations; achieve at least 70% reductions in nitrogen oxides emissions from at least 900 megawatts […]
Update on PUC Hearings for H.B. 1365: It's Going To Be a Long Weekend for Xcel's Top Brass
The Public Utilities Commission this week held deliberations on Xcel’s implementation plan to meet H.B. 1365 (“The Clean-Air Clean Jobs Act”), legislation that effectively mandates fuel switching of 900 megawatts of electricity generation from coal power to natural gas. If you haven’t been following H.B. 1365, it’s a classic case of government picking and choosing […]
Rep. Max Tyler Is Wrong about Wind Power
Forcing Xcel customers to pay more for less energy hurts the State’s economy. Period.
Colorado’s Great Green Deception
Colorado’s Great Green Deception: If HB 1001 Seems too Good to Be True, It’s Because It Is By William Yeatman and Amy Oliver Cooke Last March, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed HB 1001, a mandate requiring investor- owned utilities to generate 30 percent of their electricity sales from renewable energy sources by 2020. The […]
Markets Should Drive Colorado's Energy Industry, Not Social Values
By William Yeatman and Amy Oliver Cooke Xcel Energy is getting a lot of grief over its new “tiered” rate increase–a.k.a., the air-conditioner tax–but the criticism is somewhat misplaced. It’s impossible to assign complete responsibility to Xcel for this ham-handed energy fee, because in reality the state is calling the shots in an effort to […]
The Real Cost of Being Green
by Amy Oliver and William Yeatman Gov. Bill Ritter and green energy advocates are selling Colorado a false bill of goods when it comes to the “New Energy Economy.” They claim the green energy agenda won’t burden consumers, but their interpretation relies on misleading accounting that hides billions of dollars in green energy costs. The […]
