Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
really whether or not wind power will continue to expand in the United
States; but rather, at what pace will it continue to expand?
In addressing this question, a key technological bottleneck must be
addressed—grid enhancement. Achieving even the 20% wind power scenario
proposed by the US DoE will require upgrades to the nation's T&D system, the
creation of larger electric load balancing regions, improved regional planning
and integration, enhancements to the manufacturing supply chain, and strate-
gies for alleviating community concerns in relation to site selection, wildlife
habitat preservation, and other environmental issues.
100
Although the govern-
ment is responding to the need for grid reinforcement through investment,
this will be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. Infrastructure invest-
ment needs aside, FERC will be called on to provide a pivotal role in ensur-
ing that cooperation exists between grid management entities to allow wind
power to be distributed from supply centers to demand centers.
Intriguingly, the ongoing initiatives designed to expand domestic natural
gas production will likely yield a net beneit in terms of wind power difu-
sion. Although competition from cheap natural gas will dampen the pace of
wind power difusion in the short term, the added peak-load capacity that
natural gas represents will also enhance the capacity of America's grids to
support higher levels of wind power.
Moving forward, state leadership can only take the US wind power devel-
opment program so far. If the United States hopes to achieve the commit-
ment made in the North American Leaders' Declaration of Climate Change
and Clean Energy to reduce CO
2
emissions by 80% by 2050, wind power will
likely have to contribute at least 40% or more to the electricity grid. his
cannot be achieved through the historical practice of cobbling together a
patchwork of state electricity grids that vary in terms of system resilience
and carrying capacity. To allow the United States to exploit the wind power
potential in the Great Plains, the Midwest, the Paciic Northwest, and the
Northeast, a higher level of strategic grid integration will be necessary.
In regard to ofshore development, what will transpire is still up in the
air. here is enormous potential. he NREL has estimated that within 50
nautical miles, at a height of 90 meters, there is 4,150 GW of ofshore wind
potential with wind speeds greater than 7 m/s. he national strategy, which
was released in February 2011, announced intentions to encourage 10 GW
of ofshore wind power by 2020 and 54 GW by 2030. According to the US
DoE, if this is achieved, it will lead to the development of 43,000 permanent
jobs.
101
A regional study estimated that the installation of 3.2 GW of ofshore
wind power in Virginia alone would create 9,700 to 11,600 jobs and would
attract US$403 million in investment to the local economy, regardless of
where the wind systems were manufactured. hese types of igures suggest
