Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In 2007 Russia passed new legislation that will provide
Renewable Energy Certificates
that are expected to be sufficient incentive for wind power project financing. With the largest
indigenous wind resources, the Russian wind power market is expected to be huge, freeing
Russia's abundant oil and natural gas resources for export.
Asian Countries
Peoples Republic of China is now one of the fastest growing wind turbine markets, with
3,300 MW added in 2007. India has more installed capacity than China with 7,845 MW by
the end of 2007.
Developing Countries
A critically important application for wind power is in developing countries. Deploy-
ment of wind and other renewable energy technologies in developing countries has been lim-
ited in spite of urgent need for clean energy, drawn from indigenous sources. Wind resources
are widely available and wind technology is one of the lowest-cost options for generating
electricity. Costs have declined to the point that, if reasonable resources are available, wind
energy technologies can be the least-cost electric power option and should be part of the
prefeasibility assessment process on all new power plant projects. In addition, wind plant
construction can employ indigenous labor, and energy resources are critical to the balance-
of-trade in developing countries.
Despite the importance of deploying wind power in developing countries, there are many
obstacles. Technical, economic, and business issues are significant challenges in developing
these applications. Primary difficulties include
-
absence of wind resource data; wind speeds are normally recorded at weather sta-
tions and airports near urban areas and not at good wind sites
-
short supply of wind turbine equipment that is consequently allocated to established
and less-risky markets
-
expensive transportation and logistics to develop remote sites
-
lack of financial incentives
-
costly financing because of higher risk
-
absence of familiarity, knowledge, and experience with wind power
Distributed generation instead of large central power plants has advantages in developing
countries and can be compared to proven markets in developed countries. Although many
of the financial and economic assumptions would be similar, business structure and project
costs can change significantly. The situation in each country will be different and many of
the same assumptions and considerations apply equally to conventional fossil-fueled and
wind energy plants. While the first installations of new technologies will be more expensive,
costs will decline as the number of installations increases. In assessing the possible effect on
both project and resulting energy cost, it is important to recognize that the individual effects
are not necessarily additive and may be offsetting. In addition, government policies and
commitment, business framework, joint venturing, project size and configuration can have a
significant effect on project economics.
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