Over at Iowa State University there is a hybrid mixture of government and business working together to reduce the cost of Wind power. ISU’s Wind Energy Manufacturing Laboratory is the perfect example of the private and public sectors combining resources towards a common goal. The Department of Energy is partnering with TPI Composites on a $6.3 million research project to reduce the overall cost of wind turbines. The projects vision is to reduce the cost of constructing wind turbine blades by 35%. As one of the most expensive elements of turbines, a significant cost reduction to wind turbines blades greatly improves the cost effectiveness of wind energy.
Currently in the United States, wind energy is growing by leaps and bounds. In 2008, the US energy grid received over 55,363 kilowatt hours of electricity through wind power, by 2010 that number had almost doubled to 94,647 kilowatt hours. However, that growth has been subsidized through federal & state actions to reduce costs and risk. The current cost of building a new wind facility is still more expensive than conventional sources such as coal and natural gas, but with further joint government/private-sector R&D as seen in the Wind Energy Manufacturing Laboratory example, that gap can quickly close in short time span.
Mr. Daubenspeck,
This is some great analysis you have done here. Now from my experience,I think wind is a great resource. What do you think? If we are to become more self-sufficient,we need more wind. But the question is,do you think it’s possible? I,for one,do not know the implications of more wind. Wind can potentially damage much of the United State’s infrastructure. What do you feel about the prospects of that? It seems to me that there are other options on the table as well. For example,off-shore solar. Have you done research on such possibilities? To me,it seems that if off-shore solar were to gain ground,it could really pave the way for future energy interdependence,which will eventually get us off of the dependence on resources such as oil,coal and even natural gas. This,of course,leads us to the age-old question,what do we do about climate change? The answer lies in your report:costs. If we reduce the costs of virtually every form of renewable energy,it is very possible to become 100% reliant on renewable energy. I know from experience that building a solar panel or a wind turbine on a roof or small complex is extremely expensive. The cost savings one gets from installing more efficient energy sources do not even come close to outweighing the costs to build them. We can learn a lot from the Chinese in this case. They have built a system that’s very efficient in producing cheap parts for wind and solar. We can do the same here,we just need to break the taboo that what other foreign countries do is inherently “wrong”or “evil.”There’s much to do,but we are on the right track.
Thank you for acknowledging and bringing to light this very important issue. If more people are aware of this problem,we can get the ball rolling and really work towards a 100% renewable America.