March 19, 2024
Global Renewable News

LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY
Annual Wind Power Report Confirms Technology Advancements, Improved Project Performance, and Low Wind Energy Prices

August 10, 2017

Wind energy pricing for land-based, utility-scale projects remains attractive to utility and commercial purchasers, according to an annual report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Prices offered by newly built wind projects in the United States are averaging around 2¢/kWh, driven lower by technology advancements and cost reductions.

"Wind energy prices particularly in the central United States, and supported by federal tax incentives are at all-time lows, with utilities and corporate buyers selecting wind as the low-cost option," said Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Ryan Wiser.

Key findings from the U.S. Department of Energy's "Wind Technologies Market Report" include:

  • Wind power additions continued at a rapid clip in 2016. Nationwide, wind power capacity additions equaled 8,203 MW in 2016, with $13 billion invested in new plants. Wind power constituted 27% of all U.S. generation capacity additions in 2016. In 2016, wind energy contributed 5.6% of the nation's electricity supply, more than 10% of total electricity generation in fourteen states, and 29% to 37% in three of those states (Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas).
  • Bigger turbines are enhancing wind project performance. The average generating capacity of newly installed wind turbines in the United States in 2016 was 2.15 MW, up 11% from the average over the previous 5 years. The average rotor diameter in 2016 was 108 meters, a 13% increase over the previous 5-year average, while the average hub height in 2016 was 83 meters, up 1% over the previous 5-year average. Moreover, turbines originally designed for lower wind speeds are now regularly deployed in higher wind speed sites, boosting project performance. Increased rotor diameters, in particular, have begun to dramatically increase wind project capacity factors. For example, the average 2016 capacity factor among projects built in 2014 and 2015 was 42.6%, compared to an average of 32.1% among projects built from 2004 to 2011 and 25.4% among projects built from 1998 to 2001.

Click here to read the full press release.

Contact
Jon Weiner

510-486-4014

For more information

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

www.lbl.gov


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