How far can wind travel?
National Grid (www.nationalgridus.com) published a white paper in September that directly addressed the "current inadequacies in U.S. transmission policies that create obstacles for wind and other renewable generators in accessing the country's electric grid."
In the paper, titled "Transmission and Wind Energy: Capturing the Prevailing Winds for the Benefit of Customers," National Grid advocates the "development of a consistent and appropriate policy approach to support the transmission investment needed to harness wind power and integrate it into the U.S. electricity grid while continuing to maintain system reliability." It adds that "obstacles to new generation sources continue to exist due to the lack of adequate transmission system access."
Access to transmission, however, is constraining not just wind power penetration but the entire electric power industry. Existing grids were designed to support monopoly utility service in a given physical territory, not a competitive regional wholesale market in which large quantities of electricity are moved long distances. Complicating the problem, investment in transmission has lagged behind load growth for more than 20 years. There are many reasons for that, including lack of comprehensive regional planning, inconsistent cost allocation rules, and lack of financial incentives. The result plagues wind projects, which tend to be located in sparsely populated areas far from load centers, as much as it does mine-mouth "coal-by-wire" projects.
The problematic approach to project interconnect that's in universal use today requires new projects to shoulder any system reliability issues, and their resultant costs, when connecting to the grid. This piecemeal approach adds uncertainty to siting, financing, and procurement processes and consequently delays project schedules. A better approach would be to level the playing field for wind farm developers so they can economically move power from a wind-rich state to a state where there are green power sales opportunities.
Flight fight settled
Aside from noise pollution (see box), perhaps the biggest stain on wind power's green reputation is the turbines" deadly impact on avian wildlife, especially bats and migratory birds. In 2004, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) sued the nine owners of wind turbines constituting the Altamont Wind Resource Area an hour east of San Francisco. The CBD claimed that birds such as golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, burrowing owls, and other protected species are routinely torn apart by turbine blades or electrocuted by the wind farm's transmission lines. According to CBD researchers, from 880 to 1,330 raptors alone are killed each year by Altamont wind turbines. Wind turbines have been operating at Altamont Pass since 1981, and the lawsuit focused on early models.
CBD's suit contends that the birds are part of the public trust and therefore the property of the public. In a decision issued in October 2006, an Alameda County Superior Court judge held that California citizens cannot bring suit under the public trust doctrine to prevent the continued killing of public trust wildlife.
In response, Richard Wiebe, the CBD's attorney, said, "The court's ruling conflicts with more than 100 years of California Supreme Court rulings that clearly establish that California's wildlife is property owned by the people of California. It also conflicts with California Supreme Court rulings holding that citizens and public interest groups can sue to enforce public trust property rights. The bird deaths are preventable and the operators must be forced to resolve this problem. A few intransigent companies should not be allowed to needlessly slaughter wildlife and impede the expansion of renewable energy."
A year earlier, in September 2005, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors adopted new permit conditions for more than 4,000 existing, obsolete wind turbines in the Altamont Pass at the request of the CBD. The new permits require:
- Seasonal shutdowns of turbines during the winter migratory season, when bird deaths are particularly high.
- Immediate shutdown of the 2% of wind turbines shown by studies to be particularly lethal to birds.
- Monitoring of avian mortality.
- The preparation of an environmental impact report within three years to assess the problem of bird fatalities and the most effective ways to reduce them .
- Replacement of existing wind turbines by fewer, more efficient, and taller turbines over the next 13 years.
Email
Comments
Print
Reuse
