High penetration of wind power is foreseen in many countries and regions globally. Therefore the impacts of wind power on power system reliability are widely studied. Wind integration impacts report by a research task for the Wind agreement of International Energy Agency (IEA) has been compiled from work done in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA.
Adding large amounts of wind power requires reinforcing the existing transmission grid, including the interconnectors between countries and regions. New transmission lines may be needed where the wind resource is situated far from the existing network. Wind power will also increase the use of operational balancing power and thus increase balancing cost in the power systems.
The estimates for added balancing costs from investigated studies are increasing wind power production costs by 1-4 €/MWh. This is 10% or less of the wholesale value of the wind energy. Experience from West Denmark shows that the balancing cost from the Nordic day-ahead market has been 1.4-2.6 €/MWh for a 24% wind penetration (of gross demand). This is in the middle of theoretically estimated results.
Production from larger areas helps integration
It is easier to balance load and wind production from larger areas. This is because both wind variability and uncertainty will be reduced when geographically diverse power plants are aggregated. Additionally, larger balancing areas also can pool balancing resources. Large open electricity markets combined with intra-day and real-time trading lead to lower electricity costs. This market design also facilitates wind integration, because forecast errors of wind power production are much lower some hours ahead than day-ahead, and forecast errors also decrease when combining distributed wind power plants.
A wide, strong transmission network is a prerequisite for large electricity markets and aggregation benefits to smooth out variability. Increase in interconnection capacity between certain countries is needed in addition to national efforts, allowing stronger trading of (also) wind generated energy. Building the transmission for final amount of wind power will be more cost effective than reinforcing the grid piece by piece. Ambitious wind power targets in Ireland, Denmark, Germany, UK and US already foresee major upgrades in the transmission network. This is challenging, as building permits for new lines are difficult to obtain.
Studies show that despite its variability, wind power can contribute for a certain percentage to meeting the peak loads in a reliable way. This so called capacity value of wind power is lower than for conventional power, and will decrease as the wind penetration level increases.
New electricity storage has still low cost effectiveness for wind penetration levels of 10-20% (excluding some hydro power and pumped storage). With higher wind penetration levels the extra flexibility offered by storage will be beneficial for the power system operation. However, other forms of flexibility from generation units or flexible loads can offer cheaper solutions, if available to the power system. In any case, it is not cost effective to provide dedicated back-up for wind power in large power systems, just as it is not done for individual electricity consumption
How Countries Can Integrate Wind Power Smoothly Into Power Systems
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Key Issues For Future Of Wind Energy In Spain
"Nowadays, wind farms supply around 12% of the electric energy produced in Spain, but by 2030 this could rise to 30%", says José Luis Bernal, of the Department of Electric Engineering of the University of Zaragoza and co-author of a study published recently in the journal Energy Policy.
His team has developed its own calculation method based on the amounts of energy contributed by various sources. The results show that an energy mix, with wind energy providing 30%, solar energy 20% and gas turbines a further 20% (10%-15% biogas and 5%-10% natural gas), is technically and economically viable in Spain. The remainder would be made up of hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass energy (20% between the three) and energy from carbon power plants (10%), which should apply CO2 capture techniques in order to reduce their impact on global warming.
The proposal factors in the issue of wind turbines potentially standing still when there is wind, looks to a contribution by fossil fuels of less than 20% and does not consider the use of nuclear energy. "According to our calculations, the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) could be maintained at between 5.5 and 6.1 Euro cents", says Bernal.
The study shows that wind parks were already providing around 10% of Spain's electricity in 2007 (260 TWh), when their energy generation capacity increased by 33.2%, going from 11.63 GW in January to 15.5 GW by December that year. This growth trend has held steady until the present day, both in terms of the megawatts produced and in generation of employment.
Favourable winds for employment
In 2008, wind energy provided around 104,000 jobs in the European Union, according to a report, also published in Energy Policy, by Maria Isabel Blanco, from the University of Alcalá (UAH) in Madrid, and Glória Rodrigues, from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). "This is an increase of 226% in comparison to 2003", the authors say.
The study shows that generation of this energy provides direct employment for 38,000 people in Germany, 20,500 in Spain and 17,000 in Denmark, the three major producing countries in the EU. Manufacturers of turbines and their components account for the largest number of jobs created, which are taken mostly by men (who account for 78%), as is generally the case in industrial production chains.
The report, based on a survey carried out among the leading companies in the sector, shows that a new market linked to wind energy is arising in Europe, with France, Italy, Ireland and Portugal also playing an active role. However, despite these dynamic developments, there is "a lack of specialists, project managers, engineers and operation and maintenance experts" for the wind farms. In order to resolve this situation, the study calls for measures to be put in place to educate workers and boost their mobility.
Key Issues For Future Of Wind Energy In Spain
His team has developed its own calculation method based on the amounts of energy contributed by various sources. The results show that an energy mix, with wind energy providing 30%, solar energy 20% and gas turbines a further 20% (10%-15% biogas and 5%-10% natural gas), is technically and economically viable in Spain. The remainder would be made up of hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass energy (20% between the three) and energy from carbon power plants (10%), which should apply CO2 capture techniques in order to reduce their impact on global warming.
The proposal factors in the issue of wind turbines potentially standing still when there is wind, looks to a contribution by fossil fuels of less than 20% and does not consider the use of nuclear energy. "According to our calculations, the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) could be maintained at between 5.5 and 6.1 Euro cents", says Bernal.
The study shows that wind parks were already providing around 10% of Spain's electricity in 2007 (260 TWh), when their energy generation capacity increased by 33.2%, going from 11.63 GW in January to 15.5 GW by December that year. This growth trend has held steady until the present day, both in terms of the megawatts produced and in generation of employment.
Favourable winds for employment
In 2008, wind energy provided around 104,000 jobs in the European Union, according to a report, also published in Energy Policy, by Maria Isabel Blanco, from the University of Alcalá (UAH) in Madrid, and Glória Rodrigues, from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). "This is an increase of 226% in comparison to 2003", the authors say.
The study shows that generation of this energy provides direct employment for 38,000 people in Germany, 20,500 in Spain and 17,000 in Denmark, the three major producing countries in the EU. Manufacturers of turbines and their components account for the largest number of jobs created, which are taken mostly by men (who account for 78%), as is generally the case in industrial production chains.
The report, based on a survey carried out among the leading companies in the sector, shows that a new market linked to wind energy is arising in Europe, with France, Italy, Ireland and Portugal also playing an active role. However, despite these dynamic developments, there is "a lack of specialists, project managers, engineers and operation and maintenance experts" for the wind farms. In order to resolve this situation, the study calls for measures to be put in place to educate workers and boost their mobility.
Key Issues For Future Of Wind Energy In Spain
Nuclear weapons: Predicting the unthinkable
"The predictive capabilities of today's state-of-the-art models in urban areas need to be improved, validated and tested," says Grinstein. "Work in this area has been limited primarily because of lack of consistent funding."
At the upcoming 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics in Minneapolis, Adam Wachtor -- a student who worked with Grinstein at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico -- will present his efforts to improve the way that models track the movement of radioactive fall-out carried by the wind. His wind models track the aftermath of a plume of hot gas released by a small, one-ton device in a typical urban setting at a three-meter resolution.
Current models use wind direction and wind speed to draw a predicted cone-shape area of fall-out. Wachtor's results show that these models are too simple in some ways. For instance, they do not include the complex dynamics of wind movements around buildings, which can concentrate fall-out preferentially in certain areas. They also indicate that small changes in the location of the blast and the temperature of the plume released can have a large effect on the contamination patterns.
The simulation is part of a larger coordinated effort between DHS (FEMA), the National Laboratories, DTRA, NRL, and private contractors, each of which has concentrated on a different piece of the project. Other studies have shown that, depending on the situation, buildings can provide some degree of shielding from the radiation.
The hope of the researchers collaborating in this effort is to eventually provide practical information to guide first responders. "We're preparing for [a possible] crisis," says Grinstein -- however unthinkable it may be.
The presentation "Effects of release characteristics on urban contaminant dispersal" by Adam Wachtor of the University of California, Irvine is on November 22, 2009.
Nuclear weapons: Predicting the unthinkable
At the upcoming 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics in Minneapolis, Adam Wachtor -- a student who worked with Grinstein at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico -- will present his efforts to improve the way that models track the movement of radioactive fall-out carried by the wind. His wind models track the aftermath of a plume of hot gas released by a small, one-ton device in a typical urban setting at a three-meter resolution.
Current models use wind direction and wind speed to draw a predicted cone-shape area of fall-out. Wachtor's results show that these models are too simple in some ways. For instance, they do not include the complex dynamics of wind movements around buildings, which can concentrate fall-out preferentially in certain areas. They also indicate that small changes in the location of the blast and the temperature of the plume released can have a large effect on the contamination patterns.
The simulation is part of a larger coordinated effort between DHS (FEMA), the National Laboratories, DTRA, NRL, and private contractors, each of which has concentrated on a different piece of the project. Other studies have shown that, depending on the situation, buildings can provide some degree of shielding from the radiation.
The hope of the researchers collaborating in this effort is to eventually provide practical information to guide first responders. "We're preparing for [a possible] crisis," says Grinstein -- however unthinkable it may be.
The presentation "Effects of release characteristics on urban contaminant dispersal" by Adam Wachtor of the University of California, Irvine is on November 22, 2009.
Nuclear weapons: Predicting the unthinkable
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Slowdown in wind market causes revenue fall for Broadwind
Nasdaq-listed Broadwind Energy Inc. suffered from the slowdown in the wind energy industry in the United States, reporting a decline in its third quarter revenues.
Revenues for the third quarter of 2009 went down to $59.5 million from $63.7 million in the third quarter of 2008. The company attributes the revenue decline to lower shipments of wind turbine gearing systems from its products segment.
However, lower revenues were partially offset by the increased sales of wind turbine structural towers, brought by a capacity expansion during the first quarter of the year.
Third quarter revenues for Broadwind’s services segment, which provides technical service, logistics, and precision repair and engineering for wind energy customers, slid to $11.8 million from $13.5 million in same period last year. The decrease was due to a decline in maintenance and repair contracts completed in the current quarter.
Net loss for the third quarter was $4.9 million, which reflected the lower operating expenses incurred. Both the products and services segments reported lower operating losses compared with the third quarter of the previous year, with the products segment registering a $700,000 operating loss versus a $1 million operating loss in 2008.
The services segment’s operating income broke even during the third quarter versus a $400,000 operating loss, brought about by reduced operating expenses.
“Since late 2008, we have been significantly impacted by a slowdown in our industry caused by reduced capital availability to fund new wind farm developments,” said J. Cameron Drecoll, chief executive of Broadwind Energy.
However, Mr. Drecoll is optimistic of the market’s recovery in 2010. “We are seeing early signs that capital is again flowing into wind energy project developments,” he noted.
Based in Naperville, Illinois, Broadwind is an independent, horizontally integrated provider of products and services for the North American wind market.
Slowdown in wind market causes revenue fall for Broadwind
China Integrated names price for public offering
Nasdaq-listed China Integrated Energy, a leading non-state-owned integrated energy company in China, has priced a public offering of 5 million shares of common stock at $5.75 apiece.
The company has granted the underwriter Oppenheimer & Company a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares of common stock.
The public offering, subject to customary closing conditions, will end on November 4, Wednesday.
China Integrated Energy expects net proceeds after underwriting discounts, commissions and expenses are deducted to total $26.9 million.
The company intends to use the funds it will raise through the offering to expand its biodiesel production facility, wholesale distribution and retail gas station businesses.
China Integrated Energy is one of the largest biodiesel manufacturers in China and is the only non-state-owned biodiesel producer with a distribution license.
China Integrated names price for public offering
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