Capacity down - outlook up

Journal Article · Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Independent Energy; (United States)

OSTI ID:5493971

Gipe, P

Aerodynamics expert Woody Stoddard told a recent special session of the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA) conference in San Francisco that blades, a key wind turbine component, will last linger than the industry once thought. The new bolstered the spirits of an industry that as recently as one year ago expected to replace hundreds, if not thousands, of wind turbine blades. Stoddard's revelation coupled with the announcement by Pacific Gas Electric Co. of its re-entry into wind development set an optimistic tone for the annual gathering despite findings by the California Energy Commission (CEC) that operating wind capacity decreased by nearly 200 MW. The CEC's preliminary report on the 1988 performance of the wind industry concluded that capacity decreased for the first time in the four-year old program. Sam Rashkin, the report's author, attributes the capacity attrition to projects that are dropping out of the reporting system. Projects are not required to report, says Rashkin, if they do not generate electricity during the year. Once these projects are finally off the books they expect a noticeable rise in capacity factor and other performance measures.

• OSTI ID: 5493971
• Journal Information: Independent Energy; (United States), Vol. 20:2; ISSN 1043-7320
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

17 WIND ENERGY
WIND POWER INDUSTRY
ECONOMICS
CALIFORNIA
CAPACITY
DESIGN
FATIGUE
FORECASTING
MARKET
PERFORMANCE
POWER GENERATION
REPAIR
TURBINE BLADES
WIND POWER
WIND POWER PLANTS
WIND TURBINES
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION IX
INDUSTRY
MACHINERY
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NORTH AMERICA
POWER
POWER PLANTS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
USA
170400* - Wind Energy- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects