Modeling access to wind resources in the United States

Conference · Wed Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 1999

OSTI ID:750941

Short, W D

To project the US potential to meet future electricity demands with wind energy, estimates of available wind resource and costs to access that resource are critical. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA) annually estimates the US market penetration of wind in its Annual Energy Outlook series. For these estimates, the EIA uses wind resource data developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for each region of the country. However, the EIA multiplies the cost of windpower by several factors, some as large as 3, to account for resource quality, market factors associated with accessing the resource, electric grid impacts, and rapid growth in the wind industry. This paper examines the rationale behind these additional costs and suggests alternatives.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-99GO10337
• OSTI ID: 750941
• Report Number(s): NREL/CP-620-26792; TRN: AH200006%%40
• Resource Relation: Conference: Windpower '99, Burlington, VT (US), 06/23/1999; Other Information: PBD: 20 Oct 1999
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
17 WIND ENERGY
WIND POWER
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
POWER DEMAND
FORECASTING
COST ESTIMATION
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
MARKET
POWER TRANSMISSION
CAPACITY
WIND
WIND ENERGY
AVAILABLE WIND RESOURCE
ENERGY POLICY
ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
ELECTRIC GRID IMPACTS