TMCC WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
North Dakota has an outstanding resource--providing more available wind for development than any other state. According to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) studies, North Dakota alone has enough energy from good wind areas, those of wind power Class 4 and higher, to supply 36% of the 1990 electricity consumption of the entire lower 48 states. At present, no more than a handful of wind turbines in the 60- to 100-kilowatt (kW) range are operating in the state. The first two utility-scale turbines were installed in North Dakota as part of a green pricing program, one in early 2002 and the second in July 2002. Both turbines are 900-kW wind turbines. Two more wind turbines are scheduled for installation by another utility later in 2002. Several reasons are evident for the lack of wind development. One primary reason is that North Dakota has more lignite coal than any other state. A number of relatively new minemouth power plants are operating in the state, resulting in an abundance of low-cost electricity. In 1998, North Dakota generated approximately 8.2 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, largely from coal-fired plants. Sales to North Dakota consumers totaled only 4.5 million MWh. In addition, the average retail cost of electricity in North Dakota was 5.7 cents per kWh in 1998. As a result of this surplus and the relatively low retail cost of service, North Dakota is a net exporter of electricity, selling approximately 50% to 60% of the electricity produced in North Dakota to markets outside the state. Keeping in mind that new electrical generation will be considered an export commodity to be sold outside the state, the transmission grid that serves to export electricity from North Dakota is at or close to its ability to serve new capacity. The markets for these resources are outside the state, and transmission access to the markets is a necessary condition for any large project. At the present time, technical assessments of the transmission network indicate that the ability to add and carry wind capacity outside of the state is limited. Identifying markets, securing long-term contracts, and obtaining a transmission path to export the power are all major steps that must be taken to develop new projects in North Dakota.
- Research Organization:
- Golden Field Office, Golden, CO (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC36-00GO10634
- OSTI ID:
- 828236
- Report Number(s):
- DE-FC36-00GO10634; TRN: US200428%%1049
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 30 Dec 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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