Bigger Is Better For Wind Energy?

Bigger is almost always better for wind power.  Bigger wind farms are better than smaller wind farms and bigger wind turbines are better than smaller ones.



The biggest turbines currently available produce nearly 10 MW of
power, which is enough to supply over 2,000 homes with electricity.  A wind farm with just a few of these turbines
could produce enough electricity for a small town.  A big wind farm, like the giant 1,550 MW Alta
Wind Energy Center in California can generate enough power for a small city.




Vestas Wind Systems, an industry leader based in Denmark, has
announced a 10 MW turbine that will be ready for installation in two
years.  The rotor diameter of the giant
machine is 538 feet and the blades sweep out an area of 227,000 square feet,
the size of nearly 4 football fields.




Not to be outdone, General Electric is developing a 12 MW offshore
wind turbine that will stand 850 feet tall and sweep out an area of more than
400,000 square feet.  GE estimates that
its 12 MW turbine will achieve nearly twice the capacity factor of its 6 MW
turbine.




Companies are building bigger and bigger wind turbines because they
are more cost effective.  The capacity
factor, which is the actual energy production divided by the potential energy
production, goes up as the turbines get bigger and more efficient.  In terms of dollars spent to produce a given
amount of power, larger windfarms are less expensive to build than smaller
ones.  A wind farm of 200-500 MW capacity
is about 40% cheaper per MW capacity than a 25 MW wind farm.




When it comes to wind energy, there is no doubt that bigger is better.




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Web Links



Wind Energy — Where Bigger Is Better




Photo, posted February 14, 2012, courtesy of Aaron Warner via Flickr.




Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.