Bigger, better turbines and a massive decline in construction costs for wind farms has pushed the price of U.S. wind power down to a record low of 2.5 cents per-kilowatt-hour – making wind an attractive option for American electricity providers.
According to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, prices offered by wind projects to utility purchasers averaged just $25/MWh in 2013.
“Wind energy prices—particularly in the central United States— are at an all-time low, with utilities selecting wind as the low cost option,” Berkeley Lab Staff Scientist Ryan Wiser said.
The 2013 Wind Technologies Market Report provides a snapshot of the American wind sector and its progress over the previous year.
2013 saw sluggish growth compared to a record 2012, with just 1,087 MW of new wind capacity added for the year. However, the U.S. still sits at No.2 spot in the world for installed wind power, with 72,000 wind turbines generating electricity across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
America’s total installed wind power capacity stands at 61 GW, enough to meet 4.5 per cent of its annual energy needs. In many wind-rich states, this has seen utilities selecting wind as a cost-saving option.
Innovations in turbine technology has seen the average capacity of wind turbines increase by 162% since 1999 to 1.87MW, tower heights soar above 80 metres and the length of rotor blades increase by 45% (80 metres).
“This substantial scaling has enabled wind project developers to economically build projects in lower wind-speed sites … Moreover, turbines originally designed for lower wind speeds are now regularly employed in higher wind speed sites, further boosting expected capacity factors,” the report notes.
Turbine prices have also plummeted by nearly 40% since 2008, and utilities can expect the price of wind to rival that of gas-fired generation as the industry looks forward to strong growth through the years 2015-16.
“The continued decline in average wind prices, along with a bit of a rebound in wholesale power prices, put wind back at the bottom of the range of nationwide wholesale power prices in 2013. Wind energy contracts executed in 2013 also compare very favourably to a range of projections of the fuel costs of gas-fired generation extending out through 2040.”
