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Ken Dragoon's comments:

on Blowin' in the Wind

There are of course competing uses for storage. At the end of June when the wind came up and BPA found itself with more water than necessary, I called up to Grand Coulee to ask whether the reservoir was full (forcing them to release water downstream). They were keeping the reservoir four and a half feet down from full to keep nice beaches around the reservoir for the Fourth of July Weekend. The assertion that all the storage is consumed suggests that we have no ability to shape the power to meet current demand or send power on high value (daytime) hours to California. This is demonstrably untrue. There are costs associated with using storage, and certainly limits for environmental reasons, the notion that there is nothing left is simply incorrect.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

I did find a news report about someone in Texas having trouble with wind turbine noise: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/jstjames/stories/wfaa080728_lj_windturbines.fbc5e25.html

This was not a commercial scale wind project that make up the vast majority of the energy being generated, but a small scale turbine a neighbor put up in their yard. The story points out that the big commercial scale wind turbines don't make that noise. The noise from each is featured in the TV news clip. I can definitely understand how the whine from the small turbine would be annoying if you lived next to it. Again-- go visit one of these things and give them a listen for yourself.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

I think it was Chris who said coal is relatively unaffected by wind generation and Eric Rosenbloom contended that wind had no effect at all on fossil generation. I may not have been very clear about it, but I was at PacifiCorp (Pacific Power in Oregon) when the wind in Wyoming caused the utility to reduce generation at its coal plants. The reason that coal is usually relatively unaffected by wind is because the fuel cost savings are low compared with natural gas fueled plants. This could change however, once a value is placed on carbon emissions. Coal plants emit about twice as much carbon dioxide per unit of energy as gas resources. If they are charged enough for their carbon emissions, utilities will reduce coal consumption due to the wind.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

There is about 20 million acre feet of reservoir storage in the Columbia River Basin, including reservoirs in British Columbia and on the Snake River in Idaho. This is about 20% of the average annual runoff on the Lower Columbia River (The Dalles Dam). Most power planners would consider this significant (some would definitely be envious), but it is small compared to some other basins such as the Colorado River. About 5 million acre feet are behind Grand Coulee Dam in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake, and can make a pleasant vacation destination.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

Chris is on vacation, and that's not my area, but you can check out:
http://www.nationalwind.org/workgroups/wildlife/

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

Typically, leases with landowners stipulate the complete removal and site restoration at the termination of the contract-- typically 20 years. Most power sales contracts are 15-20 years to ensure cost recovery and repayment of loans. The contracts often have severe penalties if the wind projects fail to perform.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

This has to do with the way in which the voluntary programs are structured. When you (as I do) pay extra on your bill for renewable energy, the utility goes out and purchases a certificate that renewable energy was generated by a renewable generator for which you get to claim credit. This helps build a market for renewable energy and has been effective in getting projects built.

However, the utilities do not actually take the generation from those projects to match your usage-- the power may be sold elsewhere. So although you do technically get to claim renewable energy, and there really is renewable energy generated in your name, it is not necessarily purchased by your utility to match your demand, nor does it offset the costs of meeting your usage.

There are pros and cons to the current structure, and it is a recurring them in talks with utilities about these programs. Taking power directly incurs additional costs (especially transportation), and risks.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

Bonneville Dam can, at times, produce somewhat more than 1,000 MW depending on the availability of water. It is true that wind and hydro are not easily equated. On average, most wind farms produce about one third their rated output. Bonneville Dam produces around 35% of its rated output on average-- so they really aren't that different in that respect. The big difference is that the water coming into Bonneville Dam is largely controlled, and the power generation is quite flexible-- meaning that operators can increase or decrease the generation at will (within ever-increasing limitations for fisheries protection).

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

I've been all around turbines, up close, hundreds of feet away, inside of them, on top of them-- just haven't heard what you report.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

I have heard the same thing-- maybe those were older wind turbine designs. I've been to three operating wind turbine sites and they weren't loud at all. The wind in my ears was louder than the blades for the most part. All I can say is go visit a site and see for yourself. They are an impressive sight-- whether you like them or not, they are quite striking and worth a visit.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

There was a wind event on June 30 in which the wind energy on the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) went from near zero around 2 pm to near full output (more than the one remaining nuclear plant produces) about 5 hours later. Most of the power on BPA's system is actually "scheduled" through BPA to other off-takers of the power. However, the wind increase was not fully anticipated by the schedulers, and BPA found itself with more power than it was prepared to deal with for a few hours. There was a communication glitch when BPA operators tried to contact wind generators to limit their output and this was reported in various places, including the Oregonian. The glitch has been addressed. Wind projects are staffed 24 hours a day and do participate in grid management.

It is true however, that institutional changes would have improved the situation. For example, BPA technically could have increased the exports to the off-takers, or turned down other fossil units on the system, but these contractual arrangements do not yet exist. Much work is going on behind the scenes to remedy this, and make greater use of the wind at lower overall cost.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on Blowin' in the Wind

There are several misconceptions in this post. There is no tax credit for projects that don't produce electricity-- the credit is on an energy production basis. The credit, while important, is not a large fraction (around 15%) of the cost of the wind projects.

Wind is not "backed up" with hydro. Power planners ensure there is sufficient generating capability to meet loads without wind, as they know that the wind does not always blow. When the wind does blow, other power plants reduce their generation to compensate.

I completely agree that conservation and enrgy efficiency are important. And if you want to do something locally with renewable energy, put a solar hot water system in-- very cost effective and saves fossil fuels. Contact the Energy Trust for more information-- anyone with an unshaded roof can make use of this. I've had one on my rooftop in rainy Portland for about ten years. See www.energytrust.org

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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