The Economics Of Wind Energy

The book provides an overview of the policy frameworks that have been employed to support offshore wind power, and their efficacy in nurturing sustainable cost reductions across the industry.A growing number of countries are increasingly receptive to the prospect of implementing policies to support the deployment of large-scale renewable energy. The promise of carbon-free, utility-scale power generation from offshore wind farms has incentivised and nurtured offshore wind development. However, the high relative costs of deploying offshore wind compared to alternatives have a history of making it political divisive pursuit. At the same time when many countries are just beginning to explore the possibility of developing an offshore wind industry, many other countries are experiencing what can be described as policy fatigue over supporting offshore wind. If cost reductions are not proven sustainable by the early 2020’s, then government support for offshore wind may start to erode and even completely evaporate in several key offshore wind markets – with global repercussions. This book will provide the reader with a clear picture of the current status and future challenges of the offshore wind industry globally, incorporating both a technical analysis of the cost drivers as well as a detailed analysis of policy design and economics of industry.

Growing energy demand and environmental consciousness have re-evoked human interest in wind energy. As a result, wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world today. Policy frame works and action plans have already been for- lated at various corners for meeting at least 20 per cent of the global energy - mand with new-renewables by 2010, among which wind is going to be the major player. In view of the rapid growth of wind industry, Universities, all around the world, have given due emphasis to wind energy technology in their undergraduate and graduate curriculum. These academic programmes attract students from diver- fied backgrounds, ranging from social science to engineering and technology. Fundamentals of wind energy conversion, which is discussed in the preliminary chapters of this book, have these students as the target group. Advanced resource analysis tools derived and applied are beneficial to academics and researchers working in this area. The Wind Energy Resource Analysis (WERA) software, provided with the book, is an effective tool for wind energy practitioners for - sessing the energy potential and simulating turbine performance at prospective sites.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This major reference work brings together for the first time key articles on the economics of renewable energy. From a modest role as a backstop technology in the 1970s to a central role in low carbon transitions today, this collection reveals the emergence and growing importance of this sub-field of economics. Topics covered in this timely volume include the costs of renewable power (taking account of issues related to technological development, intermittency and interconnection), policies that promote renewable energy development, its public and private demand, and its impact on the environment and the economy. This indispensable collection is complemented by a comprehensive introduction that will serve as an essential source of reference for students and researchers.

Examines the possible societal impacts of wind energyprojects and explains the potential issues faced when siting,constructing, and operating a wind energy project. This book begins with a history of wind power and the socialimpacts of both electricity and wind power from a historicalperspective, a discussion of basic electrical terms, and a primeron the conversion of power in the wind to electricity. Much of thesecond half of the book is devoted to comparing wind energy toother forms of electric generation, both renewable andnon-renewable sources. In order to have a true understanding of theimpact of wind energy on society, one also has to have a thoroughunderstanding of the impacts that other sources of electricgeneration have, such as fossil-fuelled plants or nuclear powerplants. The comparison of electric generation sources includes areview of how such sources are typically utilized within theelectric system, as well as the economic factors and environmentalconsiderations that affect which resources utilities or operatorsof electric grids have to take into account. The authors concludewith a discussion of energy policies in the U.S., individualstates, and foreign nations, how these policies influence the useof renewable energy, and what our future may hold in terms ofenergy supply and demand. Some highlights of this book are: Discussesthe wind energy impacts on the environment, local economy, electricutilities, individuals and communities Providesa visual explanation of wind energy principles through tables,graphs, maps, illustrations and photographs Offersa comprehensive overview of the issues associated with thecreation and use of wind energy Modelschapters around an existing university curriculum Spanning the broad range of environmental, financial, policy andother topics that define and determine the relationships betweenwind energy technology and our energy-dependent society, WindEnergy Essentials is a resource for students, universities, andthe entire wind energy industry.

This study presents options to speed up the deployment of wind power, both onshore and offshore, until 2050. It builds on IRENA’s global roadmap to scale up renewables and meet climate goals.

Wind Turbines addresses all those professionally involved in research, development, manufacture and operation of wind turbines. It provides a cross-disciplinary overview of modern wind turbine technology and an orientation in the associated technical, economic and environmental fields. It is based on the author's experience gained over decades designing wind energy converters with a major industrial manufacturer and, more recently, in technical consulting and in the planning of large wind park installations, with special attention to economics. The second edition accounts for the emerging concerns over increasing numbers of installed wind turbines. In particular, an important new chapter has been added which deals with offshore wind utilisation. All advanced chapters have been extensively revised and in some cases considerably extended