Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wind power sagging

Arizona is noting wind isn't the cheapest way for it to hit a renewable energy requirement.  I don't have much use for the mandates to begin with, but this is notable because hitting the numbers in the mandates is what has driven the wind industry. 

Wind power sagging:
"Only months after Coconino County's first major wind energy farm got up and running this winter, the utility buying its power says more wind farms here are unlikely -- at least for now.
Cost is the bottom line, with the sun beating the wind on both equipment prices and time-of-day power production.
This disadvantage for wind could have some implications for a handful of other big wind projects proposed in Coconino County.
A worldwide glut of solar panels produced at lower costs (including from China) has cut solar panel prices to a fraction of their former cost.
So Arizona Public Service is likely to turn to solar in the coming years to meet a state mandate that it generate 15 percent of its energy from renewables by 2025. APS gets about 5 percent of its electricity from renewable sources today.
"Right now, it looks like solar -- photovoltaic -- is the lowest-cost resource," said Gordon Samuel, who plans future energy supplies at APS.
Also, the wind here doesn't produce enough power when APS and Phoenix need it most: on hot summer afternoons."
The entire article can be read at the Arizona Daily Sun site

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