A system-based approach to assessing the value of wind for society

A system-based approach to assessing the value of wind is based on the definition of the subsystems that lie inside the system boundary, then the categories in each subsystem, and finally the elements that compose those categories. The subsystems that were identified as affecting the value of wind are: • technology, including research, development and demonstration (RD&D), technology spillover and materials; • the energy sector, including the electricity market and electricity system categories, the security and economic aspects of security of supply and the wider non-electricity energy market; • the wind energy market, including industrial activities and the cost of wind energy and its support, for example, in the form of subsidies, grants, taxes, fees and levies, and by the financial sector; • the broader economy, including electricity generation technology investment, government actions and industrial competitiveness; • social, covering employment, the impact on land or the sea, social acceptance, non-economic costs of administration, anti-wind campaigns, health and safety issues; • environmental categories, including life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, water use and land and water surface. The result is a guide that could be used by analysts and practitioners of policy-support theory and practice to define which subsystems, categories and/or elements they decide to include in a prospective analysis of the value (and the impact) of wind for society.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

Land-Based Wind Energy Cost Trends in Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the UnitedStates

This paper presents work by the International Energy Agency’s Task 26 ‘Cost of Wind Energy’ on technological and cost trends in land-based wind energy in six participating countries (Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, United States) and the European Union between 2008 and 2016. Results indicate that there is a general trend towards larger, taller machines with lower specific powers resulting in higher capacity factors, despite small falls in new site wind resources in most countries, while wind project capital costs and project finance costs also fell. This resulted in an average levelized cost of energy (LCOE) fall of 33% for new projects to 48€/MWh at the end of the study period. Analysis of the components of levelized cost change indicated that changes in specific power, financing cost and capital cost accounted for 45%, 25% and 17% respectively of the estimated reduction. It is therefore important that trends in technological factors such as specific power are considered when assessing wind energy learning rates, rather than just capital costs, which has been the primary focus heretofore. While LCOEs have fallen, the value of wind energy has fallen proportionately more, meaning grid parity appears no closer than at the beginning of the study. Policymakers must therefore consider both the cost and value of wind energy, and understand the volatility of this gap when designing land-based wind energy policy measures

Renewable Electricity Futures

This presentation summarizes findings of NREL's Renewable Electricity Futures study, published in June 2012. RE Futures investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050

Renewable Electricity Futures

This presentation library summarizes findings of NREL's Renewable Electricity Futures study, published in June 2012. RE Futures investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. It was presented to the 2012 Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners, during their June, 2012, meeting. The Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners is a regional association within the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)

Wind Plant Cost of Energy: Past and Future

This presentation examines trends in wind plant cost of energy over the last several decades and discusses methods and examples of projections for future cost trends. First, the presentation explores cost trends for wind energy from the 1980s, where there had been an overall downward trend in wind plant energy costs. Underlying factors that influenced these trends, including turbine technology innovation for lower wind speed sites, are explored. Next, the presentation looks at projections for the future development of wind energy costs and discusses a variety of methods for establishing these projections including the use of learning curves, qualitative assessment using expert elicitation, and engineering-based analysis. A comparison of the methods is provided to explore their relative merits. Finally, a brief introduction is provided for the U.S. Department of Energy program-wide shift towards an integrative use of qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing the potential impacts of wind plant technology innovations on reducing the wind plant cost of energy

Renewable Electricity Futures

This presentation library summarizes findings of NREL's Renewable Electricity Futures study, published in June 2012. RE Futures investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. It is being presented at the Utility Variable-Generation Integration Group Fall Technical Workshop on October 24, 2012

Renewable Electricity Futures

This presentation library summarizes findings of NREL's Renewable Electricity Futures study, published in June 2012. RE Futures investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. It was presented in a webinar given by the California Energy Commission