California offers funds to develop low-speed wind sites

SACRAMENTO, California, US, 2004-08-11 (Refocus Weekly) The state of California will invest US$5 million to increase its potential wind energy resource.

The California Energy Commission has released a targeted grant solicitation through its Public Interest Energy Research program to support new turbine technologies that will expand wind generation into low-speed wind resource areas. The target is Class 3 winds at 10 m hub height.

The project will also require that a viable Intermittency Management Capability be identified and demonstrated to firm intermittent wind resources and maximize the value of wind generated resources at the demonstration site. The “highly targeted, performance-based solicitation” will fund candidates who meet eligibility and scoring criteria, based on PIER’s mission to advance energy science or technology that are not adequately addressed by competitive and regulated energy markets.

“Though California is recognized as the industry leader for total installed wind capacity at over 1,800 MW, the state ranks only 17th in terms of available high wind resource areas” of class 5 and above, explains the document. “Upon reviewing the most recent high-resolution resource maps for the state, it is evident that there are significantly more low wind speed resource areas (Class 3 to 4 at 10 m) than high wind resource areas.”

“The low wind resource areas are in closer proximity to cities where electricity demand is high and where transmission infrastructure readily exists,” it adds. “California has the largest capacity of installed wind capacity in the nation, however many of those areas are in the high wind resource regions and have been developed for several decades.”

“With abundant rural and farm lands located in low wind regimes and urban centers with consistent low winds, development and demonstration of low wind generation resources has the potential to increase wind generation and supplement the state’s already constrained electricity infrastructure,” it says. “By widely dispersing wind generation facilities throughout the state and advancing an intermittency management capability, these renewable systems will provide end-users new options to improve onsite, local demand of electricity in both grid connected and off-grid configurations.”

PIER research in wind supports U.S. Department of Energy’s second phase of the national Low Wind Speed Technology program, and California is targeting this grant solicitation to expedite some of the concepts into practice. The DOE research is designed to reduce the cost of electricity of large windfarms in Class 4 winds to 3¢/kWh onshore and 5¢ for offshore systems by 2012.

The deadline for submitting proposals is September 7.


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