World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

June 20, 2004 – Vol.9 No.13

WORLD WIND WATCH.

Bad news is good news for developers of the Cape Wind 420-megawatt offshore wind project planned for Massachusetts coastal waters.

The bad news is that because the New England region is becoming more heavily dependent on natural gas for power generation (41 percent of electricity today is generated by natural gas, 46 percent by 2010) supply constraints of natural gas will push electricity rates higher.

The good news (for Cape Wind) is that the wind project, if built, would relieve the electrical load on natural gas power plants thus keep electricity costs in check.

Those are the findings of a white paper offered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) - Natural Gas in the New England Region: Implications for Offshore Wind Generation and Fuel Diversity.

As an example, the report states that if Cape Wind had been operational during the period of January 14 -16, 2004, when there was a natural gas shortage in New England, the facility would have generated 25.6 million kilowatt hours (kWh), of electricity saving enough natural gas to provide heat and hot water for 1600 homes for a year.

Extrapolated to a year of operation, Cape Wind’s electricity production would have been the equivalent of providing natural gas for heat and hot water for over 105,000 Massachusetts homes for a year.

For those not following Cape Wind, the project is still in the planning and approvals stage. For the white paper visit Cape Wind at http://www.capewind.org/ . (see Windmills Get Lift)

Soon, with Governor Pataki’s signature, (which seems likely) New York State will have a net metering law for small wind generation systems. That is, home owners and farmers will be able to sell electricity back to the grid.

For residences, net metering will be allowed for wind energy systems of 25 kilowatt (kW) or smaller. Homeowners with turbines of 10 kW or less will receive a monthly retail rate credit for any excess power they generate. For turbines larger than 10 kW (and less than 25 kW) ratepayers will receive a special avoided cost rate that will be reconciled annually for any excess power generated.

Farmers will be able to install wind generators up to 125 kW or smaller and be able to watch their electric meter run backward.

The net metering law complements the state’s existing cost-share program for small wind turbines. That program, administered through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provides a rebate of up to 50 percent of the cost of a qualified wind system installed by an eligible installer. The rebate is based on the rated capacity of the turbine.

For the NYSERDA wind cost shared program - New York Energy $mart End Use Wind Incentive Program - visit NYSERDA at http://www.nyserda.org/792pon.html .

One company ready to sell small wind systems in New York State to take advantage of the net metering law and the cost-shared program is Point Power Systems of San Jose, California. The company has announced that three of the turbines it sells - 1 kW, 6 kW and 12 kW - have been approved by NYSERDA as eligible for the cost-shared program.

Those turbines, too, have approved for a similar program in California. Visit Point Power Systems at http://www.PointPowerSystems.com/