2010 Jan 21
A shift to 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy is possible by 2024, but costs for new transmission lines could be as high as $93 billion, according to a new study released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
In addition to a significant expansion of the transmission infrastructure, it will also require system operational changes and offshore wind, according to NREL.
The primary goal of the study is to use three years of modeled time-series wind speed and power output data to evaluate the power system impacts and transmission associated with increasing wind penetration to 20 percent and 30 percent on most of the eastern interconnect, reports R&D magazine.
The Eastern Interconnection grid covers the eastern half of the U.S., extending roughly from the western borders of the Plains states through to the Atlantic coast, excluding most of the state of Texas. View a map of North American electrical interconnections below.
Supplying 20 percent of the electrical requirements of the Eastern Interconnection would call for approximately 225,000 megawatts (MW) of wind generation capacity, which is about a tenfold increase above today’s levels, according to the study. To reach 30 percent energy from wind, the installed capacity would have to rise to 330,000 MW.
Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/01/21/20-wind-power-possible-for-east-half-of-u-s-by-2024/
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