Innovation and the price of wind energy in the US

Berry, David

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2009.05.071

Cited by 54 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In his regression analyses of the price of electricity from wind power projects built in the USA between 1999 and 2006, Berry [41] also found that turbine size was not a relevant variable for explaining price differences, noting that the cost-increasing and cost-decreasing effects of larger turbines may cancel each other out.…”

Section: Upsizing (Economies Of Unit Scale)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies, therefore, cannot rule out the possibility that the lower costs of larger wind projects may largely, or partly, be a reflection of cost reductions achieved through economies of unit scale. However, in his regression analyses, Berry [41] takes into account individual turbine size and still finds lower wind energy contract prices for larger wind farms in his sample of wind farms of 20 MW or more built in the USA between 1999 and 2006. For each additional 10 MW of wind farm generating capacity, the price in 2007 was found to be lower by about $0.62 per MWh (or 1.6% of the mean price of $38.5 per MWh).…”

Section: Economies Of Project Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

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A Review of Factors Influencing the Cost Development of Electricity Generation Technologies

Samadi

2016

Energies

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This article reviews the literature on the past cost dynamics of various renewable, fossil fuel and nuclear electricity generation technologies. It identifies 10 different factors which have played key roles in influencing past cost developments according to the literature. These 10 factors are: deployment-induced learning, research, development and demonstration (RD&D)-induced learning, knowledge spillovers from other technologies, upsizing, economies of manufacturing scale, economies of project scale, changes in material and labour costs, changes in fuel costs, regulatory changes, and limits to the availability of suitable sites. The article summarises the relevant literature findings for each of these 10 factors and provides an overview indicating which factors have impacted on which generation technologies. The article also discusses the insights gained from the review for a better understanding of possible future cost developments of electricity generation technologies. Finally, future research needs, which may support a better understanding of past and future cost developments, are identified.

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Section: Upsizing (Economies Of Unit Scale)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Economies Of Project Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Factors Influencing the Cost Development of Electricity Generation Technologies

Samadi

2016

Energies

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“…Reliance on these two variables as an indicator of the historical cost of wind is justified, in part, because they are two of the more significant contributors to the LCOE. However, because capital cost and performance are interdependent (e.g., newer, better performing technology sometimes costs more), reliance on only one of these variables may fail to fully explain historical (or forecast future) LCOE trends (e.g., EWEA 2009, Ferioli et al 2009, Berry 2009, and Dinica 2011. This report includes data and analysis of both historical capital costs and project performance to inform our understanding of long-term cost trends and the high-level factors that influence the cost of wind energy.…”

Section: Trends In Wind Energy Capital Costs and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Between 1980 and the early 2000s, wind power installation costs fell by more than 65% in the United States and 55% in Denmark (Nielsen et al 2010). As a result of these dramatic cost reductions, wind energy, in some parts of the world, has achieved costs that are competitive with prevailing market prices without policy support (Berry 2009, IEA 2009, and IEA and OECD 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

IEA Wind Task 26: The Past and Future Cost of Wind Energy, Work Package 2

Lantz¹,

Wiser²,

Hand³

2012

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Executive SummaryOver the past 30 years, wind power has become a mainstream source of electricity generation around the world. However, the future of wind power will depend a great deal on the ability of the industry to continue to achieve cost of energy reductions. This summary report, developed as part of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Implementing Agreement Task 26, The Cost of Wind Energy, provides a review of historical costs, evaluates near-term market trends, reviews the methods used to estimate long-term cost trajectories, and summarizes the range of costs projected for onshore wind energy across an array of forward-looking studies and scenarios. It also highlights high-level market variables that have influenced wind energy costs in the past and are expected to do so into the future. Historical and Near-Term Trends in the Levelized Cost of Wind EnergyBetween 1980 and the early 2000s, significant reductions in capital cost and increases in performance had the combined effect of dramatically reducing the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for onshore wind energy. Data from three different historical evaluations, including internal analysis by the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as well as published estimates from Lemming et al. (2009) and the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) (1999), illustrate that the LCOE of wind power declined by a factor of more than three, from more than $150/MWh to approximately $50/MWh between 1980s and the early 2000s ( Figure ES-1). However, beginning in about 2003 and continuing through the latter half of the past decade, wind power capital costs increased-driven by rising commodity and raw materials prices, increased labor costs, improved manufacturer profitability, and turbine upscaling-thus pushing wind's LCOE upward in spite of continued performance improvements ( Figure ES-1). Sources: LBNL/NREL (internal analysis), Lemming et al. 2009, and DEA 1999 [2012][2013] suggests that the LCOE of onshore wind energy is now at an all-time low within fixed wind resource classes, and particularly in low and medium wind speed areas ( Figure ES-2). Moreover, the fact that capital costs remain higher than in the early 2000s but that those increased costs are rewarded by improved performance and a lower LCOE demonstrates the fundamental interdependence of capital cost and performance in wind turbine and project design. Long-term Trends in Wind Energy LCOEFurther into the future, the LCOE of wind energy is expected to continue to fall, at least on a global basis and within fixed wind resource classes. Performance improvements associated with continued turbine upscaling and design advancements are anticipated, and lower capital costs may also be achievable. The magnitude of future cost reductions, however, is highly uncertain.Estimates of the future cost of onshore wind energy conducted to date have often been the result of an iterative process that incorporates some combination of historical trends, learning curve anal...

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“…Furthermore some activities are performed such as Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and Regional GHG Initiative (RGGI) to extend the deployment of RESs [33][34][35][36].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

On the management of wind power intermittency

Rahimi

Rabiee

Aghaei

et al. 2013

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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Nowadays, the world is encountering severe challenges in the energy generation sector. Environmental issues like climate change, global warming and Green House Gases (GHGs) and also social issues like dramatic increase in global population and increasing energy demand are the main causes of global concerns about energy resource management. In this regard, Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) are the suitable substitution to replace the conventional generating units that emit GHGs due to the use of fossil fuels. Among all RESs, wind energy seems to be promising for generating emission-free electrical energy. However, it is naturally unpredictable due to its intermittency which leads to s ome technical problems such as generation imbalance as well as optimal reserve allocation. This paper investigates the solutions to compensate wind intermittency through introducing various technolo gies such as Pumped-Hydro Storage (PH S) units, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), solar energy and other electric storages like batteries. Abstract-Nowadays, the world is encountering severe challenges in the energy generation sector. Environmental issues like climate change, global warming and Green House Gases

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Innovation and the price of wind energy in the US

Cited by 54 publications

References 8 publications

A Review of Factors Influencing the Cost Development of Electricity Generation Technologies

A Review of Factors Influencing the Cost Development of Electricity Generation Technologies

IEA Wind Task 26: The Past and Future Cost of Wind Energy, Work Package 2

On the management of wind power intermittency

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