Measuring the Environmental Benefits of Wind-Generated Electricity

Abstract

Production subsidies for renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, are rationalized due to their perceived environmental benefits. Subsidizing these projects allows clean, renewable technologies to produce electricity that would otherwise have been produced by dirtier, fossil-fuel power plants. Wind energy, in particular, has taken advantage of subsidies over the past decade to capture the largest share of all renewable power technologies. However, little empirical research has been conducted which would quantify the environmental benefits of wind power. In this paper, I quantify the emissions offset by wind power for a large electricity grid in Texas using observed production behavior. By exploiting the randomness inherent in wind, I can identify generator level patterns of substitution between wind-generated electricity and conventionally-generated electricity to measure offset emissions. For plausible social costs of pollution, I find that the value of emissions offset by wind power are greater than the renewable energy subsidies used to induce investment in wind farms.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from electricity: The influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation

“…Overall, Figure 4 shows how greater levels of installed wind capacity can, on average, reduce CO 2 from electricity across a wide range of input cost, load, and wind scenarios. This is consistent with previous research that focuses on circumstances in a small number of recent years across a range of countries (Clancy et al, 2015;Amor et al, 2014;Cullen, 2013;Kane et al, 2013;Traber and Kemfert, 2011).…”

“…Due to wind's intermittency additional thermal reserve capacity may be required, which reduces wind's ability to de-carbonise power systems (Denny and O'Malley, 2007). A number of previous studies have estimated the impact of increased wind on emissions from the electricity sector, though they do not specically examine the inuence of NAO (Clancy et al, 2015;Amor et al, 2014;Cullen, 2013;Wheatley, 2013;Kane et al, 2013;Traber and Kemfert, 2011;Denny and O'Malley, 2006). The consensus is that additional wind penetration reduces emissions and is most eective in reducing emissions in exible systems but also that the level of emissions reduction is generally greater when wind is displacing (baseload) coal generation plants.…”

Regional variations in the health, environmental, and climate benefits of wind and solar generation

“…Previous research has explored the emissions implications of renewable energy (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7). The US Department of Energy estimates that achieving 20% wind penetration in the United States would reduce CO 2 emissions by 825 million metric tons by 2030 (1).…”

CO2 Abatement from RES Injections in the German Electricity Sector: Does a CO2 Price Help?

“…Such questions about the actual reduction of emissions resulting from RE injections have led to several ex post evaluations in the U.S. of observed emissions reductions for CO2, SO2 and NOx corresponding to actual wind injections based on hourly emission data and hourly wind data (Novan, 2011;Kaffine et al, 2011;Cullen, 2011). 5 These US studies are noteworthy in being able to use hourly variations in emissions corresponding to hourly variations in wind energy injections and thereby to observe actual system-wide results without having to make assumptions about changes in fossil-fired power-plant efficiencies resulting from intermittent operation or other grid-imposed constraints.…”

“…For instance, Kaffine et al (2011) find that while wind injections in the coal-dependent Upper Midwest reduce CO2 emissions by 0.92 t-CO2/MWh, the reduction drops to 0.29 t-CO2/MWh in gas-dependent California and to 0.52 t-CO2/MWh in the more mixed coal and gas system in Texas. Focusing on Texas and using different years and estimation techniques, Novan (2011) andCullen (2011) find an average CO2 reduction per…”