Windenergie kost in Amerika minder dan ooit

18 augustus 2015 – Windstroom wordt in de VS momenteel verkocht tegen een prijs die nog nooit zo laag was: 2,25 cent per kwh. In Nederland is de prijs ongeveer 6 cent.

Ondanks de lage prijs is windstroom voor de exploitanten nog steeds rendabel.
De geïnstalleerde windstroomcapaciteit steeg in 2014 met 8% naar 66 GW. Daarmee staan de VS mondiaal op de twee plaats (na China met bijna 115 GW en boven Duitsland met 39 GW).

Uit een bericht van de Windenergie Courant
‘(…) Ten opzichte van 2009 is de prijs voor windstroom met 66 procent gedaald. Toen werd gemiddeld nog 7 dollarcent betaald voor elektriciteit uit windmolens. “Prijzen van windenergie, vooral in de centrale staten, hebben nieuwe dieptepunten bereikt. Energiebedrijven kiezen wind om de laagste kosten”, aldus wetenschapper Ryan Wisser. Door technologische vooruitgang zijn windprojecten economisch rendabel in een groeiend aantal locaties in de VS. (…)’

Uit een bericht van Berkeley Lab over het onderzoek
‘(…) Key findings from the U.S. Department of Energy’s latest “Wind Technologies Market Report” include:

• Wind is a credible source of new electricity generation in the United States. Wind power capacity additions in the United States rebounded in 2014, with $8.3 billion invested in 4.9 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity additions. Wind power has comprised 33% of all new U.S. electric capacity additions since 2007. Wind power currently meets almost 5% of the nation’s electricity demand, and represents more than 12% of total electricity generation in nine states, and more than 20% in three states.

• Turbine scaling is enhancing wind project performance. Since 1998-99, the average nameplate capacity of wind turbines installed in the United States has increased by 172% (to 1.9 MW in 2014), the average turbine hub height has increased by 48% (to 83 meters), and the average rotor diameter has increased by 108% (to 99 meters). This substantial scaling has enabled wind project developers to economically build projects in lower wind-speed sites, and is driving capacity factors higher for projects located in various wind resource regimes. Moreover, turbines originally designed for lower wind speeds are now regularly deployed in higher wind speed sites, further boosting project performance.

• Low wind turbine pricing continues to push down installed project costs. Wind turbine prices have fallen 20% to 40% from their highs back in 2008, and these declines are pushing project-level costs down. Wind projects built in 2014 had an average installed cost of $1,710/kW, down almost $600/kW from the peak in 2009 and 2010.

• Wind energy prices have reached all-time lows, improving the economic competitiveness of wind. Lower wind turbine prices and installed project costs, along with improvements in expected capacity factors, are enabling aggressive wind power pricing. After topping out at nearly 7¢/kWh in 2009, the average levelized long-term price from wind power sales agreements signed in 2014 fell to just 2.35¢/kWh—the lowest-ever average price in the U.S. market, though admittedly focused on a sample of projects that largely hail from the lowest-priced central region of the country. The continued decline in average wind prices, along with a bit of a rebound in wholesale power prices, put wind below the bottom of the range of nationwide wholesale power prices in 2014. Wind energy contracts executed in 2014 also compare very favorably to a range of projections of the fuel costs of gas-fired generation extending out through 2040. These low prices have spurred demand for wind energy, both from traditional electric utilities and also, increasingly, from commercial customers.

• The manufacturing supply chain continued to adjust to swings in domestic demand for wind equipment. Wind sector employment increased from 50,500 in 2013 to 73,000 in 2014. Moreover, the profitability of turbine suppliers has generally rebounded over the last two years, after a number of years in decline. For wind projects recently installed in the U.S., domestically made content is highest for nacelle assembly (>90%), towers (70-80%), and blades and hubs (45-65%), but is much lower (<20%) for most components internal to the nacelle. Exports of wind-powered generating sets from the United States rose from $16 million in 2007 to $488 million in 2014; tower exports equaled $116 million in 2014. Despite the significant growth in the domestic supply chain over the last decade, however, far more domestic manufacturing facilities closed in 2014 than opened. With an uncertain domestic market after 2016, some manufacturers have been hesitant to commit additional long-term resources to the U.S. market. (…)’

Toelichting van het Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
‘(…) According to the 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report, total installed wind power capacity in the United States grew at a rate of eight percent in 2014, bringing the United States total installed capacity to nearly 66 gigawatts (GW), which ranks second in the world and meets 4.9 percent of U.S. end-use electricity demand in an average year. In total, 4,854 MW of new wind energy capacity were installed in the United States in 2014. The 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report also finds that wind energy prices are at an all-time low and are competitive with wholesale power prices and traditional power sources across many areas of the United States.

Additionally, a new trend identified by the 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report shows utility-scale turbines with larger rotors designed for lower wind speeds have been increasingly deployed across the country in 2014. The findings also suggest that the success of the U.S. wind industry has had a ripple effect on the American economy, supporting 73,000 jobs related to development, siting, manufacturing, transportation, and other industries. (…)’

Bronnen
De Windenergie Courant, 17 augustus 2015: Windstroom in de VS verkocht tegen nieuw record van 2,25 cent per kwh
Berkeley Lab, 10 augustus 2015: Study Finds that the Price of Wind Energy in the United States is at an All-time Low, Averaging under 2.5¢/kWh
Rapport: 2014 Windtechnologies Market Report (pdf, 82 pag.)
Toelichting Energy.gov: 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report