Apparently, wind power is getting expensive

[altyfc]

Read more here:

Cost Of Wind Power Turbines Is SkyRocketing : TreeHugger

Is this likely to result in a decrease in wind's contribution to total energy requirements?

[MarkuisMellvile]

Some quotes from the article:

"Part of the cost increase comes from higher commodity prices, and that's bad both for wind turbine makers and for wind turbine buyers (it's only good to mining companies), but part of it also has to do with extremely high demand. GE can't make wind turbines fast enough and there's certainly no recession going on for the wind power industry."

and

"In fact, demand has been high for long enough to show the market that wind power is not simply a passing fad."

closing with this gem of business acumen:

"We wish wind was much cheaper, but the way to get to that point is probably to go through some more of this "demand outstrips supply" phase."

It doesn't elaborate on how much commodity prices in general have risen, but I doubt anyone reading this hasn't noticed how much the price of bread, milk or fuel have risen in the last six months alone.

As for what market penetration wind technology will have going forward, we have yet to curb our enthusiasm for ever more power consumption. It is this, more than the supply and demand problems of steel and other metals, that determines the uptake of a low maintenance technology with no fuel bill!

I expect the percentage of our power supplies that comes from wind will reduce marginally in the next few years, but the number of turbines becoming operational (and the size of individual turbines is bound to increase at the same time.

We'll just find power prices rising as we have to keep our gas turbines, nuclear reactors and other fuel hungry power stations on for more hours per year; for those who don't know we turn our outputs on and off on a 30 minute basis according to demand.

Information is a powerful tool/weapon, but abstract headlines are designed to catch attention and rarely tell the whole story!

MM

[LMagic007]

Yes I tend to agree, that industries go through demand / supply cycles. Strong growth pushes up prices due to demand, but it also attracts investment which helps expand productive capacity, which helps dampen demand and lower prices etc.... The fact that growth is so strong though is clearly a good sign. It may mean an eventual slow down in demand, until the demand / supply relationship relative to capital injection and productive capacity, relative to cost, sorts itself out once again. This can then allow the overall growth trend to continue, other circumstances permitting.

[spadlet]

Equally there's alot of potential now for other manufaturers to diversify into producing parts for wind turbines. The market's proven so it isn't such a gamble anymore.

[forfismum]

BP and Shell are loosing interest in wind......BP have pulled out of the big windfactory near London ....and people who have actually seen what the bloody things look like in reality are not impressed as has been linked to in this very forum.

[spadlet]

Originally Posted by forfismum

BP and Shell are loosing interest in wind......BP have pulled out of the big windfactory near London ....and people who have actually seen what the bloody things look like in reality are not impressed as has been linked to in this very forum.

But some major (probably international, I don't keep track of commercial take voers etc.) companies have signed long-term guaranteed purchase contracts, which is a large contributor to the difficulties in getting hold of them for small or one off projects. So even if there was a sudden shift against them, there still some guaranteed income, unless there's some very clever legal jiggery pokery.

E-on seem to becoming an increasingly important electricity generating company in the Uk and they seem as keen ot build wind farms as ever (as well as nuclear power stations and coal etc).

Are you sure that BP is pulling out of the factory because it wants to reduce it's association with wind farms?

I'm not suprised people in Pantaloonia are becomeing anti-wind turbines if they are being so stupid about where they site the things.

[LMagic007]

Originally Posted by forfismum

BP and Shell are loosing interest in wind......BP have pulled out of the big windfactory near London ....and people who have actually seen what the bloody things look like in reality are not impressed as has been linked to in this very forum.

Ahh the IPCC, what a breath of fresh air. No pun intended. Most industries have their share of less than completely successful ventures. Nothing new there and that's not unique to any single industry.

[LMagic007]

Certainly another positive with wind power generation is near zero operational water consumption. In lands where water is in short supply or are environmentally sensitive with regard to water availability, that could present an opportunity. If you factor in the nil impact on water usage from wind energy, you can deduct that avoided cost, as opposed to the cost of water usage both in dollar terms and environmentally, for steam turbine based power generation. Thus all technologies have their pros and cons.