The value of wind in wholesale energy markets depends on the location of the wind farms, their hourly production profile, and how these characteristics relate to electricity prices and real-time capacity markets. Wind energy prices tend to be competitive with these cost estimates, driving demand for wind energy from both traditional energy companies and non-utilitarian buyers such as corporations, universities and municipalities.
Wind turbines cost between $2.5 and $4 million to acquire and install. After this, they have an upkeep cost that can range from $10,000 to $75,000 per year. These same turbines often fail to generate sufficient energy to cover their costs, so subsidies are needed in order to maintain them.
Compared to other renewable energy sources for home or business, the cost of wind turbines varies greatly between manufacturers and installers. The total cost of installing an industrial scale wind turbine will vary significantly depending on the number of turbines ordered, the cost of financing, the date of signing the turbine sale and purchase agreement, construction contracts, project location and other factors.
The total cost of an ordinary turbine ranges from US$2.5 million to US$4 million, but the cost of a large offshore turbine can be as high as tens of millions of US dollars. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the cost per kilowatt of power for small wind turbines is between US$3,000 and US$5,000.
Most homeowners who use wind turbines as their main source of electricity have installed 5 to 15 kilowatts of wind power, which means they expect to pay between US$15,000 and US$75,000 for their small wind turbine projects. Wind turbines can generate revenues of 3,000 to 10,000 US dollars or more per year, depending on the size of the turbine and the kilowatt capacity.
The Costs of Generating Wind Power
The cost of wind power for buyers can range from several thousand to 10 thousand dollars per year, as specified in the contract. While a wind turbine in Europe or the US can cost around $ 1 million per MW, turbines installed in countries like Brazil can cost up to $ 500,000 per MW. Domestic or agricultural turbines are typically less than 100 kilowatts and cost around $ 3,000-8,000 per kilowatt of power. Smaller agricultural or residential turbines cost less but are more expensive in kilowatts of generating capacity.
A 1.5 MW turbine can cost up to $ 300,000, while towers for larger turbines can cost over $ 1 million. A study of a wind turbine using data from Germany has shown that these costs can be on average 1-2 euro cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) produced. Typical costs can be expected to be around $ 1.3 million per megawatt (MW) of electricity (this is generating capacity). According to the Department of Energy, the average cost of a one-kilowatt residential wind system is $ 5,760.
Indoor wind is not suitable for everyone and, at a high initial cost, it can scare people away. While some people in the energy industry consider wind power to be a high upfront cost, many understand that our planet must be first and foremost to be profitable. Currently in 2009, given the ongoing costs of turbines, turbine installation and maintenance, and the current price of 7.2 c / kWh, wind power does not seem to be the best financial decision an electric company can make.
This explains the need for federal and incentive subsidies available for the renewable energy market. However, I still believe that wind power is the future of power generation worldwide.
Wind Power vs. Fossil Fuels
One of the benefits of making wind power fully competitive with traditional fossil fuel power generation is that it exerts tremendous pressure on wind power and needs to continuously improve the cost and performance of its wind turbines in order to stay one step ahead of the competition. The reason why offshore wind farms choose larger wind turbines is partly because the cost of installing and transporting electricity is high, and they achieve higher efficiency at constant and higher wind speeds. The reason is that since new turbines are usually large, there is no need to repair relatively small large turbines.
The new turbines are manufactured with new technologies and materials to reduce maintenance costs. These recurring costs are not very important, and the turbines will far exceed maintenance costs. Depending on the type and size of the turbine, annual plant maintenance costs must also be considered, although these costs are usually relatively low.
Maintenance costs vary greatly depending on turbine age, location, and operation and maintenance strategy. The average cost of a wind turbine can range from $ 1,000,000 to $ 4,500,000, depending on how many kilowatt-hours it can provide over the course of a year. The cost of wind power is estimated at 5 to 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is a few cents below the average electricity price for power plants. Recently signed wind power contracts compare favorably with forecasts of fuel costs for gas production.
Describing the Energy Market & Wind Power’s Relationship to it
Reducing project installed capacity costs, combined with improved capacity metrics, allows for aggressive pricing for wind power. After reaching 7 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2009, the long-term leveled average price of wind energy sales agreements fell below 2 cents per kilowatt-hour. The average installed cost of wind projects in 2018 was $ 1,470 per kW, down 40% from peak levels in 2009 and 2010. The leveled cost of wind energy also hit an all-time low, with an average of $ 36 per MWh for power plants built in 2018.
The report says that wind power in the United States will continue to be one of the cheapest power generation technologies, with the price of long-term wind power available through a power purchase agreement at roughly half the expected cost for simple natural gas power management. plant.
In terms of USD per kilowatt, the construction cost of offshore wind farms is very high, almost as expensive as residential wind power. Turbines of this size are generally used at sea where wind speeds are higher and power is more difficult to supply. Larger and more efficient turbines are usually installed at higher altitudes with higher wind speeds.
Depending on the size and power, some turbines pay off within 10-15 years. However, turbines with higher energy intensity can take up to 40 years to settle with the owner, exceeding their expected service life. Although purchasing and installing wind turbines in advance requires more money than you can feel comfortable with, you will eventually see a steady stream of positive income for the rest of your life.
Conclusion
If you are serious about using wind energy to power your home and surrounding network, you can now take advantage of many low-cost federal grants and loans. When the topic of wind energy was mentioned in a recent conversation, I wondered what the actual cost of investing in such a thing is. Unfortunately, there is no short answer as to how much variable power sources such as integrated wind energy cost.
The power output will vary greatly depending on the size, specifications and wind conditions of people’s homes, and some homes may not be suitable for a turbine at all. If your roof is high enough to withstand high winds, you might consider installing a rooftop turbine.
The average cost of a rooftop-mounted wind turbine is around $ 3,000, which will also need to be maintained and will only cost you a few hundred dollars a year. Given that most wind turbines have three blades, we can say that the entire rotor costs from $500,000 for medium turbines to over $ 1 million for larger models.
