BP Speak About Why Wind Power Is Going To Boom

Despite of the current economic recession, wind power has all the reasons to boom because of improved technology, increasing demand and cheaper cost, BP's Alternative Energy business developer Nicholas Hiza said during the Wharton Energy Conference last week.

Hiza said technology has increased the amount of electricity each wind turbine generates by 21 times in the last two decades. As a result, fewer wind turbines are needed in order to generate the same amount of electricity. Generous spacing up to 1,000 feet between two turbines can be achieved now, while years ago cluttered wind turbines created a problem for blocking migration route for birds.

Technology also reduced the noise level of wind turbines down to 40-50db, quieter than the humming from a refrigerator. "If you have a chance, drive your car to a wind farm and wind down your window and listen, then you will understand how quiet it is," Hiza said.

Increasing demand for energy has driven up the appetite for investment in wind farms, too. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected the amount of electricity generated from wind would reach seven gigawatts. The actual amount produced that year amounted to 20 gigawatts, almost three times of EIA’s projection.

Currently, only 1.1% of the US electricity is generated from wind power. That leaves an ample room for the industry to grow as the government aims to produce 20% electricity by wind in the next few years.

Another advantage for wind is the low cost to produce power after the wind plant is built. Each kilowatt of electricity generated by wind costs 40 cents, the most affordable power, Hiza said.
Despite all the great prospect that wind power boasts, Mr. Hiza failed to mention, purposefully or not, the high cost to build these wind farms is in fact an obstacle.

Hiza admitted during a conversation after his speech that there are an increasing number of landowners who require a much higher royalty fee for installing wind turbines on their lands. “I think it is fair,” Hiza said. But he didn’t want to delve into the question how the new problem has affected wind power business. Maybe in a tight economy like this, the business is after all less rosy than he claimed?