Wind Power Blows Into the North
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01. 4.08
There is a lot of wind in the North, and not much in the way to stop it. Yet according to Katherine O'Neill in the Globe and Mail, almost all of its power now comes from very expensive diesel generators. Tuktoyaktuk Councillor Jim Stevens notes “We've got some of the most expensive fuel in the world arriving in our communities. We then produce outrageously expensive power,” he said. “That's got to stop.” In Nunavut, diesel costs account for 20 per cent of its entire budget.
It would seem so obvious- the wind is there while the diesel fuel is brought in once a year at great expense, but is was tried before.
Jason Edworthy, a Canadian wind-energy expert, notes “Doing anything in the Arctic is more expensive and challenging,” he said, adding that trained staff is hard to find and equipment wears out a lot quicker because of the cold and harsh climate.
“The Arctic is incredibly hard on machines. If something has a design life of 20 years, in the Arctic that would be two or three,” he explained. More in ::Globe and Mail
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What a shame Jason Edworthy, described as a Canadian wind-energy expert, hasn’t been to Alaska. Maybe the Alaska winter is just not as harsh as the winter in Canada – but wind power has been in use for some time in remote areas of Alaska - in places as harsh as it can get for weather.
Case study
http://www.greenpowergovs.org/wind/Kotzebue%20case%20study.html
From the utility
http://www.kea.coop/news/renewable-energy.php
Oddly, even the military seems to have gotten part of the message –
Some system installed by Northern Power at military (and other) places within Alaska.
www.ases.org/tour/resources/solaramerica/PDFs/AK.pdf
Stuff does need more maintenance in the Arctic. High tech stuff needs trained technicians, and targeted maintenance – both seem to be hard to come by in the bush. Systems engineered for use in that environment will do just fine. I will be the first to say that I did not enjoy working in the dark, at minus 20 trying to restart a balky system.
The lifespan of a system is less driven by the environment than by materials, maintenance and original engineering. Our Canadian friends may wish to add their take of course….
In today's electricity market where wind competes with 4 cent per kw/h coal power, putting up 78,000 wind turbines is a good way to go broke.
However, I think Colville Lake pays about $2.50 per kw/h. The economics are more likely to work but will the turbines? In Kugluktuk there were 2 turbines lying on the ground. I believe they iced up & vibrated to death. Denmark is a northern country - do they build windmill that will handle rime ice etc...?
Can anyone tell me what the manufature and installation of a 400' wind turbine costs in CO2, rather than in $?
Where I live this would involve creating access roads to mountain tops, clearing forest, digging the huge foundation hole, filling the hole with cement, manufacturing the aluminun, steel, carbon, and electronic components of the turbine itself, and transporting all of them to the site. Add production and installation of a telephone line for remote monitoring and control of the turbine, Add in the fact that a wind tubine USES electricity constantly for lightiing and feathering the blades when necessary. Add the transmission line production and installation. This last item has to be CO2 costly, because it is extremely costly money-wise. It would also be seriously underutilized, due to the unreliabilty of wind.
I know I've forgotten (or never knew about) other things that would add to the turbine's carbon footprint, so I wonder how long it would take the turbine to pay back all the CO2 created in its manufacture and installation. Has anyone seen this info anywhere?
Thanks!