Tag Archives: outset

A Case Study about the Financial Cost of Wind Energy

Executive Summary: The lifetime cost of wind energy is comprised of a number of components including the investment cost, operation and maintenance costs, financing costs, and annual energy production. Accurate representation of these cost streams is critical in estimating a wind plant’s cost of energy. Some of these cost streams will vary over the life of a given project. From the outset of project development, investors in wind energy have relatively certain knowledge of the plant’s lifetime cost of wind energy. This is because a wind energy project’s installed costs and mean wind speed are known early on, and wind generation generally has low variable operation and maintenance costs, zero fuel cost, and no carbon emissions cost. Despite these inherent characteristics, there are wide variations in the cost of wind energy internationally, which is the focus of this report.

Introduction: In 2009, the European Union added 10,163 MW of new wind energy capacity while the United States added 9,994 MW. These capacity additions in 2009 represented the largest source of new electricity generation in the EU and the second largest in the U.S. Globally, demand for windgenerated electricity has increased for a number of reasons including growing concern for carbon emission mitigation, security and supply issues with fossil-based fuels, and a host other factors. The variability of the all-in cost of wind energy, however, may still be a barrier for increased deployment of wind energy across the globe. From the outset of project development, investors in wind energy have relatively certain knowledge of the plant’s lifetime cost of wind energy. This is because a wind energy project’s installed costs and mean wind speed are known early on, and wind generation generally has low variable costs, zero fuel cost, and no carbon emission costs.

Click here to read more on Financial Cost of Wind Energy