The rapid growth of wind power is offering new challenges for transmission grid operators throughout the world, especially in the U.S.  As wind power levels comprise an ever larger portion of utility supply portfolios, rapid changes in the speed and direction of wind resources often cause wind farms to deviate significantly from scheduled deliveries. When this happens, grid operators must tap into volatile spot market to keep the transmission grid in balance.

The value of spot market purchases required to balance the grid can cost from -100/MegaWatt hour (MWh) (during times of oversupply) up to $6,000/MWh (during times of supply shortages), depending upon wholesale supply conditions. Near real-time forecasting data for wind could be worth millions of dollars – both earned and saved –- but so far, few of the handful of firms that provide wind resource assessment and forecasting have developed a coherent business strategy to tap this emerging market for their products and services.

When compared to simple reliance upon climatology, an advanced forecasting system will reduce short-term forecasting errors by 40 to 60%. The magnitude of potential revenue losses can reach almost $4/MWh.

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The initiative process was originally designed by the so-called “Progressives” in 1911 as a means to bring “power of the people," since the California Legislature was then in the tight grip of powerful railroads, which controlled the Democratic Party.

While the term “progressive” is most often associated with the Democratic Party today, these Progressives were Republican reformers. They successfully amended the State Constitution empowering voters to create new laws in the same way they elected legislators, placing California among the leaders of “direct democracy,” which has since spread to 24 states.

When the "Community Choice Aggregation" (CCA) state law was passed in 2002, it, too, was seen as a way to bring “power to the people” in the form of cleaner electricity supplies to Bay Area local governments tired of waiting for Washington, DC -- and Sacramento -- to do something about global warming.

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Efforts to resolve the roadblocks between environmentalists and renewable energy advocates have born fruit in the sunny southern California desert. Gov. Schwarzenegger and President Obama's Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced on March 22nd a new collaborative process designed to both conserve land for endangered species and stream line permits for new renewable projects jeopardized by any further delays.

The breakthrough was announced at a press conference celebrating the signing of new state legislation SBX8 34 , a bill that will ensure state regulatory agencies have the resources necessary to focus on the state's stringent environmental review process while still issuing permits for new renewable energy facilities. The bill creates further efficiencies in the permitting and siting process for large-scale renewable energy projects that could qualify for federal stimulus funds.

The measure has won some qualified support from environmentalists. A unique confluence of events -- including deadlines for federal renewable development subsidies -- helped pave the way for approval of the state legislation.

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Wind turbine technology has become a fully commercial venture, but the recent rapid growth of the wind industry has strained its supply chain to meet demand in a timely manner. Furthermore, unexpected component failures, especially electronic controls, gearboxes, generators, and rotor blades, have driven up Operations & Maintenance (O&M) costs.

During the course of the research for a new report just published by Wind Energy Update, it ultimately became clear that reliable and verifiable data on wind industry O&M cost trends is quite rare. In fact, there are no current widely available data sets illustrating these wind industry O&M costs. Proprietary research, reviews of scarce secondary sources and anecdotal evidence obtained through confidential interviews with wind industry owner/operators and component suppliers suggest that O&M expenses are double or even triple what was originally projected, particularly with the latest class of multi-megawatt machines now permeating the global wind market.

Of course, nearly all machine and electrical components have a certain chance of failure within their design lifetime, and wind turbines are no different. Savvy operators can make problematic turbines look better through innovative in the field O&M strategies, and vice versa. Nonetheless, the wind industry’s promises of delivering cost effective clean renewable energy to combat global climate change is being compromised by higher than expected component failure rates. Gearboxes allegedly designed for a 20-year life are breaking down prematurely across most major manufacturing brands, are failing after only 6 to 8 years of operation.

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A coalition of the environmental and business leaders appear committed to passing a new “cap-and-trade” system through Congress, designed to somehow protect the world from the impending doom of climate change. While the focus of the world this past week was on Copenhagen, the ball is, for all practical purposes, still in the court of the U.S. Congress.

Even with the introduction of the new Kerry-Leiberman-Graham legislation during Copenhagen, a surprisingly broad set of interests are beginning to emerge on behalf of fresh alternatives that may include incentives for renewables, EPA regulations and maybe even a novel market-based approach:  a carbon fee that is rebated back to the public.

Organizations as diverse as Sierra Club and Chevron are quietly contemplating what a “Plan B” might include, and how it could yield broader political support, and more environmental success, than today’s competing House and Senate omnibus “cap-and-trade” bills.

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