Most people don’t buy so much as bubble gum without asking, “How much does it cost?” So for your amusement, I have assembled a list of costs arranged in an order that you may find entertaining. Hopefully, you’ll find the apples-to-oranges juxtapositions equally interesting. A tip of the hat for the idea goes to former colleague and mentor the late Ronald Khol.
Editor Dvorak
Readers are invited to make what they will of the figures assembled here. These bits and pieces have been collected in a file for over a year and I have not kept track of their original source, although YouTube provided useful historical perspectives. What would you add?
Talley of the amount invested in U.S. wind projects over last 10 years: $128 billion. Next-generation wind technology R&D by 2026: $36.9 billion. Expected worth of steam-turbine market by 2020: $19.3 billion. Global airport security market by 2023: $12.72 billion. Market worth for wind-turbine composites by 2021: $12.17 billion.
IRS evaluation of Michael Jackson’s estate: $434 million. Estimated cost to decommission a nuclear reactor in France: $322 million/GW or $322,000/MW. The cost for five wind turbines and their installation at Block Island: >$250 million. Stock bonus to Glenn Kellow, coal exec who led Peabody Energy (a coal company) through bankruptcy: $15 million.
Offshore wind rights for Kitty Hawk, NC: $9 million. Dynamic positioning device for a wind-turbine barge: $7.7 million. A prize fund for African renewable-energy projects: $7 million. Estimated cost to launch one offshore turbine with novel construction barge: $6.9 million. Amtrack locomotive: $6.5 million. NY fund for clean-energy education: $5.5 million. One 1.5 MW GE 1.5sle: $3.37 million. Rule-of-thumb costs for a land-based turbine: $2 million/MW.
Amtrack passenger car: $400,000. Gearbox replacement and crane callout: $244,000. One WWII B17 in 1945: $238,329. A refurbished 2 MW, 50-Hz generator: $78,846. Mikado steam locomotive (#4501) in 1905 : $23,182.
Generator bearing change out: $6,000. Research report on wind and solar markets: $4,500. Lost production per day from turbine downtime: $2,120. Estimated value Michael Jackson’s estate by its estate: $2,105. 1-hp Grundfos 240V electric motor: $1,400.
Hatsan Nova 0.22 air rifle: $749. Apple iPhone 6: $549. Report on storage and smart grid: $299. Estimated kilowatt-hour cost for a pack of Tesla batteries by 2020: $217. Blade-bearing gasket for Gamesa G47 turbine: $176. A month of fitness classes in Ohio: $129. Shell Rhodina grease, one box of 12, 400g tubes: $136. Monster testosterone booster: $79.99
One barrel WTI crude oil, 6/6: $47.22. Power/MWh levelized in 2015: $41.10. Shampoo, blow-dry, and style: $30. Wind power PPA per MWh, from interior U.S. in 2015: $26.43. Generator brushes: $17. A 2008 prediction for one gallon of gasoline in 2015: $9.15. Small wind turbine, per watt: $3 to $6. One-million BTUs of natural gas on 6/6: $3.02. Industrial electric prices in Germany, per kwh: $0.16. One dozen nonorganic eggs: $0.99. 
Filed Under: News, Policy
