This article comes from New Energy Update, and is authored by Richard Wachman. Read the full version here.
Larger turbines with higher efficiency rates are driving down the cost of onshore wind power. Companies are installing longer blades to similar generator sizes to raise output efficiency and improve the competitiveness against other generation types.
By 2016, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of U.S. offshore wind farms had fallen to $30/MWh-$62/MWh, the Lazard research group said in a report.
Image: Berkeley Lab Survey (2016).
Wind experts predict the LCOE of onshore wind will fall by 24% by 2030 as technology improvements drive a rapid increase in turbine capacity and hub height, according to an industry survey published by Berkeley Lab, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and University of Massachusetts in November 2016.
The global survey of 163 leading wind experts showed nameplate turbine capacity is forecast to rise from 2.0 MW in 2015 to 3.25 MW in 2030. Some experts even predict average nameplate capacity could rise to as much as 6 MW by 2030, the survey showed.
Between 1999 and 2015, average rotor diameters rose by 113% to 102.0 metres, translating into a 355% growth in rotor swept area. By 2030, experts predict average rotor diameters will rise to 135 m.
The deployment of taller, higher-performance windfarms will open up new market opportunities for developers.
Read the full article here.
Filed Under: News, Projects, Turbines
