We discussed this in a recent episode of the Uptime Podcast. For more episodes, jump to our podcast page. Wind turbines cost a lot , and as such the investment is to be recouped over a long period of time. Turbines produce significant electricity and sell it back to local power utilities where it flows to the power grid, used by homes and businesses. Operation and maintenance costs can be significant, but all of these machines are long-term investments continue to hopefully pay for themselves over time.
A wind turbine study using German data showed that these costs can be Eurocents per kilowatt hour kWh produced, on average.
This number climbs as the the turbine ages, which is not surprising considering the wear and tear and harsh environments these machines operate in. These recurring costs are not too significant, and the turbine will significantly outproduce the maintenance costs. Repairs can be a significant capacity reducer more on this later , and lightning strikes on wind turbines can be a real problem.
Though turbine blades leave the factor with a lightning protection system, often they are inadequate. Especially for offshore wind turbines—where transporting workers for repair is costly and time-consuming—additional layers of lightning protection is important.
Products like segmented lightning diverters can provide additional protection from lightning strike damage to wind turbines. Wind turbines cost more the bigger they get, but they produce more electricity with larger nacelles and turbine blades. In , it was reported that the average rotor diameter had risen to meters feet. Offshore wind farms choose larger wind turbines in part because of the high cost of installing them and transporting the electricity, as well as the increased efficiency they gain with consistent, faster wind speeds.
If a turbine is rated for 2. Because the wind dies down, changes direction, etc. This enormous wind turbine is the first to offer 12 MW capacity, with blades m feet long and an overall footprint that reaches m feet into the sky.
Turbines of this size are typically used offshore, where wind speeds are consistently much higher and delivering power is more complicated. This power is sold back to the electrical grid of utility companies, and the price has been falling as turbine technology has improved. Energy Market share of leading offshore wind turbine manufacturers in Europe Energy Global average cost of installed offshore wind projects Energy Offshore wind capacity H1 , by country.
Madhumitha Jaganmohan. Research expert covering climate and environmental sustainability. Profit from additional features with an Employee Account. Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites. Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header.
Profit from additional features by authenticating your Admin account. Then you will be able to mark statistics as favourites and use personal statistics alerts. Save statistic in.
XLS format. PNG format. PDF format. Show details about this statistic. Exclusive Premium functionality. Register in seconds and access exclusive features. Full access: To this and over 1 million additional datasets Save Time: Downloads allow integration with your project Valid data: Access to all sources and background information. This is an exclusive corporate function. Get full access to all features within our Corporate Solutions. Statista Corporate Solutions. Immediate access to statistics, forecasts, reports and outlooks Usage and publication rights Download in various formats.
Statista Accounts: Access All Statistics. This largely depends on the state you live in and whether you can sell your excess electricity to a utility company. For remote areas there is a problem with connectivity though many states in the US are beginning to address this. Find out more about how much wind turbines can earn you. As with other renewable technologies, there are federal and state incentives for installing a wind power.
Find out more about federal and state incentives for wind power. One other thing that you will need to take into account before installing a wind turbine on your premises is the effect that it may have on the property price. There is not much evidence currently available that having one installed with have a large adverse effect but a lot may depend on how efficient your system is.
Of course, it will also depend on your location. If your wind turbine is on farmland and producing a good return it is more likely to add value to any sale. If you have a roof mounted system that simply takes the edge off your energy bills, you might find that aesthetic principles come into play but fortunately it is easy to remove.
The table below gives you a rough idea of the initial costs of small domestic wind turbine systems:. The actual system output is predicated upon a large range of factors. Larger, higher output turbines also tend to be mounted at greater heights, where wind speeds are higher. Depending on the type and size of the turbine, there are also annual system maintenance costs which one must bear in mind, though these tend to be relatively small.
0コメント