Greater use of wind energy and other measures can provide near-term help to ease California's electric power crisis, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said today. "Combined with energy efficiency and load management programs, wind energy can help break the vicious circle of excess demand, power outages, and volatile electricity prices," said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher.

As California battles this summer with power outages and price spikes on the state's power exchange and consumer bills, some electric utility professionals are noticing the steadying, buffer impact of the state's investments in wind and other forms of renewable energy. "A number of public officials and utility professionals are appreciating the positive role that renewable energy is playing in the current crisis," added Swisher. A telling example of this appreciation was given by John Fielder, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs for Southern California Edison. Edison has long been known for its opposition to Qualifying Facilities (QFs, or independently-owned power plants) producing electricity from wind, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy, but Fielder told California Energy Markets July 14 that "QF contracts are the best hedge (against price volatility) we have. That and our nuclear power plant."

Wind energy offers three major benefits for California's electricity system:

• Because wind energy's "fuel" is free, its price does not go up or down.

Wind energy is impervious to fuel price hikes because its fuel — the wind — is free. Wind plants generate electricity at a predictably constant price over the life of their wind turbines. The current cost for wind projects with up-to-date technology is 4 to 5 cents per kWh at good sites like the San Gorgonio pass in southern California, where most of the projects are operating under utility contracts for a period of 20 to 30 years. By comparison, recent hikes in natural gas prices have driven the fuel costs alone for older gas-fired power plants past 5 cents per kWh produced, and spot market shortages have led to much higher prices -- $10 per kWh and up. Wind energy helps insulate the power system, and consumers, from inflation and spikes in fuel costs.

• Adding more wind plants increases overall system reliability.

Even though a wind plant's fuel source, the wind, is intermittent, the more wind plants there are, the greater the probability that substantial energy will be generated from wind plants at any given time to meet demand. This is particularly true because the summer months are generally periods of optimal performance for California's wind turbines, as hot air rises in the Central Valley and cooler air from the coast is drawn in through the state's wind resource areas (Altamont, Pacheco, Tehachapi and San Gorgonio passes) to replace it. This July, for example, was a "banner month" for wind energy projects in southern California. Currently there are over 1,600 megawatts (MW) of wind energy generating capacity in California, generating about 1.5 % of the state's electricity, or enough to power all the homes in the city of San Francisco.

• New, high-tech wind projects can be online by next summer.

Several proposed wind energy projects, totaling about 600 MW, could be up and running within six to 18 months if a decision to invest in new wind energy generating capacity is taken now as part of a grid reliability plan. That is enough wind generation to meet the electricity needs of 210,000 average California homes. New wind plants could be combined with energy efficiency and load management measures to substantially reduce California's shortfall in generating capacity. A typical wind farm generates electricity within six months of ground-breaking for the project.

• Finally, the icing on the cake: Wind energy also helps prevent smog and global warming.

California's natural gas-fired power plants emit sizable quantities of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a primary component of smog, and of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the most important greenhouse gas associated with global warming. Wind plants generate electricity without any emission of air pollutants or greenhouse gases.

AWEA therefore urges the California Energy Commission to conclude, without delay, the drafting of regulations to prioritize and expedite the State Power Plant Licensing Process for the cleanest projects as requested by the Governor in part of his executive order D-14-00 of August 4, and to initiate the bid process to help the wind industry install new turbines by next June.

AWEA also calls on the California legislature to pass Senate bill 1194 (Sher) and Assembly Bill 995 (Wright), which seek to enhance the reliability of the state's electrical system, in part, through continued investments in renewable energy projects.

"When he was chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown, Governor Davis played a leading role in developing renewable energy incentives for California. As a result, some 10,000 MW of renewable energy presently help power the state," noted Swisher. "Governor Davis now has a unique opportunity to build on this legacy, and spearhead the effort to make renewable energy a leading source of clean, reliable electricity for Californians."