Electricity Generation from Wind Power in Switzerland
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SS 2010 Centre for Energy Policy and Economics Z¨urichbergstr. 18 8032 Z¨urich Energy Economics and Policy - Term Paper Electricity generated from wind power in Switzerland - a potential source for the SBB? The potential of wind parks and energy supplied in Switzerland as a source for electrified trains of SBB. Simon Suhrbeer Student Management, Technology, and Economics ETH Zurich Lecturer: Prof. Thomas F. Rutherford 8th May 2010 Energy Economics and Policy Term paper Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Building the framework and modeling8 2.1. Actual situation....................................8 2.2. Optimal situation.................................... 10 2.3. Suggestions and improvements............................ 12 3. Conclusion 14 A. Appendix 17 List of Tables 1. Energy prices per kWh for electricity in Switzerland (Swissnuclear, 2010; Roth et al., 2009).......................................9 2. Development of the prices for energy from wind power for the years 2015 and 2030 and the predicted production per year. Based on assumptions of (Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE, 2010)............................. 11 3. Extrapolation for the years 2015 and 2030 based on given data and assumptions. 12 4. Comparison of prices for SBB's electricity demand per year based on different power sources...................................... 13 6. Potential locations for wind parks separated by cantons with average wind speed (Wind Data, 2010)................................... 17 5. Locations of installed wind turbines in Switzerland (Wind Data, 2010)...... 20 List of Figures 1. Where the turbines are: Installed wind power, largest markets in % end 2007. Countries supplying wind energy and the distribution of their installed wind power. All together 94'005 MW (The Economist print edition, 2008)........5 2. Map of Switzerland with an overview of wind speeds and potential wind park locations (Wind Data, 2010)..............................6 3. Light blue: Number of potential locations separated by cantons. Light red: Amount of prioritized potential locations in 2010 for a quick realization. Dark blue: Potential yearly mean wind speeds of wind power plants separated by can- tons. Calculation based on data from (Wind Data, 2010).............. 10 2 Energy Economics and Policy Term paper 1. Introduction Today, almost everyone is talking about environmental issues - this has many reasons. One criterion is the apparent increase in temperature of the earth's atmosphere. To many, it seems as if the temperature would increase from year to year. Another and more likely reason for the increased attention is the media coverage that discusses this topic almost every day. Nevertheless, it is proven that due to an increase of the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere a clamatic change had happened. The environment has heated up as compared to some decades ago (McKibbin and Wilcoxen, 2002). Politicians all over the world are pressurized to react to those circumstances. They come together and try to find reasonable and fundamental solutions to overcoming this situation. For example at the World Economic Forum related topics are thoroughly discussed and a "Task Force" with experts for environmental concerns are working on a plan for a clean revolution (World Economic Forum, 2010). To counteract these circumstances it is tried to reduce emissions. Therefore, new kinds of energy generating technologies have to be found which are capable for replacing or at least supporting the existing power plants. The SBB has therefore set itself the goal to cover its electricity demand with renewable resources (SBB, 2010d). They want to substitute their electricity from nuclear power plants. Biofuel, solar energy, geothermal energy as well as energy from water, and even wind power are some examples for such substitutes. For such a change also the population needs to be convinced. It is in this regard that policy intervention becomes necessary. One of the fastest growing alternative energy sources is the electricity from wind turbines (International Energy Agency, 2009). In this paper the main focus is on this energy source. Because of increasing efficiency of the wind turbine components, and new technologies increas- ing the productivity of electricity generation, wind power is an increasingly favored provider of renewable energy. Firms requiring lot of electricity - as it is the case for SBB - have recovered wind power as a potential energy source. There are some advantages for companies choosing renewable energy sources. They can adjust their CO2 balance with the intention to increase 3 Energy Economics and Policy Term paper their prestige. Also to lower their dependency on electricity in a lack of supply. Some firms even build their own power plants to be more or less independent from supply and prices. This is what the SBB did. They built their own hydropower plants (SBB, 2010a). But there is also a negative side caused by the installation of wind turbines like an increase of the mortality rate of birds that fly into the propellers (Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE, 2004; Suisse Eole - Schweizerische Vereinigung f¨urWindenergie, 2010). Nonetheless, to produce electricity out of wind turbines it is compulsory to position these in areas where sufficient wind is blowing. One of the main handicaps in Switzerland is the fact that there is no constant wind and most of the time there is even no wind at all. This makes it very difficult for the electricity vendors to provide sufficient and constant electric current from wind power. Therefore, it can only be used as an addition to the existing power plants where - when there is a lot of wind blowing - more of the electricity obtained from wind energy can be supplied to the power grid. These adjustments providing the right amount of energy from different sources are very complex. One of the most difficult criteria for the installation of a wind turbine is where these are placed. In general, locations with highwind and constant horizontal airflow are preferred. Unfortunately, those regions are rare. Other factors like the noise level of the rotor and the propeller that disturbs the neighboring residents with a radius of 150-300m have to be taken into account during the planning phase (Suisse Eole - Schweizerische Vereinigung f¨urWindenergie, 2009). Therefore, if an appropriate place has been found several wind turbines are combined to build a wind park. In Switzerland it is difficult to find appropriate places for such wind parks. There are various criteria for identification of good locations: wind appearance, positioning, distance to residential areas as well as compatibility with nature and the landscape (Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE, 2010). Abroad, in particular in northern countries bordering the North Sea like Germany, Denmark, France and Britain, huge wind parks with a huge potential have been build off-shore (see figure 1). There are some advantages for these off-shore wind turbines compared to Switzerland: A constant wind that blows day and night with very low variation, higher wind speeds, no need to 4 Energy Economics and Policy Term paper care about any noise levels as no population is living nearby. For these reasons, offshore wind park locations can be chosen more or less freely without respect to noise or aesthetics (The Economist print edition, 2008). United States Spain 18% 24% India China Denmark Italy 16% France 14% Britain Portugal 8% 2% Other 3% 3% 3% 3% 6% Germany Figure 1: Where the turbines are: Installed wind power, largest markets in % end 2007. Coun- tries supplying wind energy and the distribution of their installed wind power. All together 94'005 MW (The Economist print edition, 2008). In Switzerland the situation is different. Wind turbines can only be installed on-shore. The country is small and has only limited space. Places for wind parks which are considerable and constant in wind are rare. Regarding the currently installed wind parks across Switzerland m mean wind speed at 50m height ofv ¯ = 3:5 s has been measured (Wind Data, 2010). The yearly m minimum average wind speed at a height of 50m above ground should bev ¯min = 4:0 s . This is why the usage of wind power is not economical in Switzerland at the moment. Hence, new areas have been evaluated for future wind parks. Regions that show such wind speeds are to be found in particular in the Alps and larger parts of the Jura. Calculating the yearly mean m wind speed for these regions gives a value ofv ¯opt = 5:6 s . If electricity from wind power came from these places a production would be profitable (Suisse Eole - Schweizerische Vereinigung f¨ur Windenergie, 2009; Wind Data, 2010). Figure 2(a) shows the distribution of the the wind speeds and figure 2(b) shows the potential locations of wind parks. 5 Energy Economics and Policy Term paper (a) Wind speeds 70m over ground m (b) Potential places in planning for wind parks with sufficient wind speeds (v ≥ 4:0 s ) Figure 2: Map of Switzerland with an overview of wind speeds and potential wind park locations (Wind Data, 2010) 6 Energy Economics and Policy Term paper One of the biggest enterprises in Switzerland that is responsible for public transportation and rail freight is the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways). For their electrified locomotives they are dependent on a constant availability of electricity. Today, they already have a climate neutral electricity mix with which they try to reduce CO2 emissions. By 2020 they are aiming to reduce their CO2 emissions by 30% as compared to 1990. To achieve this goal they have taken actions such as an electricity feed of hydroelectric power and adjustments to driving behaviour with an "EcoDrive-concept" (SBB, 2010b). 2008 the electricity from hydro power was 74%. As the generation of electricity from hydro power is dependent on the amount of water available, higher quantities of residual water are now required by law. The volume of trafic is increasing year by year and in dry periods the demand cannot be covered.