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Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas CRP 386 Jenna Kamholz Fall 2008

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Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas CRP 386 Jenna Kamholz Fall 2008 Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas Jenna Kamholz School of Architecture University of Texas December 13, 2008 CRP 386 Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas CRP 386 Jenna Kamholz Fall 2008 Executive Summary The limitations of fossil fuel resources are being felt in rising prices as well as political conflicts. Among other things, we are going to have to begin to rely more on clean and renewable sources of energy in order to sustain our civilization. Wind power can play a large role in the solution to the current energy and environmental crisis. Its non-polluting nature, and its increasing cost effectiveness, the compatibility of wind power with other land uses, and the abundance of the wind resources and all qualify it as a powerful option for meeting future energy needs. Texas’ size and varied climate makes it the state with the most potential in terms of renewable resources. According to InfinitePower.org, the annual wind power available in Texas is approximately 250,000 MW, almost four times the amount of electricity currently produced in the state. In addition, wind farms could play a major role in developing the vast rural areas of Texas many of which are currently experiencing depopulation. With the growing necessity to switch to clean, renewable energy sources it is imperative that we identify areas of unmet potential. This project focused on determining locations in Texas suitable to produce wind power to supply the energy demands of urban areas. An examination of existing conditions and future growth predictions was be used to determine which Texas counties have the greatest possibility as future centers of renewable energy. The majority of the data used in this analysis came from the Texas General Land Office. Other sources include the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Alternative Energy Institute at West Texas A&M University, the Berkeley/Penn Urban and Environmental Modeler’s Datakit and The GeoCommunity website. To conduct the analysis on the suitability of wind power for Texas urban areas I researched the qualities that were both positive factors and negative factors in siting wind farms. I classified factors into three categories. First, favorable conditions included adequate wind power, low sloping land, and proximity to roads and utility lines. Second, constraining factors included urban areas, forested areas, major water features, and protected landscapes. Thirdly, population factors included growing demand centers and areas in need of new industry. After individually mapping these factors, they were overlayed to reveal the locations with the greatest potential in terms of demand and need. The findings support the initial hypothesis that Texas has a lot of potential sites that are adequate for wind power facilities as well as growing power needs. However, it appears that natural and existing man made conditions should not be the main determining factor in selected sites for new wind farms. Rather, changes in future population will have the greatest effect on the location demand and industry need. Based on this study the thirteen identified counties: Hardeman, Foard, Baylor, Callahan, Motley, Dickens, Kent, Fisher, Coke, Jeff Davis, Refugio, San Patricio, Aransas are the prime locations for wind farms by the presence of favorable sites without constrains, their need for industry and their proximity to growing counties. These counties should conduct further analysis at the local level to determine land availability and local interest. 2 Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas CRP 386 Jenna Kamholz Fall 2008 Introduction The limitations of fossil fuel resources are being felt in rising prices as well as political conflicts. We are relying increasingly on foreign sources of energy as our own sources are tapped. The Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy states that the U.S. peaked in oil production in the 1970’s and we have since exhausted 75% of all the known oil reserves in this country. Furthermore, the U.S. peaked in natural gas production in 1973, and in order to keep gas production steady in the U.S., we have had to drill thousands more wells every year. In sum, we have very little remaining oil and gas reserves. While we do have a considerable supply of coal resources, we do not have the technology to use them without putting a substantial amount of carbon into the atmosphere. With growing concerns over global warming and its far reaching environmental impact, coal is not currently a reasonable option. Furthermore, electricity generation is the largest industrial source of air pollution in the U.S. and forty percent of CO comes from the electric 2 power sector.1 Among other things, we are going to have to begin to rely more on clean and renewable sources of energy in order to sustain our civilization. Why Wind? Mankind has put wind to work for centuries, yet its large-scale application for electricity generation has only occurred in the past two decades. Wind power can play a large role in the solution to the current energy and environmental crisis. Its non-polluting nature, and its increasing cost effectiveness, the compatibility of wind power with other land uses, and the abundance of the wind resources and all qualify it as a powerful option for meeting future energy needs. Wind power avoids many of the negative effects of traditional electricity generation including, emissions of heavy metals, emissions associated with extracting and transporting fuels, lake and streambed acidification from acid rain or mining, water consumption associated with mining, production of toxic solid wastes, ash, or slurry, and greenhouse gas emissions. The table to the left indicates the substantial amount of CO2 emissions that could be avoided by generating 20% of our electricity from wind power by 2030. In addition to lower emissions, wind power is becoming increasingly efficient in terms of material use. One study, conducted in Germany by Gerd Hagedorn, showed that “wind turbines produce 4 to 33 times more energy during their 20-year lifetimes than that used in their construction. Coal plants produce 64 times more energy and nuclear 108 times more than that used in their construction. Current photovoltaic 1 AWEA Facts Sheets 3 Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas CRP 386 Jenna Kamholz Fall 2008 technology produces one to three times the energy represented by their materials. When fuel is included, coal and nuclear plants deliver only one-third of the total energy used in their construction and in their fuel supply because fuel consumption dwarfs the amount of energy in the plant’s materials.”2 Furthermore, wind power is now fairly cost effective. The results of three European studies showed that “medium-sized wind turbines installed in areas with commercially usable wind resources will pay for themselves within one year.”3 Moreover, wind power can be a catalyst to the development of rural areas where the best resources are often located. There are several economic development benefits associated with wind projects, including: job creation, local project spending, annual property and sales taxes, and annual landowner easement payments. According to the studies conducted by Wind Powering America in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory 40-140 jobs are created during the construction phase for every 100 MW of installed capacity; 6 to 10 new jobs are created during the operations phase for every 100 MW of installed capacity. Additionally, $500,000- $1,000,000 in new annual property tax payments are generated for every 100 MW of installed capacity and annual landowner easement payments are typically $2,000- $5,000 per MW of installed capacity. Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to other conventional power plants, there is some concern over the noise, aesthetic impacts, and bird and bat mortality. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the total potential amount of wind generated electricity in the United States is more than twice the total amount of electricity generated in the U.S. today, about 10,777 billion kWh annually. The states with the top five wind energy potential are North Dakota, Texas, Kansas, South Dakota, and Montana. 2 Gipe, 422. 3 Gipe, 421. 4 Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas CRP 386 Jenna Kamholz Fall 2008 Why Texas? Texas’ size and varied climate makes it the state with the most potential in terms of renewable resources. According to InfinitePower.org, the annual wind power available in Texas is approximately 250,000 MW, almost four times the amount of electricity currently produced in the state. A state law signed in 1999 set a goal to install 2,000 MW of new renewable energy resources by 2009. In 2005, Texas legislators increased it to 5,000 MW by 2015 and to 10,000 MW by 2025. The cost- effectiveness of wind turbines makes them a likely source of approximately 5,000 MW of the renewable goals of the state. In addition, wind farms could play a major role in developing the vast rural areas of Texas many of which are currently experiencing depopulation. As noted above, wind turbines can benefit the economy in rural areas. As the turbines use only a fraction of the land, by being built on farms or ranches the residents can continue to work the land while collecting rent payments from the wind power plant owners. 5 Suitability of Wind Power for Texas Urban Areas CRP 386 Jenna Kamholz Fall 2008 Problem Statement With the growing necessity to switch to clean, renewable energy sources it is imperative that we identify areas of unmet potential.
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