Page 44 - North American Clean Energy July/August 2019 Issue

wind power
New Towers and Hub Heights for North America
by Christoph Bosch
Fluctuating steel prices, falling electricity production costs, and technological leaps are creating big challenges for the U.S. wind power market. New solutions are needed. Maximizing hub heights is the next logical step, especially from a commercial viability perspective - each additional meter increases the annual energy yield of the wind turbine by up to 1 percent. For inland locations with weak wind, the lower wind turbulence and subsequent increase wind yield are factors that favor high hub heights. is is achieved with hybrid towers, which are already known in Europe and Asia for their high hub heights.
e U.S. wind power industry has experienced strong growth in recent years, and experts see considerable potential in the future as well. Reasons for this include natural as well as economic conditions, and the energy policy framework. Accordingly,
the number of people employed in wind turbine construction, maintenance, and operation reached a new record high of over 100,000 in 2017.
Market research rm Freedonia predicts that wind power generating capacities will grow by more than seven percent annually until 2021, thereby replacing hydroelectric power as
the largest renewable energy source in the United States. At the present time, U.S. wind is a lucrative investment because of support programs like the production tax credit (PTC). Analysts expect growth of 10 gigawatts (GW) in wind turbines in 2019, and another 12 GW of new turbine capacity in 2020. Many states o er public subsidies along with depreciation models that are stimulating demand and new wind turbine construction. When the federal tax credit program ends, subsidies in the individual states will play a greater role, from 2020 onward. For U.S. project planners, it is clear that electricity production costs have to come down, and wind
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