Wind power in Oregon explained

The U.S. state of Oregon has large wind energy resources. Many projects have been completed, most of them in rural Eastern Oregon and near the Columbia River Gorge. Wind power accounted for 12.1% of the electricity generated in Oregon in 2016.[1]

Legislative actions

Laws passed by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1999 and 2007 have aimed to encourage both small and large wind projects. Oregon passed a net metering law in 1999 that helped encourage installation of small wind power systems.[2] As of 2008, a handful of Oregonians have installed small-scale wind-power systems to reduce their carbon footprint.[3]

Under Senate Bill 838, wind, solar, geothermal and other types of renewable power must account for 25 percent of an electric utility's retail sales by 2025. Intermediate requirements set the standard at 5 percent by 2011, climbing gradually until 2025.[4]

In 2016, Oregon's RPS requirement target was raised to 50%, as two companies must supply 50% of Oregon's power as renewable by 2040.[5] The US Energy Information Administration expects this to increase windpower in Oregon, as older hydropower is exported to California and not eligible for the RPS.[6]

Companies

Vestas, the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world as of 2009, has its North American headquarters in Portland.[7] [8] Iberdrola Renovables, one of the larger wind farm operators, also bases their American offices in Portland.

Capacity

Potential

Estimates from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showed that Oregon has potential to install over 27,000 megawatts of onshore wind power.[9] The offshore wind potential is estimated at 225,000 MW, and would be capable of generating 962,723 million kWh.[10]

Installed growth

Installed wind power capacity in Oregon saw large growth from 2007 to 2012. Oregon ranks among the top ten states with the most wind power installed. Climbing from 1 percent in the early 2000s (decade), wind power accounted for 12.4 percent of total electricity generated in Oregon during 2013.[11] [12]

In 2009, 691 MW of wind-powered capacity was added in Oregon, the fourth biggest increase in the U.S. that year.[13]

Notable projects

Oregon Wind Generation
ImageSize = width:280 height:auto barincrement:20PlotArea = left:33 bottom:20 top:10 right:10AlignBars = justifyDateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:0 till:7700TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 bar:2000 from:start till:67 text:66.7 bar:2001 from:start till:89 text:88.6 bar:2002 from:start till:376 text:376.2 bar:2003 from:start till:444 text:443.6 bar:2004 from:start till:619 text:619 bar:2005 from:start till:734 text:734 bar:2006 from:start till:931 text:931 bar:2007 from:start till:1247 text:1,247 bar:2008 from:start till:2575 text:2,575 bar:2009 from:start till:3470 text:3,470 bar:2010 from:start till:3920 text:3,920 bar:2011 from:start till:4775 text:4,775 bar:2012 from:start till:6342 text:6,343 bar:2013 from:start till:7456 text:7,456 bar:2014 from:start till:7555 text:7,555 bar:2015 from:start till:6632 text:6,632 bar:2016 from:start till:7157 text:7,157 bar:2017 from:start till:6227 text:6,227 bar:2018 from:start till:7137 text:7,137 bar:2019 from:start till:7168 text:7,168
Gigawatthours (Million kWh)[14] [15] [16]
Large wind farms in Oregon
Station Location Capacity (MW) Notes
845 [17]
450
399 [18] [19]
Golden Hills Wind ProjectSherman County200[20]
124
123

In 2009 GE Wind Energy was awarded a $1.48 billion contract to build the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm.[21] The 845-megawatt project uses over 300 turbines and spans across 30sqmi of Gilliam and Morrow Counties in north-central Oregon.[22] When it was completed in September 2012, it became the largest wind farm in Oregon, and the second largest in the world, although many larger ones are planned. It was completed in 2012 to take advantage of the 2.2 cent/kWh Production Tax Credit.[23] [24]

Conflicts

About four gigawatts of new wind energy development in Eastern Oregon and Washington has not been built due to the interference it could cause with aviation radar. The radar in Fossil was upgraded in June 2015 to stop "radar clutter" caused by nearby wind farms.[25]

Generation

Wind Generation Capacity by Year
ImageSize = width:290 height:auto barincrement:20PlotArea = left:35 bottom:20 top:10 right:0AlignBars = justifyPeriod = from:0 till:4000TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0

PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 bar:1999 from:start till:25.1 text:25.1 bar:2000 from:start till:25.1 text:25.1 bar:2001 from:start till:156.8 text:156.8 bar:2002 from:start till:218.3 text:218.3 bar:2003 from:start till:259.3 text:259.3 bar:2004 from:start till:262.6 text:262.6 bar:2005 from:start till:337.6 text:337.6 bar:2006 from:start till:438.1 text:438.1 bar:2007 from:start till:885.4 text:885.4 bar:2008 from:start till:1067.2 text:1,067.2 bar:2009 from:start till:1758.1 text:1,758.1 bar:2010 from:start till:2103.6 text:2,103.6 bar:2011 from:start till:2513 text:2,513 bar:2012 from:start till:3153 text:3,153 bar:2013 from:start till:3153 text:3,153 bar:2014 from:start till:3153 text:3,153 bar:2015 from:start till:3153 text:3,153 bar:2016 from:start till:3163 text:3,163 bar:2017 from:start till:3213 text:3,213 bar:2018 from:start till:3213 text:3,213 bar:2019 from:start till:3423 text:3,423 bar:2020 from:start till:3737 text:3,737

Megawatts of Wind Generating Capacity[26] [27] [28] [29] [30]
Oregon Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)
YearTotalJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2001 88 3 3 8 6 6 6 7 5 577 25
2002 374 37 21 44 33 30 31 34 26 252330 40
2003 445 28 36 67 27 43 28 26 22 364554 33
2004 620 50 32 79 44 63 52 52 58 546123 52
2005 734 40 33 72 55 55 69 58 62 636988 70
2006 932 112 69 70 66 71 70 70 73 7286114 59
2007 1,248 73 75 100 97 109 121 101 105 987984 206
2008 2,576 183 159 239 261 269 383 264 235 136153121 173
2009 3,470 211 90 339 364 336 448 321 443 314273233 98
2010 3,921 145 77 320 499 477 511 465 460 274251240 202
2011 4,775 289 305 296 516 464 570 475 571 263378427 221
2012 6,344 398 465 589 499 654 709 741 660 419397249 564
2013 7,455 438 636 563 959 698 682 852 615 649343459 561
2014 7,556 448 533 638 711 787 1,030 735 650 542394635 453
2015 6,630 220 423 402 635 651 663 830 748 529437525 567
2016 7,159 310 375 597 777 863 793 830 644 616425439 490
2017 6,225 207 327 521 694 566 754 874 597 478566386 255
2018 7,448 330 768 625 733 803 898 799 834 512315443 388
2019 6,567 252 310 301 687 706 961 913 753 650491317 226
2020 8,777 626 928 743 826 730 842 1,039 939 404704556 440
2021 9,592 552 969 934 938 926 781 888 822 583 729 667 803
2022 9,214 638 824 822 914 948 685 765 730 696 709 785 698
2023 2,547 687 948 912
Source:[31]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oregon Wind Energy. U.S. Wind Energy State Facts. American Wind Energy Association. 27 December 2017.
  2. http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/astate_template.asp?stateab=or Oregon Wind Activities
  3. News: Oregon farmer cuts costs with wind power. Dana. Tims. The Seattle Post Intelligencer. June 22, 2009.
  4. News: Gail. Kinsey-Hill. Power bill glides through Senate. April 11, 2007. The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon.
  5. https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2016R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1547/Enrolled Oregon Senate Bill 1547
  6. Web site: Higher Oregon renewable portfolio standard targets likely to boost wind power. . April 26, 2016. April 26, 2016.
  7. News: Vestas lands record turbine order . Williams, Christina . . July 21, 2010 . July 28, 2010.
  8. Web site: Vestas Breaks U.S. Wind Market Lull . Schreyer, Andreas . . July 23, 2010 . July 28, 2010.
  9. Web site: State wind energy potential (2010). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. U.S. Department of Energy. February 4, 2010. March 27, 2010.
  10. http://www.nrel.gov/gis/re_potential.html Renewable Energy Technical Potential
  11. News: Wind energy's success creates a power grid challenge. Preusch, Matthew . The Oregonian . Portland, Oregon . October 29, 2009. March 27, 2010.
  12. Web site: American wind power reaches major power generation milestones in 2013. March 5, 2014 . American Wind Energy Association.
  13. News: Oregon fourth among states for new wind capacity . Preusch . Matthew . January 30, 2010 . The Oregonian . Portland, Oregon . January 31, 2010.
  14. Web site: Generation Annual . U.S. Department of Energy . July 10, 2012 . August 6, 2012 .
  15. http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/ EIA electricity data browser
  16. https://windexchange.energy.gov/states/or Wind Energy in Oregon
  17. http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/12/07/daily36.html "World's largest wind farm coming to Oregon"
  18. Web site: U.S. Wind Energy Projects - Oregon. Staff. American Wind Energy Association. July 2010. July 28, 2010.
  19. Web site: U.S. Wind Energy Projects . American Wind Energy Association . September 30, 2009 . December 18, 2009 .
  20. Web site: 200-MW Golden Hills wind farm powering Oregon utility . 2023-02-23 . Windpower Engineering & Development . en-US.
  21. News: General Electric lands $1.4 billion contract to build wind farm in Oregon . Brown, Tim . The Oregonian . Portland, Oregon . December 15, 2009 . March 27, 2010.
  22. News: $1.4 Billion Oregon Wind Deal Announced . Galbraith, Kate . New York Times blog . December 10, 2009 . March 27, 2010.
  23. http://techland.time.com/2011/04/19/google-invests-100-million-in-oregon-wind-farm/ Google Invests $100 Million In Oregon Wind Farm
  24. http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/wind/article323349.ece Shepherds Flat wind farm fully operational in US with 845MW
  25. Web site: Radar upgrade in Fossil to lessen conflict with proposed wind farms . George Plaven . East Oregonian . [FAA] says they've developed a radar upgrade ... that will minimize conflict with proposed wind farms. ... the outdated radar was holding back nearly 4,000 megawatts of new wind energy development in Eastern Oregon and Washington. . June 11, 2015 . 2015-06-14.
  26. Web site: Wind Powering America: Installed U.S. Wind Capacity and Wind Project Locations . U.S. Department of Energy . February 17, 2010 . February 18, 2010 .
  27. Web site: Installed Wind Capacity . https://web.archive.org/web/20150826080000/http://apps2.eere.energy.gov:80/wind/windexchange/wind_installed_capacity.asp . dead . August 26, 2015 . Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy . Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy . . August 12, 2015 . January 1, 2016 .
  28. AWEA 4th quarter 2011 Market Report, American Wind Energy Association, January 2011
  29. Web site: U.S. Installed and Potential Wind Power Capacity and Generation . Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy . Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy . . April 3, 2019 . April 3, 2019 .
  30. https://windexchange.energy.gov/maps-data/321 WINDExchange: U.S. Installed and Potential Wind Power Capacity and Generation
  31. Web site: Electricity Data Browser . U.S. Department of Energy . March 28, 2018 . August 27, 2021 .

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