Wind turbines are highly subsidized by the government. If you were to install a turbine without the tax credits it’s a loser.
Wind turbines are highly subsidized by the government. If you were to install a turbine without the tax credits it’s a loser.
Originally posted by: rdwoodpecker
Wind turbines are highly subsidized by the government. If you were to install a turbine without the tax credits it’s a loser.
That's not true. It does take about 15-20 years for a sustainable energy source to recover its costs, but those costs are eventually recouped, and after that, the only additional cost is periodic maintenance.
I'll give you some numbers. A turbine that produces 1 megawatt, operating at 50% of capacity (which is what you can expect, given the variations in wind velocity) will produce $87,600 worth of electricity, based on a market price of $0.02/kwh, in one year. For a 4 megawatt turbine, that would be $350,400. A 2.5 mw turbine, $219,000.
Maintenance costs are currently approximately $45,000 per year, but those would decrease somewhat when economies of scale come into play. So, once a turbine is built and in full operation, it produces around $220,000 worth of electricity for about, say, $40,000. Net profit: $180,000 per year.
The current cost of a wind turbine is about $1.3 million per megawatt. So let's do the math. a 2.5 mw turbine would cost $3.3 million and would produce (rounded) $220,000 per year at an annual expense of $40,000. That's an ROI of a bit over 5%.
A wind turbine will last 20-25 years. So you only have cost recovery over the life of a 2.5 mw turbine, and a 1 mw turbine is a money loser. But if you plug in the numbers for a 4 mw turbine, you do better, because the maintenance costs are about the same as for a smaller turbine. And the largest new turbines can generate 12 mw. So, as with so many other industries, economies of scale come into play and net per-unit costs come down as production increases.
And the above numbers are based on the turbines operating at 50% capacity. There are many places where that can be improved upon---those locations are usually unsettled areas, as in "bare and windswept."
And of course, none of the above calculations assign any value to carbon NOT being released into the atmosphere.
Pecker, Liberals have moved on from tax credits. Now Libs mandate that a certain percentage of utility company electricity comes from stupid sources. That way, the stupid people can claim that the wind farm isn't getting subsidized. They are correct, yet the free wind power comes at a magnificent premium in price. Who pays that premium in price? The untility does. Who passes on that premium in price to citizens? The untility companies.
And let's not forget that those free wind farms need a back up souce of power for when the wind stops a-blowin'. Libs have worked diligently to make sure the utilities are only allowed to show the expense of that back up power plant against traditional power expenses............even though these back-up plants only exists to subsidize wind power.
Kevin is certain to do ZERO reseach, and them claim bullshit.
Boiler, perhaps you should actually read my most recent post. I know it's got losta big words and numbers and stuff.
Originally posted by: Kevin Lewis
Boiler, perhaps you should actually read my most recent post. I know it's got losta big words and numbers and stuff.
Reading Lewis's "recent post" is no different than reading any of his fact twisting lying past postings.
Yes, for you, Davey Dear, that's true, because your dim lack of comprehension is a constant.
