Evaluating the Most Promising Sites for Wind Energy Development in Arizona USA

摘要

During the summer of 2003, the state of Arizona took delivery of a set of high-resolution windenergy maps. After applying various exclusions, such as excluding windy lands in urban areas,national parks, etc., the developable wind energy potential is 23,290 MW of class 3 or higher,2,630 MW of class 4 or higher, and 775 MW of class 5 or higher winds. Having determined thepotential wind resource, the geographical information system data supplied with the wind mapswas used to create a wind resource inventory and to systematically identify the most promisingsites for wind energy development. In addition to wind energy potential, proximity to transmis-sionlines and roads, and land ownership were considered in this analysis. Following that, thecost of energy was estimated at a few geographically diverse sites, including class 3, 4, and 5wind resource areas, at a hub height of 70 m. These estimates revealed that the real levelisedcost of energy in 2005 dollars ranged from 4.21 to 5.04 cents per kWh, as the wind class variesfrom 5 to 3. These results do not include the production tax credit or the renewable energy pro-ductionincentive, do include adjustments for elevation, losses, and inflation, and are consideredconservative. This paper documents the findings of the wind mapping process, describes themethod and results of evaluating the most promising sites for wind development, and presentsthe cost of energy results.