Observations on Wind Energy Conference in Detroit
Yesterday’s AWEA conference in Detroit was very interesting. It was primarily focused on small wind turbines, and there certainly are a great number of them in production. There are a multitude of designs, from all over the world. I was particularly intrigued by the solar/wind power/battery backup/LED streetlight for $5000 per pole.
The economics of many of the small wind systems do not yet justify their windspread use in Michigan. However, when I heard Mariah Power talking about how 75% of their production was going to export that made sense. There was an MSU economics professor that I spoke with who suggested that in his studies he has found that a 20 kw wind turbine might clear the economic ROI hurtles, even in Michigan. He said that as strange as it seemed, both the smaller units and the larger units (i.e. 2.5 kw and 100 kw) had price points that made them uneconomic at this time. I heard from a developer of a 2.5 kw unit that his product was already competitive with coal fired generation at $3000 kw. It was neither the time nor the place to talk about availability or backup.
Governor Granholm’s opening remarks in the morning were very much a cheerleading effort for Michigan’s unemployed engineers and manufacturing labor force. She made many good points about what the state brings to the alternative energy table.
