This response to the Dti’s consultation has been prepared by Hugh Sharman of Incoteco (Denmark) ApS, and The Renewable Energy Foundation, working in collaboration.

Hugh Sharman is an energy consultant, based in Denmark. Most of Incoteco’s work is done for and with large energy companies seeking innovative environmental solutions to practical problems. An example is its leading role in the formulation and development of the “CO2 for EOR in the North Sea” (CENS) project during 2001. During 2004, Incoteco (Denmark) ApS completed a wind-energy related study for the Danish Energy Agency that was also supported by a number of important Scandinavian energy companies. Its purpose was to find more effective uses for the large wind power surplus that is generated in West Denmark.

The Renewable Energy Foundation is a newly created foundation which has arisen from widespread and growing public concern that the current renewables energy policy is in itself unbalanced, and causing subsequent imbalances in the rest of the energy sector. REF encourages the development of renewable energy and energy conservation whilst safeguarding the landscapes of the United Kingdom from unsustainable industrialisation. In pursuit of this goal, REF highlights the need for an overall energy policy that is balanced, ecologically sensitive and effective.

The aim is to show that the fuel economy and emissions reduction in the power systems consisting mainly of thermal power plants are not proportional with the electricity production of wind turbines. Participation of thermal power plants in the compensation of fluctuating production of windmills eliminates major part of the expected positive effect of wind energy. A method for calculation of real fuel economy and emissions reduction is described and a calculation example basing on Estonian and Danish data is given.

Editor's Note: A worthwhile read in its entirely (attached pdf file). Selected extracts appear below.

The support of renewable energy sources (RES) is one of the key issues in European energy policy. In order to cope with this challenge, European Transmission System Operators launched a European wide grid study on the integration of wind power, focusing on measures needed to be taken by legislators, regulators, grid operators and grid users, aiming at establishing a harmonised set of rules for the integration of wind power. This set of rules is vital for the secure and reliable operation of the electricity networks in presence of variable generation. The scope of work covers all the technical, operational and market aspects related to the integration of large scale wind power all over Europe. Attention will be later focused on system interaction of various wind turbines types, the effects of their variable power output on the system and their ability to provide system service to enable the stable operation of an electricity grid. The final objective is to obtain the necessary information for the technical and operational measures for risk mitigation and the secure operation of the European electricity grid identified by the steady-state and dynamic investigations on electricity grid models which are established within the study. For this, market and regulatory aspects will be taken into consideration.

This letter (in French) written by former French President Valery Giscard contends that industrial wind energy in France is (1) due only to powerful lobbies, (2)creates no employment in France and (3) produces a small amount of electricity that is not competitive today and will not be competitive in the future. (An English translation is in-progress)

"The Scottish Wind Assessment Project is an ongoing programme of research which seeks to collate existing studies and commission new research to promote a thorough investigation of the claims made for and against the use of wind-generated energy."

In this thesis the meteorological effects of a large-scale (9000 km2) offshore wind farm in the North Sea were simulated using the MM5 mesoscale model. The wind farm was simulated by introducing a higher roughness length (0.5 m) in the area of the wind farm. The meteorological effects were examined by comparing model runs with and without wind farm. Turbulent kinetic energy, cloud formation, precipitation and wind speed reduction were studied. Two case studies with westerly flows were performed. The first case study begins at 00 UTC July 1st 2001 and ends at 18 UTC July 3rd 2001. The second is from 00 UTC October 2nd 1999 to 18 UTC October 4th 1999.

This study by the Irish grid manager finds that the benefits of wind-generated power are small and that they decrease as more wind power is added to the system and as the system grows itself. Their model assumes that all energy produced from wind facilities would be used and did not consider output fluctuations within a time period of less than an hour.

They decribe three problems that mitigate the benefits of wind power:

-large amount of extra energy required to start up thermal generators that would otherwise not have been turned off

-mechanical stresses of more frequent ramping of production levels up and down

-increased prices of energy necessary to pay for any lower usage of thermal plants.

They notice that there is very little possibility of closig any non-wind facilities, because their capacity would still be needed to respond to periods of peak demand. Wind plants add more capacity (requiring more infrastructure) with almost no reduction on non-wind capacity, the latter of which must be used more inefficiently than otherwise.

As for carbon dioxide reduction-one of the primary arguments for wind-generated power- the study concludes that the cost of carbon dioxide abatement arising from using large levels of wind energy appears high relative to other alternatives.

This position paper examines the profile of wind power, its impact on the network, security of supply and the quality of the energy delivered. It further deals with the reasons to establish certain technical requirements for the connection of wind power generation to the network.
Editor's Note: This is a worthwhile read in its entirety (attached pdf file). Selected extracts appear below.

International Experience With Implementing Wind Energy examines the relative costs, advantages and disadvantages of wind generation. In addition, the report explores infrastructure issues, public attitudes toward wind development, and the various policy instruments used to support the development of wind energy in countries that are leaders in implementing wind energy.

This paper examines a number of issues associated with the introduction of increasing amounts of wind energy into the Irish electricity network. It draws upon international experience and, in particular, operational data from western Denmark, where wind produces 21% of total electricity consumption. Particular characteristics of the Irish network are identified and a mixture of empiricism and "first principles" analysis is used to derive estimates of the capacity credit of wind plant, the extra costs of operational reserve and the total extra costs of operating with increasing quantities of wind energy.

It is concluded that the total extra cost to the electricity consumer of installing enough wind to provide 10% of electricity consumption may be around €0.7/MWh, but much depends on timing (as wind costs are falling rapidly), and the mix between onshore and offshore wind. The need for market mechanisms to be cost-reflective and promote technical efficiency in electricity networks is emphasised, recognizing the advantages of integrated electricity systems. It is noted that this is not in conflict with the requirements for efficient assimilation of wind energy.