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Project Costs and Financing
Wind Project Costs
Here we will address perhaps the biggest question of all: How much does all of this really cost? The following lists should provide a good sampling of actual costs. You can use these numbers as examples when doing initial financial projections and calculations, but plan to obtain estimates that are more specific to your project as soon as possible.
Turbine and Tower Costs
The largest expense in any wind energy project is going to be the wind turbine hardware itself. We have surveyed prices of wind turbine models that are in wide use. There are many other turbines to choose from; these are merely examples. You can find out more about available turbines and prices by contacting manufacturers and consulting their websites. For a list of large wind turbine manufacturers, see the AWEA's online membership directory: www.awea.org/directory. Also, please note that these prices are accurate as of July 2003, but will almost certainly change over time.
Sample Turbine Pricing
(Prices are from July 2003; these will change. Do not expect to get these exact prices.)
- Bergey 10 kW with 23 foot rotor - $30,700. Includes guyed lattice tower and electronics to connect to grid, but not installation.
- Jacobs 20 kW with 29 foot rotor and 100 foot lattice freestanding tower - $30,500. Includes electronics to tie to grid, but installation costs are separate.
- Remanufactured E-15, 39 kW (15 meter rotor diameter) and 80 foot lattice tower - $68,000 installed with everything needed to operate as a grid-connected machine.
- NEG Micon/Vestas 900 kW with 52 meter rotor - $925,000 (at current exchange rate with Danish Kroner). Includes 72 meter tower and installation costs.
Interconnection Costs
Small Wind Turbine.
The costs to interconnect are very hard to typify. The turbines that can interconnect at the farm using a larger transformer provided by the utility might cost a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars to interconnect. This work would be quoted and done by your Residential Energy Supplier, the company that sends you your electric bill.
Large Wind Turbine Project.
For larger projects that require interconnecting a distribution or transmission level power line nearby, the costs can vary widely. It is imperative to research the interconnection process early in the planning phases because the costs can be prohibitive for a project. Three phase lines are required for large generators, but you cannot assume that any three-phase line can carry the power from your turbines. You may incur significant unanticipated costs if the power line near your site does not have the capacity to handle more electricity. In other words, you need to check whether nearby power lines are "full."
Transmission lines are notoriously expensive to build and difficult to site. If the electricity from your wind turbine(s) needs to be transported on wires to reach an appropriate power line, the cost will be $40,000-$60,000 per mile for the feeder line. This feeder line is at a higher voltage than what the generator creates-often the voltage of the distribution line (12 kV, 24 kV, and 34.5 kV are typical figures). This requires a step-up transformer at the base of the wind turbine. The transformer costs in the $10,000-$15,000 range for a 1MW size turbine. At the point the electricity is transferred from your ownership to the utilities (the interconnect point), you will be responsible for paying for all the equipment needed to make that a safe and stable interconnect. This equipment might include one or all of the following:
- Switches that can disconnect your project
- Breakers to protect the power system should you have a fault
- Metering to tell the utility how much you have generated and added to their system
- Various other electrical structures/devices.
The utility will tell you all the equipment that is required when they study the interconnection of your system. (ComEd publishes a "Blue Book": Guidelines for Interconnection of Generation to the ComEd System, which is available from them for $50.) This interconnection equipment cost could range from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The only sure way to determine the cost is to request an interconnection with the utility and have them tell you, via an interconnection study. Interconnection studies themselves cost money, often $5,000-$10,000 for projects in the 1 MW range. For example, the utility might advise you to put in a "dual line feed" to avoid them curtailing your turbine for those few days a year they need to do line maintenance. The dual line is a second, redundant line that allows your project to generate power even if the first is taken out of service. Evaluating the cost effectiveness of a dual line feed will be part of your economic analysis.
Installation Costs
Installation costs are all the expenses required to get your turbine up and running once it arrives. Often you will hire a company experienced in erecting and connecting wind turbines to the grid. This company can provide you a cost estimate for your project. The contractor will give one price for all the installation, roads, electrical, insurance, etc. This figure ranges from $300,000 to $500,000 for a 1 MW size turbine.
The following are the main items they will quote:
- Access road - If required, it is typically a 15 feet wide gravel road at grade. Budget $25 per foot, plus additional money for road turnouts, culverts, and a crane pad. These costs could add up to $10,000 or more.
- Foundation - This cost depends on the height of your tower and weight of the generator assembly and rotor, plus the soil conditions at your site. A 1 MW turbine foundation is very large; it will need eight to ten truckloads of concrete, with costs ranging from $40,000 to $120,000. As previously mentioned, a contractor often will give an inclusive price for all the installation, roads, electrical, insurance etc. ($300,000 to $500,000 for a 1 MW turbine.)
- Wiring to Turbine Base - This includes installation of a pad mount transformer at the turbine base if required, underground wiring on the property, electric poles to carry the power to the utility line if required, and installation of all these components. The cost range is $20,000 to more than $200,000 should you require several miles of feeder line
- Turbine Erection - The major cost for erection is the rental of the crane. A 300-foot crane with the necessary 200-plus ton capacity can cost $80,000 or more for a simple one day erection. Should you have weather delays or other difficulties, the rental charge of the crane might add 10 percent per day to the costs. Note that turbine erection would be included inclusive installation costs ($300,000-$500,000 for a 1 MW turbine).
Turbine commissioning costs are usually included in the price the turbine manufacturer or dealer will charge when ordering the machine. They will send one or more people to oversee the "commissioning," which is the process of final wiring, setting parameters, and verifying that the turbine is operating safely and generating power as shown in the manufacturer's literature.
Important Information About Large Turbine Projects
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