Is the cost of wind power competitive with conventional power plants?
New, utility-scale, wind projects are being built all around the United States today with energy costs ranging from 3.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (at very windy sites in Texas) to 5 cents or more (in the Pacific Northwest). These costs are competitive with the direct operating costs of many conventional forms of electricity generation now–and prices are expected to drop even further over the next 10 years. Since wind is an intermittent electricity generator and does not provide power on an “as needed” basis, it has to compare favorably with the costs saved on fuel from fossil generators. Can homeowners sell excess electricity to the utility? Under the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 (PURPA), any qualifying individual can install a wind generator and the local electric utility must pay for any excess power produced. PURPA was specifically intended to create a market for clean, renewable, electric-generating technologies by guaranteeing a buyer for the excess power. Prior t
