News
Study pinpoints potential wind-power sites
The persistent wind in Montana and Wyoming may eventually do more than just blow off hats and stir up dust.
By MIKE STARK
Gazette Wyoming Bureau
The federal government says both states are good candidates for wind energy development on public lands, including near Billings, Missoula, Great Falls and in southern Wyoming near Rawlins and Rock Springs.
In a new report, http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy03osti/33530.pdf the Interior Department identifies 65 areas in 11 Western states under the Bureau of Land Management’s jurisdiction that have potential for renewable energy development, including wind power and solar, geothermal and "biomass" power, based on consumption of plants and trees.
"Eventually we’re going to run out of oil; that’s not a doomsday thing, but someday it’s going to happen," said Mike Kirby, associate director of the BLM’s National Science and Technology Center in Denver.
Bush’s energy plan
Although oil and gas development is a critical part of the Bush administration’s National Energy Plan, the development of renewable energy sources also plays a role.
"We’re trying to move from the non-renewables and reduce our dependence on imported oil. If we can do that through wind or solar and eventually biomass, it’s a security thing," Kirby said.
There is widespread potential for a mix of renewable development on public lands in California and throughout the Southwest, especially because of developed infrastructure, such as transmission lines, and incentive programs.
In Montana and Wyoming, the wind may be the biggest renewable asset.
The report says there are six BLM areas in Montana and six in Wyoming with high potential for wind power development.
In order to qualify, each area had to have steady wind and be within 50 miles of a road and 25 miles of a transmission line. Kirby said some might be surprised that only a few spots meet those requirements.
"It only seems like it’s blowing all the time," Kirby said. "In some areas, the wind blows like mad in the spring and fall, is dead calm in the summer and intermittent in the winter. Unless you can keep the blades turning regularly, there’s no money in it."
Remote locations
The remoteness of many locations is also a problem. Building new transmission lines can cost as much as $1 million a mile, which can be too much for an out-of-the-way wind project.
"If you’re 50 or 75 miles away from the market, you’ve got no market because you can’t afford to build the interconnect," Kirby said.
Still, with wind power as the fastest-growing renewable energy source in the country, companies are likely to use the Interior report to hunt for new investments.
"The report is about potential," said Gary Schmitz, spokesman for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., which helped write the study. "It provides maps that really show where the opportunities are. How those opportunities play out is anyone’s guess."
Solar development continues to be relatively expensive — about 20 to 25 cents per kilowatt hour to produce — while wind is around 3 to 4 cents, making it competitive with natural gas and even coal in some parts.
Biomass, the process of converting plants and other materials into ethanol or electricity, is also coming on strong with rapidly developing technology.
There may be an opportunity for a biomass operation in Western Montana as the Bush administration’s Healthy Forest Initiative looks at reducing forest fuels that can lead to large wildfires.
"Our number one renewable energy is biomass," said Rebecca Watson, Interior’s assistant secretary for land and minerals management. "I’m excited about how we can tie biomass into the Healthy Forest Initiative."
Scientists are still examining whether old, dead trees and thick undergrowth — often items of little commercial use that are burned in a slash pile — can actually produce usable power such as ethanol or electricity.
"It may be a source if there’s a need and a demand," said Schmitz, who said his lab has been conducting biomass experiments on forest material. "The technology is a ways off, but it shows promise."
Beyond technological hurdles, Watson said, developing renewable energy sources on federal land could be hampered by slow permitting processes or certain regulations. The new report may lead to a re-examination of those rules and a better system of identifying where developments can happen on BLM land.
Peter Morton, a resource economist with the Wilderness Society’s office in Denver, questioned why so much emphasis was being placed on developing federal land.
Although wind, solar and other renewables are friendly to the environment on their own, harnessing that energy still requires roads, transmission lines and other infrastructure.
"This is a good first step about where the resources are but I also think we need to take this slow until we understand all of the impacts on public lands," Morton said.
Wading too quickly into development on BLM land could lead to problems like those the BLM encountered with coalbed methane in Wyoming, where the agency was chastised by a judges’ panel for not understanding all the environmental impacts before issuing permits, Morton said.
He’d like to see more effort in placing renewable energy projects on private lands, particularly farms and ranches, so that landowners can see a financial benefit.
"There are a lot of private property owners who would love to have that kind of development," Morton said.
But Watson said federal lands could play an important part in diversifying domestic energy supplies.
"We have to address our domestic security and domestic economy and I think a diverse supply is part of that," Watson said. "Whether we’re going to move away from fossil fuels in the next 50 years, that’s hard for me to predict."
Full report available at: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy03osti/33530.pdf
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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