Chicago Tribune reporter Julie Wernau got this blogz attention with the title of her article, “Putting wind-generated power where it’s needed.” Her article focuses upon 2 critical elements: 1) putting turbines where wind energy is suitable and 2) building wind farms that are capable of linking to the grid.

Mapping U.S. Wind Energy
A new NREL study offers great new maps of wind energy potential across the country, highlighting areas with key elements necessary for development: high wind speeds, access to transmission lines, and cheap land.”

“According to the American Wind Energy Association, a typical transmission line takes five years or more to be planned and built, while a renewable power plant can be constructed in less than a year.” Thus, to avoid the lengthy and costly process of building new lines companies opt to harness wind power closer to existing transmission lines, observes Wernau. Such locations usually are near urban areas, which is why experts recommend expansion and upgrade of portions of the Illinois grid, to better integrate and move alternative power east through Illinois.

“Illinois is the crossroads. Historically, whether it’s rails, shipping, travel, O’Hare airport, it’s a geographical midpoint, or hub, positioned for all things moving west to east,” said Thomas O’Neill, chief operating officer at Chicago-based Exelon Transmission Co., a unit of Exelon Corp.

But while regulators are paving the way for wind-farm development with tax credits and loosened regulations, the key challenge facing those developers is that existing transmission lines, substations and transformers are inadequate to handle the amount of energy expected to come from wind farms in various stages of development across the country. There’s already a waiting list for wind-farm developers who want to hook into the existing grid.

The stimulus of better transmissions certainly is important, and yet the push, if you want to save the future, that is, should occur where there is the greatest dependency upon coal-fired plants. Of course, such policy contravenes the dirty acts of the ear-tagged.

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