Wind in California
Wind Performance Report Summary 2000-2001
Publication Number: 500-02-034FRelease Date: December 2002 (on line 1/24/03)
The introduction of the report is available below. You can also open or download a copy of the entire report in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format. You will need the free Acrobat Reader software to read this PDF file. The software is available from Adobe Systems Incorporated's Website.
Additionally, spreadsheets of the tables in the report and appendices are being made available in Microsoft Excel.
If you would like to obtain a printed copy of this report, please contact the Commission's Publications Unit at 916-654-5200.
Wind Performance Report Summary, 2000-2001
(Adobe Acrobat PDF file, 69 pages, 1.8 megabytes - note file size!)
Excel Files of Appendices and Data Tables
Introduction
In 2000, California experienced one of the most devastating man-made storms in history. Dubbed the "perfect storm" of the West, the California energy crisis was a culmination of decisions by policy makers and actions by the electrical industry that predate the actual industry deregulation. The electricity market restructuring became the most visible culprit for California's blackouts and sky-high price hikes, which where aggravated by the shortage of natural gas capacity, rapid urban development, lack of new generation capacity, the unusually hot summer and cold winter, and the de-emphasis on energy efficiency programs.
California ratepayers are still dealing with the repercussions of an unstable and deficient market structure. To address these deficiencies, Governor Gray Davis has developed an energy plan and proposed numerous legislative bills to stabilize the market volatility and reduce risks in the future. Others are drawing upon the "lessons learned" and pushing for solutions to reshape the electricity sector.[1]
Throughout this report, we refer to the Commission's annual report as a summary of the operators reports, submitted to the Commission, as a performance reporting system of wind operators.
The outlook for California's electricity market, however, is not all gloom. California has had a strong track record in developing innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. By developing long-term grid reliability strategies and reinvesting in these strengths, California can more efficiently harness the renewable potential and provide protection from future energy crisis. In the past, innovative efficiency programs and standards have helped curb electricity demands and provided savings of over 10,000MW, one-fifth of California's peak demand.[2]
In fact, strong consumer education and energy efficiency programs are continuing to provide positive energy saving results. As demonstrated during the rolling blackouts, the Department of Consumer Affair's public awareness programs were key to reducing demand and preventing further blackouts. In addition, state sponsored renewable energy initiatives are helping to spur renewable energy growth and technology improvements. Including the Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, in conjunction with the federal government's Wind Powering America program and production tax credit (PTC) extensions.
California has one of the most diverse electricity supply systems in the nation, with an abundant mix of natural resources such as wind, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, and solar. California still leads the nation in wind generation capacity with over 60% of the installed wind capacity. As one of the most economical and fastest growing sources of utility scale power in the state, wind park operators are now looking for more advanced and reliable turbine technologies, sophisticated monitoring and resource management tools to help them optimize production.
New technologies have driven the cost of windgenerated electricity down to values now comparable to natural gas at about 5-centrs per kilowatt-hour. In the future, wind-generated electricity is predicted to play a major role in providing clean, fast, and affordable electricity. The detailed data provided by reports such as the WPRS are important for tracking growth and providing developers a prospective on industry performance, development trends and insight on future needs for the industry.
Footnotes
- California Energy Commission, California Energy Outlook: Volume I -- Electricity and Natural Gas Trends Report. STAFF DRAFT. Publication # 200-01-002, September 7, 2001.
- California Energy Commission, Public Funding for Energy Efficiency Programs in California: 1998 to 1999. Publication # 400-99-012.