Wind power in Pennsylvania
There are several wind power projects operating in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and several future wind farms planned or under construction. The most productive wind energy regions generally fall in mountain or coastal terrains. The northern portion of the Appalachian chain, including most of Southwestern Pennsylvania, is one of the areas with the highest potential for wind energy in the Eastern United States. The mountain ridges of central and northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Poconos in the eastern part of the state, offer some of the best wind resources in the region.[1]
If all the wind energy potential was developed in Pennsylvania with utility-scale wind turbines, the power produced each year would equal 38,000,000 megawatt-hours - or 30% of the entire state's electricity consumption.[2] As of 2010, Pennsylvania ranks 15th in the nation in the production of wind power.[3] The 16 wind projects currently operating in Pennsylvania have an installed capacity of 748.23 MW and generate nearly 2,000,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity each year. That's enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.[4]
In 2006, Pennsylvania's legislature ruled that wind turbines and related equipment may not be included in property-tax assessments. Instead, the sites of wind facilities are assessed for their income-capitalization value.[3]
In 2007, Montgomery County became the first wind-powered county in the nation, with a two-year commitment to buy 100 percent of its electricity from a combination of wind energy and renewable energy credits derived from wind energy.[3]
In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored Swarthmore, Pennsylvania as a Green Power Community, — the only one in the Eastern United States, for its commitment to buy clean energy generated from wind turbines in mountainous region of western Pennsylvania.[5]
Many smaller wind farms in Pennsylvania are operated by NextEra Energy Resources, based in Florida.[6]
Contents |
[edit] Wind farms
| Name | Turbines | Capacity (MW) |
Power (MW·hr/yr) |
Location (county) |
Year Operational |
Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm | 40 | 80 | 210,240[4] | Blair and Cambria |
2007 | Operational |
| Armenia Mountain Wind Farm | 67 | 101 | unknown | Tioga and Bradford |
2010[7] | Operational |
| Bear Creek Wind Power Project | 12 | 24 | 70,000[8] | Luzerne | 2006 | Operational |
| Broad Mountain Wind Energy Center | 35 | 70 | unknown | Schuylkill | 2011 | Planned |
| Casselman Wind Power Project | 23 | 34.5 | 90,666[4] | Somerset | 2007 | Operational |
| Chestnut Flats Wind Farm | 19 | 38 | unknown | Blair and Cambria |
2010 | Planned |
| South Chestnut Wind Project | 23 | 46 | unknown | Fayette | 2010 | Planned |
| Forward Wind Project | 14 | 29.4 | 77,263[4] | Somerset | 2008 | Operational |
| Green Mountain Wind Energy Center | 8 | 10.4 | 27,331[4] | Somerset | 2000 | Operational |
| Highland Wind Project | 25 | 62.5 | unknown | Cambria | 2009 | Operational |
| Laurel Hill Wind Energy Project | 35 | 70.5[9] | unknown | Lycoming | 2011 | Planned |
| Locust Ridge I | 13 | 26 | 68,328[10] | Schuylkill | 2004 | Operational |
| Locust Ridge II | 51 | 102 | 268,056[4][11] | Columbia and Schuylkill |
2008 | Operational |
| Lookout Wind Project | 18 | 37.8 | 99,338[4] | Somerset | 2008 | Operational |
| Meyersdale Wind Power Project | 20 | 30 | 78,840[4] | Somerset | 2003 | Operational |
| Mill Run Wind Energy Center | 10 | 15 | 39,420[4] | Fayette | 2001 | Operational |
| North Allegheny Wind Farm | 35 | 70[12] | unknown | Blair and Cambria |
2009 | Operational |
| Rausch Creek Wind Farm | 50-60[13] | 100-120 | unknown | Schuylkill | 2012 | Planned |
| Stonycreek Wind Farm | 35 | 52.5[14] | unknown | Somerset | 2009 | Operational |
| Somerset Wind Farm | 6 | 9 | 23,652[4] | Somerset | 2001 | Operational |
| Waymart Wind Farm | 43 | 64.5 | 169,506[4][15] | Wayne | 2003 | Operational |
[edit] Location map
Operating
Under construction
Proposed
Canceled or decommissioned[edit] Installed capacity and wind resources
The following table compares the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW for Pennsylvania and the entire United States since 1999.[14]
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On February 11, 2010, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory released the first comprehensive update of the wind energy potential by state since 1993, showing that Pennsylvania had potential to install up to about 4,000 MW of onshore wind power nameplate capacity, which would generate enough clean power annually to meet the energy needs of 1,168,000 homes.[16][17]
[edit] See also
- Climate of Pennsylvania
- List of power stations in Pennsylvania
- List of wind farms in the United States
- List of wind turbine manufacturers
- Renewable energy industry
- Renewable energy in the United States
- Renewable energy law in Pennsylvania
- Wind power in the United States
[edit] References
- ^ A new crop takes root accessed March 1, 2010.
- ^ Pennsylvania's Potential for Wind Development Pennsylvania Wind Working Group, accessed March 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c Pennsylvania profile Natural Resources Defense Council, accessed March 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wind farms in Pennsylvania Penn Futures: Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, accessed March 3, 2010.
- ^ Town in Pennsylvania Catches Wind of Clean Energy Future April 7, 2009. Accessed March 2, 2010.
- ^ Wind Farms in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Wind Working Group, accessed March 1, 2010.
- ^ AES Wind Generation Announces Commercial Operation of Armenia Mountain Wind Farm, U.S. AES press release, January 4, 2010. Accessed March 6, 2010.
- ^ Wind Farms in Pennsylvania accessed March 2, 2010.
- ^ Wind Energy Facility, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Duke Energy, accessed March 31, 2010.
- ^ Locust Ridge Wind Farm in Pennsylvania accessed March 1, 2010.
- ^ 51 windmills will top local mountain; Massive project to stretch 10 miles March 23, 2008. Accessed March 1, 2010.
- ^ Duke Energy steps up US wind farm development July 6, 2009. Accessed March 30, 2010.
- ^ Residents, company talk wind turbine plans for Rausch Creek Pottsville Republican & Herald, December 16, 2009. Accessed March 26, 2010.
- ^ a b U.S Wind Energy Projects, Pennsylvania American Wind Energy Association, December 31, 2009. Accessed March 30, 2010.
- ^ Waymart Wind Farm Safeway Wind Energy, accessed March 1, 2010.
- ^ "Estimates of Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential by State for Areas >= 30% Capacity Factor at 80m" (XLS). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 2010-02-04. http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/filter_detail.asp?itemid=2542. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Wind Activities". National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 2010-02-19. http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/astate_template.asp?stateab=pa. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wind power in Pennsylvania |
- Pennsylvania Wind Working Group
- PA Wind Map, regional non-profit organization that promotes responsible energy use in homes and other buildings throughout Pennsylvania.
- Penn Future: Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future profile on Wind farms in Pennsylvania.
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