Wind power: the energy for future
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Anup Chowdhury
The biggest challenge to the existence of human civilization and progress is uninterrupted supply of energy. So far, the guaranteed and cheap source of this energy was oil and unfortunately, in every other day we are losing it. Billionaire oilman, T. Boone Pickens says: "The simple truth is that cheap and easy oil is gone. This is one emergency we can't drill our way out of." In 2009, the US bought nearly $700 billion worth of oil, which is four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. The tale was different even in 70's, the US had imported 24 per cent oil of their need, and however the figure is now 70 per cent. Although, US represents a mere 4 per cent of the world's population but is using nearly 25 per cent of global oil. The CEO of Total SA confessed that the world can't increase oil output beyond the current levels. The Wall Street Journal reports that output from the world's existing oil fields is dropping about 4.5 per cent per year and by up to 18 per cent per year at some of the biggest oil fields in the North Sea, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico. The population boom of China and India has created huge demand and put an even bigger twist on this ever-diminishing supply. The fear has been further raised when The Economist says that "Plans of the fossil-fuel economy are now being laid." In this circumstance, we are in need of both feasible and profitable alternative sources of energy because we are worried about escalating prices of oil that might affect our economy and our way of life. Wind is one of the best alternative sources for energy and generating electricity.
If we look back we can see humans have been using wind power for at least 5,500 years to sail boats and ships, and architects have used wind-driven natural ventilation in buildings since ancient times. Windmills have been used for running irrigation pumps and milling grains since the 7th century AD. The modern wind power industry began in 1979 with the serial production of wind turbines by Danish manufacturers Kuriant, Vestas, Nordtank, and Bonus. These early turbines were small by today's standards, with capacities of 20-30 KW (Kilowatts) each. Since then, they have increased greatly in size, while wind turbine production has expanded to many countries. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 121.2 Gigawatts (GW), which is about 1.5 per cent of worldwide electricity usage; and is growing rapidly, having doubled in the three years between 2005 and 2008. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 19 per cent of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 13 per cent in Spain and Portugal, and 7 per cent in Germany and the Republic of Ireland in 2008. As of May 2009, eighty countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
Massive technological improvement and more efficient designs turn wind energy as a solution for America's energy crisis that reached an urgent breaking point. Wind is now a viable and profitable way to wean Americans off foreign oil. It is possible if only 20 per cent of available wind can be harvested, reported by the researchers of Stanford University.
Wind energy is flourishing because big companies can now turn a huge profit. It is environment friendly and socially responsible. Weekly, The Economist refers that companies getting involved in wind energy projects because they think they will make huge profit. Since the 1990s, the cost of generating electricity from wind has dropped 80 per cent and it continues to become more cost efficient every day. So wind energy is now a feasible profit generating industry growing at a breakneck 30 per cent per year. Expert forecast that over the next 5 years that number will soar to 50 per cent per year which will generate some $300 billion in revenue. Goldman Sachs, British Petroleum, The Blackstone Group, Shell and TXU Energy, JP Morgan's energy unit are the name of the big investors who had already invested or going to invest on wind energy.
Wind-energy experts of the world have given the statement that China's wind market has grown at an incredible rate per year and China is making significant progress in that sector. If we see the quarterly reports of the companies like Chinese wind-energy play then we see that they are doing very well in the recent years. Chinese government recently earmarked a huge amount of investment in the countries medium voltage electricity network which is a part of its 5-year plan.
Indian businessman Tulsi Tanti has built one of the world's largest wind turbine companies in an incredibly short amount of time. Now that he has bought a German company, however, his popularity may be on the wane. Hundreds of white towers already protrude from the barren landscape of the Maharashtra Plateau. The wind firm now produces 640 megawatts of electricity, and it will produce 1,100 megawatts, once the construction is complete which is equivalent of one nuclear power plant. It is the fulfillment of Tulsi Tanti's dream, a dream he has turned into reality in the short space of 13 years. As dreams go, Tanti's is a big one. Suzlon Energy, the company he founded in 1995, is already the world's fifth-largest wind turbine manufacture, and Tanti himself, who is worth $3 billion, is one of the richest men.
About the prospect of wind energy in Bangladesh Md. Fazlur Rahman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission says in an article published in a journal of Renewable Energy, "Wind speed has been measured in Patenga, Cox's Bazar, Kuakata, Moheshkhali, and Noakhali by the computerized anemometers. The wind computers have been installed at 20 meters height. According to this study annual average wind speeds in the coastal regions of Bangladesh are greater than 6.5 miles/seconds at the height of 20 meters. It has been observed that during day times (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.) wind speeds are about 30 to 40 per cent higher than the average values. At 40 meters height the annual average wind speed is about 7.15 m/s. So, wind speeds in the coastal regions of Bangladesh are suitable for both water pumping and electricity generation. Details are given in this paper with graphical and analytical representations".
Mohammad Golam Kibria Khan, Talha Rahman and M.M. Alam of the BUET reported in a study that "Bangladesh being a tropical country does have a lot of wind flow at different seasons of the year. However, there are some windy locations in which wind energy projects could be feasible. Though some of the wind turbines are installed for pumping purpose, it is not enough compared to our total available wind energy resource in Bangladesh." They also have reported that from May to August wind speed is higher, so wind generated electricity and wind pumps can provide irrigation facilities during the period. The highest average annual value (4.54 m/sec) was observed in Kuakata and the lowest value (2.96m/s) was observed in Teknaf and these wind speed is good enough to produce electricity in Saint Martin's Island. From the analysis of wind resource assessment it is found that 300-600 watt capacities Wind Electric Generators (WEGs) are preferable and windmill for water pumping are prospective for that site. During the driest season, there is a very strong flow of North West direction wind and this is the season for paddy cultivation in Bangladesh, so during this period wind pumps provide irrigation facilities. Wind driven pumps can play a significant role in supplying water for irrigation and drinking in rural Bangladesh.
As far as electricity is concerned the demand is significantly higher than supply in Bangladesh. Entire Bangladesh including its capital Dhaka is experiencing nagging electricity outages as the country's Power Development Board (PDB) seems unable to meet the demand for power during the peak summer season. The demand goes up to its highest level, usually from mid-March to mid-October because of hot weather as well as huge need for irrigation by farmers. Electricity shortage during summer season would range between 1, 300 megawatt (MW) and 1,500 MW even if the PDB could maintain 3, 700-4,000 MW generation against the demand for 5,500 MW. According to control room of Bangladesh's Power Ministry, the country is currently generating more than 3,300 megawatt electricity on an average against the demand for more than 4,500 megawatt.
The power ministry official said the PDB's average highest generation capacity during peak hours of last summer was about 3,700 MW against demand for nearly 5,000 MW. At present, he said Dhaka is being provided with 1,185 MW of electricity against a demand for about 1,800 MW, causing much suffering to the city dwellers throughout the day and night. The demand will rise to around 2,100 MW when the peak summer time arrives, he added.
In such circumstances the government is trying to establish new power plants in different possible locations. However, the major question remains about the supply of gas or coal to the production plant. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has talked about nuclear power plant, which might be able to fulfill the entire demand for power supply in our country. But then again it needs cooperation of neighboring countries and which will take time. So there is no quick fix for this crisis. However, the government could think of wind energy as an alternative source of power for the future and I believe the concern department will take next step in this regard.
The writer is senior lecturer, BRAC Business School. He can be reached at email: anup@bracu.ac.bd
The biggest challenge to the existence of human civilization and progress is uninterrupted supply of energy. So far, the guaranteed and cheap source of this energy was oil and unfortunately, in every other day we are losing it. Billionaire oilman, T. Boone Pickens says: "The simple truth is that cheap and easy oil is gone. This is one emergency we can't drill our way out of." In 2009, the US bought nearly $700 billion worth of oil, which is four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. The tale was different even in 70's, the US had imported 24 per cent oil of their need, and however the figure is now 70 per cent. Although, US represents a mere 4 per cent of the world's population but is using nearly 25 per cent of global oil. The CEO of Total SA confessed that the world can't increase oil output beyond the current levels. The Wall Street Journal reports that output from the world's existing oil fields is dropping about 4.5 per cent per year and by up to 18 per cent per year at some of the biggest oil fields in the North Sea, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico. The population boom of China and India has created huge demand and put an even bigger twist on this ever-diminishing supply. The fear has been further raised when The Economist says that "Plans of the fossil-fuel economy are now being laid." In this circumstance, we are in need of both feasible and profitable alternative sources of energy because we are worried about escalating prices of oil that might affect our economy and our way of life. Wind is one of the best alternative sources for energy and generating electricity.
If we look back we can see humans have been using wind power for at least 5,500 years to sail boats and ships, and architects have used wind-driven natural ventilation in buildings since ancient times. Windmills have been used for running irrigation pumps and milling grains since the 7th century AD. The modern wind power industry began in 1979 with the serial production of wind turbines by Danish manufacturers Kuriant, Vestas, Nordtank, and Bonus. These early turbines were small by today's standards, with capacities of 20-30 KW (Kilowatts) each. Since then, they have increased greatly in size, while wind turbine production has expanded to many countries. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 121.2 Gigawatts (GW), which is about 1.5 per cent of worldwide electricity usage; and is growing rapidly, having doubled in the three years between 2005 and 2008. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 19 per cent of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 13 per cent in Spain and Portugal, and 7 per cent in Germany and the Republic of Ireland in 2008. As of May 2009, eighty countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
Massive technological improvement and more efficient designs turn wind energy as a solution for America's energy crisis that reached an urgent breaking point. Wind is now a viable and profitable way to wean Americans off foreign oil. It is possible if only 20 per cent of available wind can be harvested, reported by the researchers of Stanford University.
Wind energy is flourishing because big companies can now turn a huge profit. It is environment friendly and socially responsible. Weekly, The Economist refers that companies getting involved in wind energy projects because they think they will make huge profit. Since the 1990s, the cost of generating electricity from wind has dropped 80 per cent and it continues to become more cost efficient every day. So wind energy is now a feasible profit generating industry growing at a breakneck 30 per cent per year. Expert forecast that over the next 5 years that number will soar to 50 per cent per year which will generate some $300 billion in revenue. Goldman Sachs, British Petroleum, The Blackstone Group, Shell and TXU Energy, JP Morgan's energy unit are the name of the big investors who had already invested or going to invest on wind energy.
Wind-energy experts of the world have given the statement that China's wind market has grown at an incredible rate per year and China is making significant progress in that sector. If we see the quarterly reports of the companies like Chinese wind-energy play then we see that they are doing very well in the recent years. Chinese government recently earmarked a huge amount of investment in the countries medium voltage electricity network which is a part of its 5-year plan.
Indian businessman Tulsi Tanti has built one of the world's largest wind turbine companies in an incredibly short amount of time. Now that he has bought a German company, however, his popularity may be on the wane. Hundreds of white towers already protrude from the barren landscape of the Maharashtra Plateau. The wind firm now produces 640 megawatts of electricity, and it will produce 1,100 megawatts, once the construction is complete which is equivalent of one nuclear power plant. It is the fulfillment of Tulsi Tanti's dream, a dream he has turned into reality in the short space of 13 years. As dreams go, Tanti's is a big one. Suzlon Energy, the company he founded in 1995, is already the world's fifth-largest wind turbine manufacture, and Tanti himself, who is worth $3 billion, is one of the richest men.
About the prospect of wind energy in Bangladesh Md. Fazlur Rahman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission says in an article published in a journal of Renewable Energy, "Wind speed has been measured in Patenga, Cox's Bazar, Kuakata, Moheshkhali, and Noakhali by the computerized anemometers. The wind computers have been installed at 20 meters height. According to this study annual average wind speeds in the coastal regions of Bangladesh are greater than 6.5 miles/seconds at the height of 20 meters. It has been observed that during day times (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.) wind speeds are about 30 to 40 per cent higher than the average values. At 40 meters height the annual average wind speed is about 7.15 m/s. So, wind speeds in the coastal regions of Bangladesh are suitable for both water pumping and electricity generation. Details are given in this paper with graphical and analytical representations".
Mohammad Golam Kibria Khan, Talha Rahman and M.M. Alam of the BUET reported in a study that "Bangladesh being a tropical country does have a lot of wind flow at different seasons of the year. However, there are some windy locations in which wind energy projects could be feasible. Though some of the wind turbines are installed for pumping purpose, it is not enough compared to our total available wind energy resource in Bangladesh." They also have reported that from May to August wind speed is higher, so wind generated electricity and wind pumps can provide irrigation facilities during the period. The highest average annual value (4.54 m/sec) was observed in Kuakata and the lowest value (2.96m/s) was observed in Teknaf and these wind speed is good enough to produce electricity in Saint Martin's Island. From the analysis of wind resource assessment it is found that 300-600 watt capacities Wind Electric Generators (WEGs) are preferable and windmill for water pumping are prospective for that site. During the driest season, there is a very strong flow of North West direction wind and this is the season for paddy cultivation in Bangladesh, so during this period wind pumps provide irrigation facilities. Wind driven pumps can play a significant role in supplying water for irrigation and drinking in rural Bangladesh.
As far as electricity is concerned the demand is significantly higher than supply in Bangladesh. Entire Bangladesh including its capital Dhaka is experiencing nagging electricity outages as the country's Power Development Board (PDB) seems unable to meet the demand for power during the peak summer season. The demand goes up to its highest level, usually from mid-March to mid-October because of hot weather as well as huge need for irrigation by farmers. Electricity shortage during summer season would range between 1, 300 megawatt (MW) and 1,500 MW even if the PDB could maintain 3, 700-4,000 MW generation against the demand for 5,500 MW. According to control room of Bangladesh's Power Ministry, the country is currently generating more than 3,300 megawatt electricity on an average against the demand for more than 4,500 megawatt.
The power ministry official said the PDB's average highest generation capacity during peak hours of last summer was about 3,700 MW against demand for nearly 5,000 MW. At present, he said Dhaka is being provided with 1,185 MW of electricity against a demand for about 1,800 MW, causing much suffering to the city dwellers throughout the day and night. The demand will rise to around 2,100 MW when the peak summer time arrives, he added.
In such circumstances the government is trying to establish new power plants in different possible locations. However, the major question remains about the supply of gas or coal to the production plant. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has talked about nuclear power plant, which might be able to fulfill the entire demand for power supply in our country. But then again it needs cooperation of neighboring countries and which will take time. So there is no quick fix for this crisis. However, the government could think of wind energy as an alternative source of power for the future and I believe the concern department will take next step in this regard.
The writer is senior lecturer, BRAC Business School. He can be reached at email: anup@bracu.ac.bd