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For over a century, our world has been powered primarily by carbon fuels. In recent years, concern about global warming and the harmful effects of fuel emissions has created new demand for clean and sustainable energy sources – like wind. In many areas around the globe, the energy market is also being driven by a dual new dynamic: deregulation and privatization. As more and more consumers choose who produces their power, the market for environmentally superior, or “green”, resources is forecast to expand at an even greater pace.
The burgeoning global demand for power is astounding. Over the next 25 years, the world’s growing energy needs will require the construction of more electrical generating capacity than was built in the previous 100 years. With carbon power combustion being the number one cause of increased atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global warming, this increased demand for new energy sources is fueling a growing concern over the well being of our planet.
In December 1997, at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto, Japan, 160 nations reached a first-ever agreement to limit emissions of greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide. Most industrialized nations committed to reducing average national emissions over the period of 2008 to 2012 to approximately five percent below 1990 levels.
To accomplish this multi-lateral commitment, many nations have turned to wind power. Today, more than 13,932 megawatts of wind energy are installed throughout the world, and are forecast to reach approximately 47,000 megawatts by the year 2004. With a cost of energy of approximately 3.5 – 4 cents per kilowatt hour and declining, wind is the least cost renewable, less expensive than coal, oil, nuclear, and most natural gas fired generation, and is becoming attractive to utilities and electric cooperatives.
Consumers, too, are showing their preference for clean power. In areas around the world where consumers can choose their electricity suppliers, a substantial percentage are opting to buy “green” electrons, even at a premium.
At Enron Wind, our people are committed to making wind power as economically viable as it is environmentally sound. Through our team’s ingenuity and resolve we deliver cost-effective and reliable wind power today and diligently work to ensure its place in the world’s energy portfolio.
Our Planet:
"Regional and global climate changes are expected to have wide-ranging and potentially adverse effects on physical and ecological systems, human health, and socioeconomic sectors. These will affect the economy and the quality of life for this and future generations. The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate." – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Second Assessment Report, 1996.
Since the industrial revolution, the earth’s atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen from an estimated 280 parts per million to 362 parts per million — the highest levels experienced in 160,000 years. Current estimates are that carbon dioxide emissions could grow 50 percent by 2010.
Today, approximately 1.4 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated in the U.S.
The addition of a single 1.5 MW wind turbine generator, capable of producing approximately 4 million kilowatt-hours each year, would eliminate 5.6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
"New wind power projects have now reached economic parity with new coal-based power plants. And as the technology continues to improve, further cost declines are projected, which could make wind power the most economical source of electricity in many countries." – Christopher Flavin, Worldwatch Institute Vital Signs 1999.
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