Projects in the wind
Demand for turbines overwhelms makers, causes start-up delays
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A new wind turbine at the Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod was supposed to start cranking soon, generating enough electricity to save about $660,000 a year. But the $4.6 million turbine project - like many others in Massachusetts and elsewhere - is in limbo because key parts of the machine have yet to arrive.
"We are cleaning up the environment, but here we are using power generated by fossil fuel power plants, so we're actually polluting," said Rose Forbes, manager of the Otis project. "The longer it takes, the more energy we waste."
Blame a worldwide parts shortage. For all the talk about renewable energy and heated debates over the siting of wind turbines, the reality is the turbines can't be made fast enough to meet growing demand. As a result, projects are being delayed for up to two years. The problem is particularly acute in the United States, the world's fastest growing wind-power market.
"The market has grown a lot," said Ditlev Engel, chief executive of Vestas, based in Denmark. "That has obviously created some bottlenecks in the system."
In Massachusetts, project managers, developers, and electricians said the wait time won't lessen until manufacturers can increase production capacity, and that won't happen until there is more long-term investment in the industry. In the meantime, turbines are precious commodities.
"Everyone wants one worldwide," said Marty Aikens, a business agent at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103. The union's members often are responsible for installing the electrical systems used in a turbine.
The cost of a wind-power project can range from about $10,000 to hundred of millions, depending on the number and size of the turbines, but the savings on electricity can be significant. For instance, the 1.5 megawatt Otis turbine will generate 30 percent of the electricity needed to power pumps and other equipment for a groundwater cleanup project. It was expected to start spinning this fall; now that won't happen before July.
The delays in getting turbines online compound an already lengthy approval process for such projects, which often face complicated permitting procedures or legal action taken by those who consider them eyesores.
In the town of Princeton, where the municipal light department has run a wind farm since 1984, officials have been working for several years to get two new turbines to replace old machinery as part of a $7 million upgrade.
Jon Fitch, general manager of the Princeton Municipal Light Department, said he expected the turbines to be delivered this fall. Now, German manufacturer Fuhrlander predicts they will arrive in May.
Those involved in installing turbines say two issues have exacerbated the situation.
First, as people look to decrease dependence on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gasses, more governments, companies, and organizations are considering turbines. In Massachusetts, there are currently about 100 wind projects of more than 50 kilowatts planned, according to the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Second, a federal tax credit that pays a wind project owner about 2 cents for every kilowatt hour generated was set to expire this year, prompting some to try to complete projects quickly to qualify for the credit. The Wall Street bailout bill signed last week by President Bush included a one-year extension of the credit. Since its creation in 1992, the credit has been allowed to expire three times - though it was later extended - causing significant drop-offs in the number of projects, according to Tom Rumsey, communications manager for General Electric's power generation business.
"When you see that kind of boom or bust legislation, it's extremely difficult for businesses to invest," Rumsey said.
According to the American Wind Energy Association, a national trade association based in Washington, wind power is growing faster in the United States than in any other country. In 2007, more than 5,200 megawatts of wind power came online in the United States, nearly double the amount from the year before, said Kathy Belyeu, a spokeswoman for the organization. Those new turbines were expected to generate enough kilowatt hours to power about 1.5 million homes.
This year, the association expects more than 4,500 turbines to go up, with a combined capacity of at least 7,500 megawatts, enough to power about 2 million homes.
Massachusetts' top energy official expects recent state legislation to make wind power especially attractive here. But bringing more turbines online won't be easy - many pending projects are relatively small, which means they are not high on manufacturers' priority lists.
"The number of proposals in Massachusetts pending right now are some of the most difficult to get turbines for because they are only one or two turbines, and the wind companies are most focused on those people who they can sell a dozen turbines to," said Ian Bowles, the state's secretary of energy and environmental affairs.
Of the projects being monitored by the state - which include 282 turbines - only a handful have been built. The rest are in design and construction phases, looking for financing, or undergoing feasibility studies and site surveys. The state does not indicate whether projects have been stalled because of the parts shortage or zoning and permitting issues.
The largest proposed project, Cape Wind, would place 130 turbines off Cape Cod. Expected to cost upward of $1 billion, the project has been in the works for seven years and awaits federal approval.
Mark Rodgers, spokesman for Cape Wind Associates, said financing is still being worked out and the turbines have not been ordered.
"We certainly feel that an order of our magnitude - 130 large turbines - is going to put us in a good position with manufacturers relative to other projects," Rodgers said.
Despite the parts backlog, some planned turbines are coming online.
Kevin Schulte, cofounder of a New York-based wind development company Sustainable Energy Developments, was recently at Holy Name Central Catholic High School in Worcester for the delivery of two tower pieces that his company used to build a 600-kilowatt Vestas wind turbine that is now providing electricity at the school.
Schulte credited his company's ability to get turbines in a timely matter on its ability to work with manufacturers.
"We have to go out and create those relationships," he said. "So when we want a wind turbine, they'll send us one."
Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.
