The wind is a clean, free, and readily available renewable energy source. U. S. wind power has more than tripled in the past decade to become the
largest source of renewable power in the country. The Department of
Energy provides this data, updated annually, to track trends in wind
technology, cost, and performance, The Dept of Energy is drafting a
proposal to build a wind farm off the coast of Long Island, located
about 13km from Shelter Island and placed at an average depth of 10
m.
The project will consist of 200 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 4
megawatts (MW). Each turbine costs $1.2 million to build. Electrical demand in
the area to be served by the project is expected to be 2.0 x 106 MWh per year.
a. Calculate how much electricity (in MWh) the wind project needs to
generate per year in order to provide 80% of the annual electrical demand
in the service area. Show all work.
b. Customers in the service area pay $0.20/kWh for electricity. Calculate how
much revenue will be produced if the wind turbines provide 80% of the
annual electrical demand in the service area. Show all work.
c. Assuming all turbines are operating, calculate how many hours the wind
turbines must operate to provide 80% of the annual electrical demand in
the service area. Show all work.