Page 308 - Alternative Energy Systems in Building Design

282 WIND ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

TABLE 8.1 TOP 20 WIND-ENERGY-PRODUCING
STATES
STATE BILLIONS OF KILOWATTHOURS

North Dakota 1210
Texas 1190
Kansas 1070
South Dakota 1030
Montana 1020
Nebraska 868
Wyoming 747
Oklahoma 725
Minnesota 657
Colorado 481
New Mexico 435
Idaho 73
Michigan 65
New York 62
Illinois 61
California 59
Wisconsin 58
Maine 56
Missouri 52
Iowa 51

penalty fees is to punish generators and deter them from using transmission scheduling
as a “gaming” technique to gain advantage over competitors. The fees therefore are not
related to whether the system operator actually loses money as a result of the genera-
tor’s action. But because the wind is variable, wind plant owners cannot guarantee the
delivery of electricity for transmission at a scheduled time. Wind energy needs a new
penalty system that recognizes the different nature of wind plants and allows them to
compete on a fair basis.
The Great Plains, which cover the central third of the United States, need to be
extensively redesigned and redeveloped. At present, systems on the plains consist
mostly of small distribution lines. Instead, series of new high-voltage transmission
lines are needed to transmit electricity from wind plants to population centers. Such a
redevelopment will be expensive, but it also will benefit consumers and national