HIGH-CAPACITY FACTOR WIND ENERGY-SYSTEMS

Wind-generated electricity can be fundamentally transformed from an intermittent resource to a baseload power supply. For the case of long distance transmission of wind electricity this change can be achieved at a negligible increase or even a decrease in the per unit cost of electricity. The economic and technical feasibility of this process can be illustrated by studying the example of a wind farm located in central Kansas and a 2000 km, 2000 megawatt transmission line to southern California. Such a system can have a capacity factor of 60 percent, with no economic penalty and without storage. With compressed air energy storage (CAES) (and with a negligible economic penalty), capacity factors of 70-95 percent can be achieved. This strategy has important implications for the development of wind energy throughout the world since good wind resources are usually located far from major demand centers.