PG&E Use of Wind Energy

PG&E Use of Wind Energy
On average, approximately half of the electricity PG&E delivers to its customers comes from a combination of renewable and greenhouse gas-free resources. The power mix we provided to our customers in 2009 consisted of renewable resources (14.4 percent), such as wind. PG&E can also now purchase power from customers who install eligible renewable generation up to 1.5 MW in size.
PG&E Agrees to Purchase and Operate Major California Wind Energy Project
(PG&E) has contracted with Iberdrola Renewables, Inc., the U.S. arm of the world’s largest provider of wind power, to purchase and operate a major wind generating plant to be built in Southern California to serve the utility’s electric customers.
The proposed Manzana Wind Project, with a power capacity of up to 246 megawatts, would be the first wind project owned by PG&E. 7,000 acres in the Tehachapi region of Eastern Kern County. With a projected annual output of up to 670 gigawatt-hours per year, equal to the energy consumed by about 100,000 average homes. The total capital cost of the Manzana project will be just over $900 million.
Generate Your Own Power
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has assembled a team to help you hook up your generator quickly, safely and efficiently.
Net Energy Metering
Net energy metering is a type of Distributed Generation that allows customers with an eligible power generator to offset the cost of their electric usage with energy they export to the grid.
California’s Rebate Program for Wind & Fuel Cell Renewable Energy Electric-Generating Systems
The California Energy Commission is offering cash rebates on eligible grid-connected small wind and fuel cell renewable energy electric-generating systems through its Emerging Renewables Program (ERP). Effective January 1, 2007, the technologies eligible for ERP funding are: Small Wind Turbines - small, electricity-producing, wind-driven generating systems with a rated output of 50 kilowatts or less.

According to the online Illustrated History of Wind Power Development, the first use of a large windmill to generate electricity was a system built in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1888.
We have many windy areas in California. The only problem with wind is that it is not windy all year long, nor is the speed fairly constant. It is usually windier during the summer months when wind rushes inland from cooler areas, such as near the ocean, to replace hot rising air in California’s warm central valleys and deserts. By placing mechanical wind turbines in these windy areas, we tap the moving wind to make electricity. There are more than 14,000 wind turbines in California grouped together in what are called wind “farms.” The farms have roughly 1,800 megawatts of installed capacity. These wind farms are located mostly in the three windiest areas of the state:
* Altamont Pass east of San Francisco
* San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs
* Tehachapi south of Bakersfield
Together these three places make enough electricity to supply an entire city the size of San Francisco with electrical power! All together the wind turbines in California produce about 1 percent of California’s total electricity.
WIND POWER FOR YOUR HOME
Small wind turbines (usually producing less than 10 kilowatts of electricity) can be used to generate electricity for a home or small business. A kilowatt is equal to 1,000 watts -- the amount of electricity that can illuminate ten 100-watt light bulbs.
The smaller turbines today are fairly efficient, producing electricity in winds as low as 7 to 10 mph. They are also fairly quiet. The wind system usually generates power at the same voltage that your home uses, so the turbine can be wired directly to the home or business’ electrical system like an appliance.
If your home is using less electricity than what the wind turbine is making, your electrical meter may actually “turn backwards.” This is called “net metering.”
A typical 10 kilowatt home wind turbine system will cost $25,000 - $35,000 to install. Depending on the amount of wind available, it will produce between 10,000 to 18,000 kilowatt/hours (kWh) per year.
PG&E to compress air to store wind power
With compressed-air energy storage (CAES), air is compressed and then pumped in natural underground reservoirs. The air is released later and converted into electricity.
There are currently two compressed-air energy storage facilities in operation--one in Alabama and one in Germany--but the technique has been getting more attention because it is a relatively cheap approach to storage. CAES is well-suited to an intermittent source of energy like wind because a large amount of energy can be stored for many hours. PG&E said that it plans to use wind turbines to compress the air during off-peak times and then draw from the reservoir during peak times. Industry executives say that the most cost-effective utility storage is pumped hydro, where water is pumped uphill and released at peak times to make electricity.