What drives wind turbine cost reduction?

The first time drivers of wind turbine cost reduction are identified with an advanced bottom-up cost model. The use of this model deepening the understanding of innovation drivers of turbines cost reduction. Material, labour, legal and financial cost components are responsible of 31% of cost reduction.

Why did wind turbine cost reduce in the second period?

In the second period, its value reduced from $602 (2008) to 159 $/kW (2017), which represents the main cost component contribution to wind turbine price reduction. The exact reasons for this cost component reduction are not clear, but supplier costs are considered the main sub-category that could have driven this residual cost down.

How do offshore wind farms affect power generation efficiency?

With increasing size and clustering, offshore wind farms (OWFs) wake effects, which alter wind conditions and decrease the power generation efficiency of wind farms downwind become more important.

How can climate modelling improve wind energy production?

The evolution of climate modelling to increasingly address mesoscale processes is providing improved projections of both wind resources and wind turbine operating conditions, and will contribute to continued reductions in the levelized cost of energy from wind power generation.

Are solar and wind energy costs reducing?

Looking at the figures between 2018 and 2020 reveals a compound annual rate of decline of 16% per year, which is more representative of recent rates of cost reduction. The decade 2010 to 2020 represents a remarkable period of cost reduction for solar and wind power technologies.

Can wind energy reduce climate forcing?

There are, thus, substantial climate mitigation benefits from wind energy expansion. However, wind energy is both a potential mechanism to reduce climate forcing as well as a climate-dependent energy source, so climatic changes may influence the conditions in which WTs operate and the resource they are designed to harness.