An Evaluation of Wind Turbine Technology at Peterson Air Force Base

Wind energy technology is a viable source for attaining the emission reduction and renewable energy use goals set forth by the executive office. In accordance with Executive Orders, the Air Force must reduce greenhouse emissions and energy consumption, and expand the use of renewable energy sources within its facilities nation-wide by year 2010. This mandate requires that the Air Force look at alternative electrical production and rely more on such renewable energy resources as wind power. The specific problem addressed by this research is whether on-site wind energy generation can be more economically feasible than the conventional energy consumption at Peterson AFB. The hypothesis of this research is that wind energy will not be economically effective as an energy alternative without the inclusion of quantified environmental benefits. The life cycle cost comparisons derived from generating on-site wind energy proved not to be strictly economically feasible for Peterson AFB when compared to fossil fuel generated electricity. However, with the inclusion of the valuation of environmental benefits, it was determined that wind energy is a worthwhile project if the U.S. Air Force is willing to pay the extra costs for the global socioeconomic benefits. The original document contains color images.