Advancing the Illinois Renewable Portfolio Standard Goals with Wind Turbine Replacement in Illinois

Publication Date

4-6-2018

Document Type

Poster

Department

Technology

Mentor

Jin Jo

Mentor Department

Technology

Abstract

According to the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), the state of Illinois should be on track to reach 25% of energy production coming from renewables. Within this 25% production, 75% must come from wind due to wind's dominate nature in the Midwest. This study analyzes what the current wind production in Illinois is and how it can be further improved. Illinois currently produces its own wind energy but does not reach the amount of wind that should be produced according to the RPS. To make up for these shortcomings, the state purchases renewable energy credits from outside sources to be included in the RPS. As technology continues to improve, Illinois is better equipped to meet the RPS each fiscal year. Utilizing data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, we were able to extract numbers for wind production in each year leading up to 2016. At the time of this study, no information had been released on production in 2017. We also gathered information from specific wind farms to determine what types of wind turbines produced the most energy and the age of these wind farms. Applying data collected, we ran tests using the simulation software Windographer to determine how much more energy will be produced in Illinois if all of the wind turbines older than 15 years are repowered.

Comments

Krull-undergraduate, Reice-undergraduate, Simpson-undergraduate

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