EGEB: Duke Energy’s largest wind farm comes online, in Oklahoma

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Duke Energy Renewables has begun commercial operation of the 350MW Frontier 2 project in Oklahoma.
• Medium- and long-haul electric trucks are 13% cheaper to own than diesel trucks today – report.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

Duke’s largest wind farm online

Duke Energy Renewables’ largest wind farm in its fleet has begun commercial operation. The 350MW Frontier 2 project is in Kay County, Oklahoma.

The Duke Energy wind farm Frontier 2 is an expansion of the 200MW Frontier 1 project, which has been online since 2016, so together they have a capacity of 550MW. German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex supplied 74 4.8MW wind turbines for the Frontier project.

reNews.biz reports:

AT&T and Ball Corporation have signed 15-year virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for 160MW and 161 MW, respectively from Frontier 2.

These VPPAs will settle on an as-generated basis tied to Frontier 2’s real-time energy output.

AT&T network engineering and operations president Scott Mair said:

With more than 1.5GW of renewable energy capacity, our portfolio delivers clean electricity to the grid, helps to create jobs and community benefits, and supports the transition to a low-carbon economy.

This is an important piece of our journey to reach carbon neutrality across our global operations by 2035.

Oklahoma ranks second in total electricity net generation from wind after Texas, and third in wind’s share of state generation after Iowa and Kansas.

Electric trucks now

New research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), University of California Los Angeles, and University of California, Berkeley, titled “Why Regional and Long-Haul Trucks Are Primed for Electrification Now,” finds that electric vehicle battery price drops has enabled Class 8 long-haul electric trucks to have a 13% lower total cost of ownership than similar diesel models today. This would save electric truck owners up to $200,000 over the life of each truck. 

The study’s abstract states:

At the current global average battery pack price of $135 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) (realizable when procured at scale), a Class 8 electric truck with 375-mile range and operated 300 miles per day when compared to a diesel truck offers about 13% lower total cost of ownership (TCO) per mile, about three-year payback and net present savings of about US $200,000 over a 15-year lifetime. This is achieved with only a 3% reduction in payload capacity. 

The estimated average distance traveled between 30-minute driver breaks is 150 miles and 190 miles for regional-haul and long-haul trucks respectively in the US. Thirty minutes of charging using 500 kW or mega-Watt scale fast-chargers would add sufficient range without impairing operations and economics of freight movement.

Trucks are responsible for 28% of emissions from transportation, the largest source of emissions in the US. Further, electric trucks could offer up to a 50% lower total cost of ownership compared to diesel models by 2030. 

The authors note the need for a supportive policy environment to give the truck industry confidence in investing in manufacturing, batteries, charging infrastructure, and end-of-life management.

David Wooley, co-author and director of the Center for Environmental Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, said:

In some ways, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are easy to electrify.

They tend to charge at central locations or along freeway corridors, run regular routes, and have high fuel and maintenance savings because of their high mileage rates. They also reduce how much truck drivers are exposed to noise, vibrations, and diesel fumes.

Photo: The American Clean Power Association