Wind Economics

I have tried to make some estimates of the costs of wind power.

1. To make Ohio entirely dependent on wind, would require adding 50-60 GW to replace the current 34 GW capacity, provided about 20-30 GW of conventional (probably gas) is used as a supplement when the wind isn't blowing. Assuming $2/W construction costs for both technologies, we get $140-180 billion.

2. Since each MW has about $2 million construction cost, a 2MW tower (plus gas supplement) would cost maybe $5-6 million.

3. Illinois has roughly the same population as Ohio. It has 915 MW wind making 1.06 percent of its electricity. Adjusting for the population difference, Ohio would require almost 400 towers to get one percent.