Editing Wind power (section)

===Electric power cost and trends===
[[File: Turbine Blade Convoy Passing through Edenfield.jpg|thumb|A turbine blade convoy passing through [[Edenfield]] in the U.K. (2008). Even longer [[Wind turbine design#Blade design|2-piece blades]] are now manufactured, and then assembled on-site to reduce difficulties in transportation.]]
{{See also|Cost of electricity by source}}
Wind power is [[capital intensive]] but has no fuel costs.<ref name="IRENA">Dolf Gielen. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140423214203/http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/RE_Technologies_Cost_Analysis-WIND_POWER.pdf Renewable Energy Technologies: Cost Analysis Series: Wind Power]" ''[[International Renewable Energy Agency]]'', June 2012. Quote: "wind is capital intensive, but has no fuel costs"</ref> The price of wind power is therefore much more stable than the volatile prices of fossil fuel sources.<ref>[http://www.nationalgridus.com/non_html/c3-3_NG_wind_policy.pdf Transmission and Wind Energy: Capturing the Prevailing Winds for the Benefit of Customers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423231722/http://www.nationalgridus.com/non_html/c3-3_NG_wind_policy.pdf |date=23 April 2014}}. National Grid US (September 2006).</ref> However, the estimated [[average cost]] per unit of electric power must incorporate the cost of construction of the turbine and transmission facilities, borrowed funds, return to investors (including the cost of risk), estimated annual production, and other components, averaged over the projected useful life of the equipment, which may be more than 20 years. Energy cost estimates are highly dependent on these assumptions so published cost figures can differ substantially.

The presence of wind energy, even when subsidized, can reduce costs for consumers (€5 billion/yr in Germany) by reducing the marginal price and by minimizing the use of expensive [[peaking power plant]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rao |first=K.R |date=October 17, 2019 |title=Wind Energy for Power Generation: Meeting the Challenge of Practical Implementation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY23DwAAQBAJ&q=he+presence+of+wind+energy%2C+even+when+subsidized%2C+can+reduce+costs+for+consumers+%28%E2%82%AC5+billion%2Fyr+in+Germany%29+by+reducing+the+marginal+price%2C+by+minimizing+the+use+of+expensive+peaking+power+plants.&pg=PA586 |url-status=live |location= |publisher=Springer Nature, 2019 |isbn=978-3319751344 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124094409/https://books.google.com/books?id=bY23DwAAQBAJ&q=he+presence+of+wind+energy%2C+even+when+subsidized%2C+can+reduce+costs+for+consumers+%28%E2%82%AC5+billion%2Fyr+in+Germany%29+by+reducing+the+marginal+price%2C+by+minimizing+the+use+of+expensive+peaking+power+plants.&pg=PA586 |archive-date=24 November 2021 |access-date=4 May 2021 }}</ref>

The cost has decreased as wind turbine technology has improved. There are now longer and lighter wind turbine blades, improvements in turbine performance, and increased power generation efficiency. Also, wind project capital expenditure costs and maintenance costs have continued to decline.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/08/14/banner-year-us-wind-industry |title=A Banner Year for the U.S. Wind Industry |author=Danielson, David |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |date=14 August 2012 |access-date=1 March 2021 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310021408/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/08/14/banner-year-us-wind-industry |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2021, a Lazard study of unsubsidized electricity said that wind power [[Levelized cost of energy|levelized cost of electricity]] continues to fall but more slowly than before. The study estimated new wind-generated electricity cost from $26 to $50/MWh, compared to new gas power from $45 to $74/MWh. The median cost of fully deprecated existing coal power was $42/MWh, nuclear $29/MWh and gas $24/MWh. The study estimated offshore wind at around $83/MWh. [[Compound annual growth rate]] was 4% per year from 2016 to 2021, compared to 10% per year from 2009 to 2021.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=Levelized Cost Of Energy, Levelized Cost Of Storage, and Levelized Cost Of Hydrogen|url=http://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-levelized-cost-of-storage-and-levelized-cost-of-hydrogen/|access-date=2021-11-24|website=Lazard.com|language=en}}</ref>