We talk a lot about the environmental benefits of renewable energy, but that’s definitely not the only reason to support renewables in your community. Compared to the soaring price of oil and other fossil fuels, wind power is also more affordable.

Back in January, I wrote about the skyrocketing price of oil. The price has come back down because of the recession, but in the long term, its trajectory will not change. Once the global recession is over, we can expect sky-high prices once again.

On the other hand, prices for wind energy have dropped sharply over the past two decades. The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Energy (PDF) show that wind energy’s cost per kilowatt has fallen to less than half of what it was in the early 1980s:

Recently, wind prices have started to creep upwards after two decades of steady decline. However, the increase in prices has been slower than it has for other energy sources. As a matter of fact, for the past three years, wind power has been an incredible bargain. The chart below shows that the average price for wind power falls below even the low end of the Nationwide Wholesale Power Price Range. That means that wind energy can be purchased  on the open market at below-average prices.

The prices do vary by region. However, in every single region, the average price for wind power is competitive with the average wholesale price for energy. In most regions, wind energy is cheaper than the average wholesale price. In Texas, the heart of oil country, wind energy is just over half the average wholesale price of energy.

Are people telling you it’s too expensive to build wind power in your own community? It’s not expensive at all — in fact, over the long run, wind energy could save your community millions of dollars, while also helping to reduce carbon emissions.

All graphs courtesy of the Department of Energy’s Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends (PDF 3.9 MB)

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