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U.S. WIND
INDUSTRY CONTINUES EXPANSION OF CLEAN,
DOMESTIC ENERGY SOURCE
Over 20 New Projects Added in 2004 Despite Incentive Uncertainty
The U.S. wind energy industry turned in a solid performance in 2004,
adding 389 megawatts (MW) of new generating equipment to the nationwide
fleet, or enough to serve more than 100,000 average homes, according to
the Washington, D.C.-based American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Total new additions were down sharply from the highs in the boom years of
2001 (1,696 MW) and 2003 (1,687 MW). At year's end, the trade group said,
utility-scale wind installations in 30 states across the country totalled
6,740 MW, enough to serve more than 1.6 million households.
The small but burgeoning industry is hard at work planning projects that
should make 2005 a record year in terms of new wind generating capability
in the U.S. According to AWEA, over 2,000 MW of new wind power capacity is
likely to be added during the coming year, or enough to power more than
540,000 homes. The most recent extension of the federal wind energy
production tax credit (PTC) by Congress in October, 2004, teed up 2005 for
an impressive growth spurt, which will bring economic development activity
in rural areas, more diversity to the nation's generating mix to reduce
fuel price volatility, and clear environmental benefits to a nation that
continues to demand new electricity sources.
AWEA executive director Randall Swisher said the association will continue
to push for a multi-year extension of the existing PTC. Under current law,
the credit will expire at the end of 2005, which could becalm the industry
yet again. “The short-term duration of the federal production tax credit
(PTC) and its repeated expirations – three in the past six years – are
keeping this industry from reaching its potential to supply the nation
with clean, domestic electricity,“ he said.
Highlights
of the current wind energy market outlook, according to AWEA, include:
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Wind
farms already in place and those that will be installed by the end of
2005 could save over half a billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas
per day in 2006. Using conservative growth estimates of 3,000 MW
installed every two years for the next four years, the U.S. could top
15,000 MW of installed wind power capacity by the end of 2009, which
would save nearly 0.9 Bcf/day by the end of this decade. Natural gas
shortages and price volatility have become an increasingly familiar
part of the national energy scene over the past few years.
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In
2004, seven states plus the District of Columbia passed renewable
portfolio standard (RPS) legislation requiring utilities to provide a
certain minimum amount of power from renewable sources such as wind
and solar, bringing the total to eighteen states and the District. The
citizens of Colorado made it the first state to pass an RPS by popular
referendum, endorsing a measure under which Colorado’s top utilities
must obtain 10% of the state’s power needs from renewables by 2015.
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Wind
power continues to attract global power companies. In September,
international power plant developer AES Corp. announced its first step
into the U.S. wind market, an equity investment in US Wind Force. AES
also announced on January 11 that it plans to follow that investment
up with the purchase of SeaWest Holdings, a large West-coast wind
project developer. The main reason cited for the SeaWest deal was that
the company sees strong potential in wind as a new and expanding
source of electricity. Global power generation giant Siemens announced
in October that it would purchase wind turbine manufacturer Bonus
Energy A/S. The company said it decided to become a wind turbine
manufacturer to merge Bonus’s well-regarded technology with Siemens’
experience with large-scale utility projects.
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More
than 500 utilities in 34 states now offer green pricing programs,
according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and over
1,500 MW of wind power are currently serving the green power market
(generating electricity equivalent to the needs of 400,000 homes).
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Project announcements for 2005 are rolling in. Four of the top five
largest projects announced for construction this year are 200 MW or
larger, including the 240-MW Flat Rock Phase I project in New York,
the 220-MW Wild Horse project in Washington, the 200-MW Forward Wind
Power project in Wisconsin, and the 200-MW Fenton project in
Minnesota. |
A state-by-state listing of existing and proposed wind energy projects is
available on AWEA's Web site at
http://www.awea.org/projects/index.html.
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AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind
energy industry. The association’s membership includes turbine
manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and
interested individuals. More information on wind energy is available at
the AWEA web site: www.awea.org
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