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Wind Energy in the News
Wind Power Industry Installs 1,400 MW in First Quarter; PTC Issue Still Looms
With the fate of a key federal incentive still in the balance, the U.S. wind
energy industry continued new installations at a breakneck pace in the first quarter, putting 1,400 MW, or approximately $3 billion, in new generating capacity in place, AWEA said in its quarterly market report.
The new wind power facilities installed in the first quarter span 10 states and bring total U.S. wind power capacity to over 18,000 MW, or enough to serve the equivalent of 5 million homes, according to the report. Texas, which added over half that new capacity, now has well more than 5,000 MW installed. Over 4,000 MW of projects are now also under construction nationwide.
Additionally, AWEA reports an increase in the share of U.S.-made wind turbine components—from less than 30% three years ago to approximately 50% today. The increase, AWEA said, is the result of the relatively stable availability of the PTC since August 2005, which has allowed U.S.-based supply chain providers to begin establishing a much stronger foundation of domestic manufacturing for turbine components. In 2007 and early 2008, at least 17 manufacturing facilities have been brought online or expanded in the U.S., creating over 4,000 jobs and $500 million in manufacturing investment.
With news of a continued robust market for the first quarter also came more accurate data on the industry’s 2007 performance relative to the energy sector as a whole. An adjustment to final numbers for megawatts of wind power installed in the U.S. in 2007 show a slight increase to 5,249 MW, up from the 5,244 MW originally announced in January. However, in spite of that minuscule increase in the final numbers, since actual installed capacity for natural gas-powered generation plants was less than expected in 2007, it is now understood that wind contributed a higher proportion of new generation capacity than originally thought. New wind power facilities made up close to 35% of the entire new electricity generating capacity added in the U.S. last year—up from the 30% initially reported in January.
“These new wind power plants [installed in the first quarter], enough to serve the equivalent of 400,000 homes, coupled with investment in 17 new manufacturing facilities over the past year-and-a-quarter show that—with consistent policy support—America’s wind industry can deliver the goods in terms of clean energy and new clean technology jobs,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “But if Congress does not act quickly, this momentum could be derailed at the worst possible time for the economy, placing 76,000 jobs and over $11.5 billion in investment at risk. While 2008 is shaping up to be another great year, we could see a very different story in 2009 as uncertainty looms over investment in wind power projects and manufacturing due to continuing delay in extending the production tax credit (PTC).”
The PTC, the primary federal incentive for wind power, expires at the end of the year along with incentives for other renewable electricity sources. At previous times when the credit has lapsed (1999, 2001 and 2003), installations have dropped by as much as 93% in the following year, as shown in the following chart:
Source: Wind Energy Weekly, 9 May 2008
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