Wind Energy
arm and they then go to a state-owned bank to get the funding, and they go to a state-owned grid company to make sure they can get a grid connection, and then lo and behold! If there’s a bidding process, the state-owned turbine manufacturers happen to win the contracts,” according to Michael McNamara, head of European clean technology research at Jefferies International in London. That process has annoyed some Western manufacturers. They say that despite being forced to build local factories in China, because of a “local content” rule for installed turbines, they were still passed over on major contracts.
US Wind Potential Following a record-breaking year of capacity additions in
2009 – with 9.8 GW of wind projects installed – the US wind market finds itself confronting a growth-constrained 2010 and a near-term market landscape wrought with increased competition, according to a new market study, US Wind Power Markets and Strategies: 2010-2025 from IHS Emerging Energy Research.2
However, with the proliferation of favourable state
and federal policies, the US wind industry is on track to add more than 165 GW of new capacity through 2025, resulting in a total installed base of 200 GW, according to the study’s projections. IHS forecasts anywhere from 6.3-7.1 GW of wind could be
installed in 2010, 40-60% lower than 2009 installations. “2010 marks the first time since 2004 that the US wind industry will not surpass the previous year’s growth level. Despite unprecedented federal wind incentives, reverberations from the financial crisis continue to create a difficult near-term market landscape especially in light of continued energy policy uncertainty. However, the US wind market is poised to emerge from this near-term uncertainty with a clearer path toward strong future growth,” according to IHS Senior Analyst Matthew Kaplan, one of the study’s authors. The US wind industry will represent US$330 bn in investments
between 2010 and 2025, with more than 90% stemming from onshore wind, according to the study’s projections. The Midwest, Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states will act as major wind export hubs to areas with large appetites for renewables, including California, the Mid-Atlantic and the South. While the US is closer than ever to tapping into its enormous offshore potential with the expected completion of the Cape Wind project in 2013, offshore is expected to account for only 5% of total US wind build in 2025. However, how far and fast wind power develops in the US will depend to a large extent on a climate and energy bill. If a
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bill with an ambitious renewable energy target does eventually pass, wind prospects will improve further. Iowa Governor Chet Culver and Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri recently released Great Expectations: US Wind Energy Development ... Wind Energy Coalition’s 2010 Recommendations.3
“The title of the governors’
recommendations could not be more apt,” says Culver. “This is the first set of comprehensive wind energy recommendations ever submitted to Congress by a group of the nation’s governors,” said Carcieri. “These recommendations could not be more timely. Congressional action on the energy bill seems to have stalled. It is our hope that these recommendations – and the national bipartisan consensus they represent – will advance the energy deliberations now under way in Congress,” Governor Carcieri stated. The recommendations call for the following actions by both Congress and the Administration:
• Adopt a Renewable Electricity Standard. • Develop new interstate electric transmission system infrastructure as needed to provide access to premier
renewable energy resources both onshore and offshore.
• Fully support coastal, deep water, and offshore wind energy technology and transmission research and development.
• Streamline permitting processes for both offshore and onshore wind energy development projects.
• Expand the US Department of Energy’s work with the States and the wind industry to accelerate innovation.
• Extend the Treasury Department grant program in lieu of the investment tax credit, and adopt a long-term Renewable
Energy Production Tax Credit with provisions to broaden the pool of eligible investors.
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the ... the US wind industry is on
track to add more than 165 GW of new capacity through 2025
United Steelworkers (USW) have also released a joint framework agreement to create a Partnership for Progress in accelerating the development and deployment of wind energy production in the US. “We expect this framework will help advance the promise of green jobs being key to our future. The nation cannot continue to fall behind other countries on clean energy manufacturing. America must be a
global leader and establish new manufacturing jobs. If we do not act quickly on this opportunity through federal leadership and industry commitment, we will have done a disservice to our citizens, “ according to Leo W. Gerard, USW President. Denise Bode, AWEA CEO says, “Our partnership recognises that, at this time of continuing economic uncertainty and while
worldPower 2010
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