behind where everyone thought we’d be by this time.”
Bull Market Ahead Despite the lag in wind component
orders, the promise of growth in the wind energy market is strong. “For the last 12-14 years, the
U.S. wind industry has doubled its installed capacity every 30 months, and we expect that to continue,” said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council during a press conference on AWEA’s annual market report. Much of the growth depends on
whether a national policy on renew- able energy passes and what form it takes (see sidebar). AWEA’s wind energy lobbyists are pushing for a renewable electricity standard or renewable portfolio standard that requires a percentage of electricity be produced from renewable sources, such as wind power. Such a policy was included in the Obama-Biden New Energy for America plan and is the subject of Senate and House of Representatives bills. “The U.S. has overtaken the world
in installed capacity with [35,000 MW],” Gangulee said. “By 2020, if a renew- able energy portfolio is passed, the U.S. will need at least 330,000 MW to reach its goal.” The trend for each generation of
wind turbine to be larger than the last. also makes domestic manufacturing and casting sources more attractive. Factor in an increased interest in off- shore wind farms located in seas and oceans, which tend to be larger than their dry-land counterparts, and the ad- vantage of domestic companies could become stronger. “I think the growth has been slower
[than expected], mostly due to the financial meltdown,” Simko said. “But what we are anticipating is that as the next-gen turbines become larger, the logistics will be better for us.” Once again, casting facilities pro-
ducing wind components are preparing for increased demand, but only time will tell how strong the demand is. “If you listen to the projections
on the number of turbines, it sounds good,” Bushman said. “But I have a question in my mind about how many will really be approved to be installed within the next three to five years in this country.
METAL 42 Metal Casting Design anD PurChasing May/June 2010
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