WIND STILL STRONG BUT…

The “yentas, ranters and mavens” at the Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital went at each other Thursday over wind power. The fatuous comparisons of wind energy to corn ethanol were hilariously off the mark. Uninformed complaints about wind energy’s intermittency were just silly. Intermittency isn’t a problem, it’s a fact. Utilities manage it. If intermittency was such a big problem for utilities, they wouldn’t be buying wind installations as fast as they can afford to. The harshest wind critic at the Journal site claimed to be an engineer but got his math completely wrong. Maybe he’s an engineer for the coal industry.

Meanwhile, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released quarterly statistics on the U.S. industry. The numbers show a vibrant industry, still growing strong and proud, on its way to becoming a vital part of the U.S. 21st century energy mix. The Global Wind Energy Council released numbers earlier in the week showing world growth to be even bigger than in the U.S. and predicting huge expansion. (see WIND: INCREDIBLE POTENTIAL, PARTICULAR CHALLENGES)

One thing the “yentas, ranters and mavens” at Environmental Capital were absolutely right about: There is an urgent need for new transmission. But their bickering obscured the bigger picture. U.S. energy demand is expected to double in the next half century. It’s not WIND that needs new transmission, it’s THE COUNTRY that needs new transmission. Whatever form the energy supply comes in to meet new demand (count on wind being a big part of it), it is going to require an enormous investment in the nation’s grid.

What that whining engineer over at Environmental Capital needs to do is put down his broken calculator and get busy designing new transmission lines.

More immediate problem: A few obstinate Senators mired in the 1950s are presently blocking New Energy incentives from renewal by the U.S. Congress. Only the SPECIAL interests who "own" those Senators will keep wind energy from serving the BEST interests of the country’s energy future.

AWEA: “Previous short-term extensions have led to a boom-and-bust cycle in the wind industry, increasing costs along the entire supply chain and preventing businesses from growing to their full potential. Studies indicate that an expiration of the tax credit will place $19 billion in renewable energy investment and 116,000 American jobs at risk.”

Demand is only going one way and fossil fuel supply is going the other way. New Energy is the only really good alternative so the sooner we build it and transmission for it, the sooner it serves us. (click to enlarge)


Wind Energy Leaders Remain Dominant In Latest U.S. Market Rankings – All Categories Reflect Industry’s Strong 2007 Growth; Urgent Need For Extension of Federal Incentive Seen
Christine Real de Azua and Shawna Seldon, April 2, 2008 (American Wind Energy Association)
and
Get On Line: Wind Power’s Real Hurdle
Keith Johnson, April 3, 2008 (Environmental Capital via Wall Street Journal)

WHO
American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) (Randall Swisher, Executive Director)

from AWEA - click to enlarge

WHAT
The AWEA 2008 Annual Rankings Report finds standings among states, providers, utilities and manufacturers mostly unchanged in proportions since last year and also finds the enormous growth of the industry so far unstymied by the U.S. Senate’s obstinance.

WHEN
- The numbers are very similar in proportion to those at the close of 2007.
- Over the last 3 years, wind is 2nd only to natural gas as a new source of power generation.

from AWEA - click to enlarge

WHERE
Total installed U.S. wind power capacity: 16,800+ megawatts.

from AWEA - click to enlarge

WHY
Unchanged:
- Texas is still the biggest wind energy producing state.
- FPL Energy still operates the biggest wind farms.
- GE Energy still has the largest wind turbine market share.
- Xcel Energy still has the most wind of investor-owned utilities.
New:
- Iowa gets the highest proportion of its electricity from wind, 5.5%.
- Great River Energy gets the highest proportion of its electricity from wind among rural electric cooperatives.
- CPS Energy led the pack among municipal utilities.
- Turbines manufactured by Vestas are the largest installed in the U.S.

from AWEA - click to enlarge

QUOTES
Randall Swisher, Executive Director, AWEA: “We extend a hearty congratulations to the nation’s wind power leaders…As a clean, domestic renewable energy source, wind power is a key part of the solution to many of the most serious economic, environmental and energy security problems our country faces…Hopefully, federal policymakers will take note and move quickly to extend the wind production tax credit (PTC) incentive, providing the foundation for further investment and job creation going forward.”