WIND GROWING PRECARIOUSLY

AWEA: Wind Power Is Cost Competitive, But That Could Change
Laura DiMugno, 27 October 2011 (North American Windpower)

"The U.S. installed over 1.204 GW of wind power capacity in the third quarter - more than in any other quarter since 2008…[and] now has a cumulative installed wind power capacity of 43.461 GW, representing 3% of the U.S.' electricity production as of July [according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) third quarter report]…

"…[A] staggering 8.4 GW of wind power are currently under construction, as companies race to get their projects online before the Dec. 31, 2012, production tax credit (PTC) in-service deadline. Incentives such as the PTC have led wind power to be nearly cost competitive with conventional sources of energy, AWEA’s CEO, Denise Bode, said…[Despite technological] innovation and a burgeoning U.S. manufacturing industry…an extension of the PTC will be critical…"

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"…Department of Energy senior adviser Richard Kaufmann [recently said] renewables have tended to be more expensive than traditional forms of energy because they lack the economies of scale that have already been established for conventional sources of energy...[but grid] parity is not very far [away]…

"The AWEA report cited several instances where wind power has been cost competitive with traditional forms of energy…[T]he Austin [TX] City Council recently approved two new wind power contracts totaling 291 MW, and authorized Austin Energy to negotiate a third wind contract for another 200 MW. Both contracts are priced in the $35/MWh to $45/MWh range, which the council says is comparable to natural-gas prices…"