USA - Wind energy growth expected to slow in 2010

Wind industry executives gathered at the annual American Wind Energy Association conference in Dallas, Texas, earlier this week do not expect to enjoy the robust growth of 2009 this year. Goosed by federal stimulus dollars, more than 10,000 megawatts of wind capacity were installed in the U.S. last year. However, the pace fell off sharply during the first quarter of 2010, when only 500 megawatts were installed.

Steve Bolz, a senior vice president with GE Energy, said that there has not been a slower first quarter for wind installation since 2007. Natural gas prices as low as $4 per 1,000 cubic feet have made wind less competitive than it was before the downturn, when prices rose as high as $8 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Nonetheless, industry executives hope that proposals such as “25 by ’25,” suggesting that 25 percent of U.S. electricity should come from renewable resources by 2025, will encourage wind development in the long term.

During the conference French energy manufacturer Alstom announced that it will be adding a 115,000-square-foot wind turbine manufacturing plant to an existing plant in Amarillo.

Additionally, Chinese turbine manufacturer Mingyan Wind Power will be opening an office in Dallas. Building a manufacturing center will be a likely next step, according to the Dallas Morning News. Managing Director Wang Song told the newspaper, “We knew that Texas makes the biggest use of wind power in the U.S. and that Dallas was the biggest city near the wind corridor."

President George W. Bush said during a speech at the AWEA conference that Texas has more than twice as much installed wind power capacity than any other state at 9,506 megawatts and would be sixth in the world in wind capacity if it was an independent nation.

For more information please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net