Growth in U.S. wind industry led by California and GE Energy

WASHINGTON, DC, US, May 18, 2005 (Refocus Weekly)

California remains the state with the most installed wind energy capacity, according to the latest rankings from the American Wind Energy Association.

California’s 2,096 MW at the end of 2004 is ahead of second-place Texas with 1,293 MW, Iowa with 632 MW, Minnesota with 615 MW and Wyoming with 285 MW. Windfarms in 30 states total 6,740 MW of capacity, with output sufficient for 1.6 million homes.

“The American wind industry is an economic, environmental and energy success story," says Randall Swisher of AWEA. “Despite ongoing challenges facing the industry such as the imminent expiration of the federal production tax credit, the relevance of wind energy to the nation's energy mix is increasingly being recognized by the nation's economic and energy leaders.”

The second annual industry rankings of wind energy development include the top states, top suppliers of turbines and top developers and purchasers of electricity from windfarms. The five largest operating facilities in the U.S. are the Stateline windfarm along the Oregon-Washington border with 300 MW, King Mountain in Texas (278 MW), New Mexico Wind Energy Center in New Mexico (204 MW), Storm Lake in Iowa (193 MW), Colorado Green in Colorado (162 MW) and High Winds in California with 162 MW of capacity.

FPL Energy was the leading owner of windfarms in the U.S. with 2,758 MW of capacity, Shell Wind Energy with 315 MW, AEP with 311 MW, enXco with 298 MW and PPM Energy with 225 MW.

“This year's industry rankings demonstrate that wind energy remains on a track that would allow it to provide six percent of the nation's electricity by 2020,” explains Swisher. During the past eight months, power plant developer AES, power generator Siemens and financier Goldman Sachs entered the U.S. wind energy market with purchases of major wind energy companies.

Last year, 389 MW of capacity was installed and 21 MW was decommissioned, to push the year-end cumulative total to 6,740 MW. In 2003, 1,687 MW was installed, 446 MW in 2002, 1,697 MW in 2001 and 67 MW in 2000, reflecting the impact of the federal production tax credit expirations.
AWEA estimates the installed capacity for 2005 could increase by 35% over last year, with a total of 2,500 MW of new turbines, to boost the national total to 9,000 MW. “However, the pending expiration of the wind energy production tax credit at the end of 2005 threatens to stall this remarkable growth in 2006 and later years,” and the association says “the need for clear, consistent policies to encourage wind's continued development remains urgent.”

GE Energy installed the largest amount of capacity in 2004, at 171 MW, while Mitsubishi was responsible for 120 MW and Vestas for 97 MW. In 2003, GE Energy had installed 903 MW, Vestas 359 MW, Mitsubishi 201 MW, NEG Micon 129 MW and Gamesa installed 56 MW.

Southern California Edison is the largest utility purchaser of wind power, buying 1,025 MW last year, with Xcel Energy in second place at 884 MW, PG&E with 680 MW, PPM Energy with 606 MW for resale, and TXU purchasing the output from 580 MW of turbines.

“The industry has proven over the past several years that it can ramp up quickly to meet demand, as evidenced by the figures in our second annual industry rankings of wind energy development," adds Swisher. “With stable policy support, investments will flow on an even larger scale into the U.S. wind energy market. We hope that Congress will recognize that approving a long-term extension of the production tax incentive is key to extending this remarkable record of accomplishment."

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