US Wind Market Reaches New Heights

With 5,329 megawatts (MW) of new wind capacity installed in 2007, the U.S. wind power market was responsible for installing more than 27% of newly added global wind capacity, securing the nation's position as the largest wind growth market by annual installations for the third straight year. 2008 could set another record for annual installations in the U.S., as more than 8 GW of wind projects are currently under construction and scheduled to be operational by year's end, according to EER.
 

"Wind is becoming increasingly competitive with conventional fossil fuel power generation options such as natural gas and coal. Given the substantial volatility of fossil fuel capital and operating costs in the past several years, wind is now one of the least-cost power generation options available to US utilities seeking new capacity," said EER Research Director Joshua Magee.

More than half of U.S. states have enacted Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) to date, creating a market for up to 295 terawatt-hours (TWh) of renewable energy supply by 2020. In addition, the U.S. federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) remains crucial to the wind project revenue stream, with looming uncertainty regarding the incentive's current expiration at the end of 2008, EER said.

Texas continues to serve as the hub of U.S. wind project development activity, with more than 45 GW of wind projects under development in the state. However, future growth in top U.S. wind regions such as the Southwest, Midwest, West and Pacific Northwest hinges on the completion of numerous proposed transmission projects, according to EER. "Major transmission expansion investments on both the intra- and inter-state levels will be crucial to sustaining long-term build-out of the US market," Magee said.

To download more information on the report from EER, click here.