Growth of wind power slows as legislation stalls

Growth of wind power slows as legislation stalls

Jul 28 - Tulsa World

U.S. wind power companies slowed their expansion of electricity generation in the first half of this year, adding 1,200 megawatts -- 70 percent less than a year earlier, the head of the American Wind Energy Association said Monday.

A record 10,000 megawatts was added last year, with 4,000 from January through June, said Denise Bode, the CEO of the group, which represents companies.

Wind power companies expanded turbine farms last year as President Barack Obama pushed renewable energy sources, she said. However, businesses are holding back as support wanes in Congress for a national standard requiring power plants to buy additional power from renewable sources, said Bode, a former member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

"Investors, whether they be in generation or looking at building new manufacturing facilities, just aren't putting the money in," she said. "There is a tremendous amount of concern that the commitment is not there for a renewable standard."

Bode led wind and solar energy advocates Monday in calling on the Senate to advance legislation setting a U.S. standard for renewable electricity.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said last week that he could not garner enough support for a national rule on renewable sources or a cap on carbon-dioxide pollution blamed for climate change.

Bode said the Senate has the 60 votes needed to pass a renewable measure. She hopes the Senate will include it in future legislation, she said.

"I don't think it's all over," she said. "We are just beginning the debate."

The association has said that dropping a renewable standard from energy legislation could put 85,000 wind-industry jobs at risk and jeopardize the creation of more than 270,000 positions.

Electricity added from fossil fuels, such as coal, is surpassing wind energy this year for the first time "in the last several years," Bode said. A tax credit to spur wind energy companies remains through the end of 2010.

Without a renewable-energy rule, she said, "Our industry is likely to be damaged, perhaps over the long haul."

Originally published by KIM CHIPMAN Bloomberg News.

(c) 2010 Tulsa World. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.