American wind energy hits 50-gigawatt milestone

American wind power has reached an historic milestone of 50 gigawatts of electric generating capacity according to a report released last week by the American Wind Energy Association. The report comes just weeks before the U.S. Congress decides on whether to extend a Production Tax Credit that has been a key factor in the growth of wind power in the United States.

The 50 gigawatts (GW) online today means that U.S. wind turbines now power the equivalent of nearly 13 million American homes, or as many as in Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Alabama, and Connecticut combined. According to the Association 50 gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity represents the generating power of 44 coal-fired power plants, or 11 nuclear power plants, avoids emitting as much carbon dioxide as taking 14 million cars off the road, and conserves 30 billion gallons of water a year compared to thermal electric generation, since wind energy uses virtually no water.

Utility-scale wind farms are now located in 39 states, increasing the economic as well as environmental benefits around the country. 'We're very proud that Spring Valley Wind is not only Nevada's first wind power facility but also helps America reach 50 gigawatts of clean wind generation,' said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy.

Industry's growth

Both American wind development and the capacity of a typical turbine have taken off in recent years. Although utility-scale wind generation dates to the early 1980s, it took 23 years to reach 5 GW of U.S. generating capacity (from1981 to 2003).

American wind power reached 10 GW in 2006, 25 GW in 2008, and now has doubled that in just four more years. The last time a new energy technology ramped up to 50 GW was nuclear, in the late 1970s and early 1980s - since then, no new energy technology has been as successful as wind.

With the growth of capacity has come higher domestic content in U.S.-deployed wind turbines which surged from 25 percent U.S.-made in 2005 to over 60 percent today, with a steadily increasing number of factories joining the supply chain here. Today, 500 U.S. factories provide wind power components.

News of the 50-gigawatt milestone comes just as AWEA released numbers for the second quarter that show an industry blazing forward in 2012 despite the policy uncertainty that has 2013 installations in doubt. American wind power installed enough new wind turbines just in April through June 2012 to power the equivalent of 330,000 average American households.

The new installations boosted the industry's total for the year to 1,400 turbines and over 2,800 MW to date, sufficient to power 840,000 homes, and underscored the success of the PTC incentive in creating jobs and helping the industry attract over $15 billion a year of private investment in new wind farms.

AWEA reports more than 10,000 MW of wind farms were under construction at the quarter's end, an all-time record, with over 100 MW under construction in 21 states - headed by Texas, Kansas, California, Oklahoma and Iowa. The blistering pace of new construction results from wind farm developers' racing to finish work before the scheduled Dec. 31 expiration of the PTC, unless Congress acts to extend it.

 

 

Image 01 - USA satellite. E Pluribus Anthony