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October 27, 2004
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New wind energy projects will soon be sprouting up across the country.
Credit: D.A. Black |
GE Energy is experiencing a surge in U.S. wind turbine sales, having
secured contracts to supply more than 750 megawatts of wind turbine
capacity while receiving commitments to order another 750 megawatts.
The total value of these orders and commitments is $1.3 billion,
according to the company. GE Energy credits the recent extension of
the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC), which provides a
credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour of wind power, adjusted annually
for inflation. GE Energy will supply its 1.5-megawatt wind turbines to
new projects in California, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas. See the GE Energy press release.
Among the many new wind energy projects now under development is a
114-megawatt wind power project in Texas. FPL Energy announced on October 19th that it will build the Callahan Divide Wind Energy Center in
Taylor County, about 12 miles southwest of Abilene. The company
will erect 76 1.5-megawatt wind turbines at the site by early next
year. See the FPL Energy press release.
A recent study by the Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) found
that wind power has economic benefits for much of the country.
According to REPP, some 90 companies in 25 states currently
manufacture wind turbine components, and more than 16,000 companies in
all 50 states have the technical potential to enter the wind turbine
market. Examining the potential impacts of expanding the U.S. wind
power capacity to 50,000 megawatts—a roughly eight-fold expansion—the REPP study found it could create 150,000 manufacturing jobs
nationwide. See the press release from the American Wind Energy
Association (AWEA), or go directly to the REPP report (PDF 1.7 MB). Download Acrobat Reader.
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