US Kind of a World Leader in Wind Power Generation

August 11, 2008 By Joshua S Hill 35 Comments

According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the capacity the US has for generating wind power is expected to increase 45% in 2008. America’s currently installed capacity stands at 19,549MW, up a total of 2,726MW from the end of 2007. Thanks to this number, AWEA is announcing that America is now the US world leader in wind electricity generation.

However this is an announcement based on stats that AWEA is hoping the rest of the world won’t look at too hard.

According to AWEA’s second quarter 2008 market report, they bill the US as the new world leader in the generation of wind power electricity. Looking at Germany’s capacity, for example, sees them with a total of 23,000MW, but never using that full capacity. Apparently the winds in America are stronger, and thus max out the US capacity.

But one important little factoid has been left out of this announcement, allowing the AWEA to make a perfectly legitimate statement, but based in marketing reality.

The US may have a capacity of 19,549MW, expected to grow another 4774MW by the end of this year, but it also has a population of 304.8 million people living on a total area of 9.8 million square kilometers of land. Germany, on the other hand, has only a population of 82 million and a total area of 357,000 square kilometers.

Needless to say, I’m going to say that Germany, and many of the European nations, are doing a lot better in terms of their actual rollout of wind power across their entire country.

And things get worse for the US in light of Congress’s failure to re-extend the production tax credit (PTC). This credit, which once provided a 1.9-cent per kilowatt-hour benefit for the first ten years of a renewable energy facility’s operation, provided not only a benefit but an incentive to install such stations.

According to AWEA executive director Randall Swisher, many projects currently in production are being rushed to completion, so that they can complete prior to the expiration of the PTC at the end of this year. In addition, investments in new projects following the expiration have stalled. “If there is a great deal of uncertainty in the market and in policies in the market, that investment capacity will be deployed elsewhere”, he said. “It’s just ludicrous that the Congress is letting this opportunity slip away.”

So, there you have kind of-good news and bad news for the production of renewable energy in the US; pretty much a sign of the times, really.

Filed Under: Energy Policy & Politics, Wind Energy Tagged With: generation, germany, production, renewable, renewable energy, US, Wind, Wind Energy, world leader

About Joshua S Hill

I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, a liberal left-winger, and believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket!

I’m a 27-year-old author and writer from Melbourne, Australia. My first book is in the "looking for an agent" phase right now while I write my second. I also review fantasy books over at Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk).

I love words with a passion, both creating them and reading them.

http://www.suphvac.com/ Electrician Minneapolis

Interesting, I did stumbled across this blog a few times in the final month. I’ll this with my pals.
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http://www.carbonoffsetsdaily.com/ Christopher Keys

The U.S. is so very far behind in this category. It’s not just about volume to volume, the per capita is what we’re trying to increase.

The financing will get there from anyone who is watching the market potential of renewable energy and the carbon market.

Wind is a great resource.
http://www.carbonoffsetsdaily.com/ Christopher Keys

The U.S. is so very far behind in this category. It’s not just about volume to volume, the per capita is what we’re trying to increase.

The financing will get there from anyone who is watching the market potential of renewable energy and the carbon market.

Wind is a great resource.
http://www.dare2believe.com Tom Desrosier

I really think there’s merit to wind power; but its obviously not the only solution. Oil is tough thing to replace.

Tom

http://www.darebelieve.com
http://www.dare2believe.com Tom Desrosier

I really think there’s merit to wind power; but its obviously not the only solution. Oil is tough thing to replace.

Tom

http://www.darebelieve.com
ekbart

Wind energy is 7 times more cost efficient than solar panels. Countries like Denmark are on track to generate 50% of their electric power needs with wind energy. Obviously in a climate with as little sun as Denmark it was an obvious choice. Some of the USA has good wind, other parts have no wind resources. Unfortunately Enron grabbed up much of the wind rights (subsquently sold to GE), so again megacorporations control it all, which means higher prices and slow progress.

Americans are very stubborn about accepting windmills, and wind energy will be slow to catch on here. Too bad because it is a really clean and easy way to generate electricity.
ekbart

Wind energy is 7 times more cost efficient than solar panels. Countries like Denmark are on track to generate 50% of their electric power needs with wind energy. Obviously in a climate with as little sun as Denmark it was an obvious choice. Some of the USA has good wind, other parts have no wind resources. Unfortunately Enron grabbed up much of the wind rights (subsquently sold to GE), so again megacorporations control it all, which means higher prices and slow progress.

Americans are very stubborn about accepting windmills, and wind energy will be slow to catch on here. Too bad because it is a really clean and easy way to generate electricity.
ekbart

Wind energy is 7 times more cost efficient than solar panels. Countries like Denmark are on track to generate 50% of their electric power needs with wind energy. Obviously in a climate with as little sun as Denmark it was an obvious choice. Some of the USA has good wind, other parts have no wind resources. Unfortunately Enron grabbed up much of the wind rights (subsquently sold to GE), so again megacorporations control it all, which means higher prices and slow progress.

Americans are very stubborn about accepting windmills, and wind energy will be slow to catch on here. Too bad because it is a really clean and easy way to generate electricity.
Electro

Wind energy will only become more prevalent. Just look at the wind’s contribution in pushing Columbus here and later, the Mayflower. Hell, the big coal and nuke plants could even rig up some extra turbines to generate more electricity from their polluting stacks. Most politicians could do the same with their jabber-jaws. There are so many ways to generate electricity, it can be so extremely accessible that it should not be considered a commodity anymore but an expected right and freedom.
Electro

Wind energy will only become more prevalent. Just look at the wind’s contribution in pushing Columbus here and later, the Mayflower. Hell, the big coal and nuke plants could even rig up some extra turbines to generate more electricity from their polluting stacks. Most politicians could do the same with their jabber-jaws. There are so many ways to generate electricity, it can be so extremely accessible that it should not be considered a commodity anymore but an expected right and freedom.
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adam

Get out of here it is no scam. T-bone Pickens the greatest oil trader of all time is putting up 6 billion in wind energy. The guy is 80 years old and sharp as a knife. He is one of the richest guys in the world and has no need to make any more money. He does want the USA to become more energy independant rather than pay 700 billion a year in foreign oil. Oil has been coming down in the short term lately but it is clear it is going a lot higher in the long term.

Eventually we will be out of oil and we need to start finding a very efficient way to generate energy off the earth. For the short term though i agree your not going to see anything spectacular until maybe 10-20 years in the future, but you gotta start somewhere. I think tbone is doing the right thing.
adam

Get out of here it is no scam. T-bone Pickens the greatest oil trader of all time is putting up 6 billion in wind energy. The guy is 80 years old and sharp as a knife. He is one of the richest guys in the world and has no need to make any more money. He does want the USA to become more energy independant rather than pay 700 billion a year in foreign oil. Oil has been coming down in the short term lately but it is clear it is going a lot higher in the long term.

Eventually we will be out of oil and we need to start finding a very efficient way to generate energy off the earth. For the short term though i agree your not going to see anything spectacular until maybe 10-20 years in the future, but you gotta start somewhere. I think tbone is doing the right thing.
adam

Get out of here it is no scam. T-bone Pickens the greatest oil trader of all time is putting up 6 billion in wind energy. The guy is 80 years old and sharp as a knife. He is one of the richest guys in the world and has no need to make any more money. He does want the USA to become more energy independant rather than pay 700 billion a year in foreign oil. Oil has been coming down in the short term lately but it is clear it is going a lot higher in the long term.

Eventually we will be out of oil and we need to start finding a very efficient way to generate energy off the earth. For the short term though i agree your not going to see anything spectacular until maybe 10-20 years in the future, but you gotta start somewhere. I think tbone is doing the right thing.
Aaron W

Wind power… bad? Merit in anti-wind arguments? Have you guys even been to a wind farm? I have. C’mon now… even the facts on wind-watch support wind development if you read the facts only and not the interpretations afterwards. Is it perfect? NO. Can we power the whole US? NO. Is it the most cost effective and developed technology to displace coal and natural gas right now? YES! Wake up nation, oil cost money, energy cost money, food cost money and the more our population grows, the more of those things we need. If we don’t start replacing those items with sustainable versions, my children and your children will be praying for God to make them a new earth in 7 days.
Aaron W

Wind power… bad? Merit in anti-wind arguments? Have you guys even been to a wind farm? I have. C’mon now… even the facts on wind-watch support wind development if you read the facts only and not the interpretations afterwards. Is it perfect? NO. Can we power the whole US? NO. Is it the most cost effective and developed technology to displace coal and natural gas right now? YES! Wake up nation, oil cost money, energy cost money, food cost money and the more our population grows, the more of those things we need. If we don’t start replacing those items with sustainable versions, my children and your children will be praying for God to make them a new earth in 7 days.
Aaron W

Wind power… bad? Merit in anti-wind arguments? Have you guys even been to a wind farm? I have. C’mon now… even the facts on wind-watch support wind development if you read the facts only and not the interpretations afterwards. Is it perfect? NO. Can we power the whole US? NO. Is it the most cost effective and developed technology to displace coal and natural gas right now? YES! Wake up nation, oil cost money, energy cost money, food cost money and the more our population grows, the more of those things we need. If we don’t start replacing those items with sustainable versions, my children and your children will be praying for God to make them a new earth in 7 days.
Knob

You sir are an idiot.
Knob

You sir are an idiot.
Knob

You sir are an idiot.
http://www.dare2believe.com Tom Desrosier

Good ananlysis; meaningless though. Its still comparing the height of nats.

Tom

http://www.dare2believe.com
http://www.dare2believe.com Tom Desrosier

Good ananlysis; meaningless though. Its still comparing the height of nats.

Tom

http://www.dare2believe.com
http://www.dare2believe.com Tom Desrosier

Good ananlysis; meaningless though. Its still comparing the height of nats.

Tom

http://www.dare2believe.com
aaron

@ Face Palm you gave the wrong link…its .org as in

http://www.wind-watch.org/

and…youre argument about wind being a bunch of baloney has some merit. While the site you cite seems to tout the lack of true environmental benefits, id say that compared to other traditional sources of generation, wind energy is much cleaner. What do you suggest as an alternative? Solar arrays blocks energy from being absorbed by the ground, animals, trees or shrubs…Hydrokinetic has potential to disrupt sea beds and fish migration…they all have their draw backs, but certainly they are better than billowing smoke in the air.
aaron

@ Face Palm you gave the wrong link…its .org as in

http://www.wind-watch.org/

and…youre argument about wind being a bunch of baloney has some merit. While the site you cite seems to tout the lack of true environmental benefits, id say that compared to other traditional sources of generation, wind energy is much cleaner. What do you suggest as an alternative? Solar arrays blocks energy from being absorbed by the ground, animals, trees or shrubs…Hydrokinetic has potential to disrupt sea beds and fish migration…they all have their draw backs, but certainly they are better than billowing smoke in the air.
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aaron

@Rod–I dont think he is saying that capacity is more important than production. i think he is saying the US can actually realize the capacity because the wind blows stronger more often…alternatively he could be saying that because its generally windier, you can expect to get closer to the maximum output from the generators.

Capacity markets are an interesting beast. Each of the independent system operators, which handle most of the wholesale electricity transmission and generation in the US and Canada, operate capacity markets. capacity is a very important part of maintaining reliable electric markets. Does the US need more installed electricity capacity to meet peak and operate reliably: yes. Is wind energy THE answer, no,its an uncontrollable fuel source. We will always need coal and combined cycle plants to meet peak loads, the challenge is incorporating reliable base load generation that is environmentally friendly and cheaper than the peaker units. Right now the markets dont have that figured out. They dont know how to get wind energy to recover its costs in the relatively limited time they can produce energy. This is a finance question as much as engineering. Engineers need to make the machines more efficient, and banks and regulators need to assure the windmills are recovering costs and supplying to the grid everytime its windy.
aaron

@Rod–I dont think he is saying that capacity is more important than production. i think he is saying the US can actually realize the capacity because the wind blows stronger more often…alternatively he could be saying that because its generally windier, you can expect to get closer to the maximum output from the generators.

Capacity markets are an interesting beast. Each of the independent system operators, which handle most of the wholesale electricity transmission and generation in the US and Canada, operate capacity markets. capacity is a very important part of maintaining reliable electric markets. Does the US need more installed electricity capacity to meet peak and operate reliably: yes. Is wind energy THE answer, no,its an uncontrollable fuel source. We will always need coal and combined cycle plants to meet peak loads, the challenge is incorporating reliable base load generation that is environmentally friendly and cheaper than the peaker units. Right now the markets dont have that figured out. They dont know how to get wind energy to recover its costs in the relatively limited time they can produce energy. This is a finance question as much as engineering. Engineers need to make the machines more efficient, and banks and regulators need to assure the windmills are recovering costs and supplying to the grid everytime its windy.
aaron

@Rod–I dont think he is saying that capacity is more important than production. i think he is saying the US can actually realize the capacity because the wind blows stronger more often…alternatively he could be saying that because its generally windier, you can expect to get closer to the maximum output from the generators.

Capacity markets are an interesting beast. Each of the independent system operators, which handle most of the wholesale electricity transmission and generation in the US and Canada, operate capacity markets. capacity is a very important part of maintaining reliable electric markets. Does the US need more installed electricity capacity to meet peak and operate reliably: yes. Is wind energy THE answer, no,its an uncontrollable fuel source. We will always need coal and combined cycle plants to meet peak loads, the challenge is incorporating reliable base load generation that is environmentally friendly and cheaper than the peaker units. Right now the markets dont have that figured out. They dont know how to get wind energy to recover its costs in the relatively limited time they can produce energy. This is a finance question as much as engineering. Engineers need to make the machines more efficient, and banks and regulators need to assure the windmills are recovering costs and supplying to the grid everytime its windy.
Face Palm

Wake up people! Wind power is the biggest scam going this decade. It’s probably the WORST way to generate alternative energy. Enron started this whole smoke and mirrors game and people refuse to look at the facts. I guess it’s just easier to sit back and “feel” all green and fuzzy.

http://www.wind-watch.com
Face Palm

Wake up people! Wind power is the biggest scam going this decade. It’s probably the WORST way to generate alternative energy. Enron started this whole smoke and mirrors game and people refuse to look at the facts. I guess it’s just easier to sit back and “feel” all green and fuzzy.

http://www.wind-watch.com
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http://atomicinsights.blogspot.com Rod Adams

Joshua:

You wrote: “According to AWEA’s second quarter 2008 market report, they bill the US as the new world leader in the generation of wind power electricity. Looking at Germany’s capacity, for example, sees them with a total of 23,000MW, but never using that full capacity. Apparently the winds in America are stronger, and thus max out the US capacity.” Are you trying to say that “capacity” is a more important measure than production?

For my money, production always is far more important than capacity, especially when it comes to energy. Would you reward a clean up hitter for his capacity to hit home runs or his actual production?

What good does a stationary wind turbine do? Why would anyone advocate expending resources (including a fair amount of energy in the manufacturing and construction process) building turbines in poor wind regimes where the actual production is far less than the capacity?
http://atomicinsights.blogspot.com Rod Adams

Joshua:

You wrote: “According to AWEA’s second quarter 2008 market report, they bill the US as the new world leader in the generation of wind power electricity. Looking at Germany’s capacity, for example, sees them with a total of 23,000MW, but never using that full capacity. Apparently the winds in America are stronger, and thus max out the US capacity.” Are you trying to say that “capacity” is a more important measure than production?

For my money, production always is far more important than capacity, especially when it comes to energy. Would you reward a clean up hitter for his capacity to hit home runs or his actual production?

What good does a stationary wind turbine do? Why would anyone advocate expending resources (including a fair amount of energy in the manufacturing and construction process) building turbines in poor wind regimes where the actual production is far less than the capacity?