Top 10 Wind Power Stories Of 2012

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Following our list of the top 10 EV stories of 2012, here are what I’d consider to be the top 10 wind power stories of 2012:

windfloat floating wind turbine keeps a better balance
WindFloat floating wind turbine platforms.

10. Floating wind turbines take several steps forward. In various ways, it’s clear that a lot of work is still being put into research and development of wind turbines. Floating wind turbine news was particularly noteworthy this year. Here are several notable floating wind turbine stories from 2012:

 

9. Wind turbines made of fabric; wind turbines made of wood; bigger & bigger turbine — wind turbine technology moves forward. Some other top wind technology stories this year that were good examples of wind turbine innovation include:

 

Obama via The U.S. Army

8. Obama administration shows strong support for wind power. Obama’s crew at the Department of Energy, Department of Interior, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management helped wind power along in several ways this year. Here’s some of the top news on this front:

 
cape wind farm

7. Cape Wind gets closer to actually being built, likely to be 1st offshore wind farm in US. Here are some top Cape Wind stories from the year:

 

Australia wind turbines via Shutterstock

6. Australia implements carbon pricing, driving more wind energy growth in the country. Technically, Australia passed its carbon tax legislation in 2011, but it was implemented in mid-2012. As a result of that and wind power’s low and falling costs, installed wind power has surged this year.

 

Japan flag via Shutterstock

5. Japan implements attractive wind energy feed-in tariff. Perhaps even more significant than the Australian pricing legislation, Japan’s feed-in tariff for wind (not to mention for solar or geothermal) is geared at stimulating some serious wind power growth.

 

wind turbine prices low
Wind turbine in process of installation via Shutterstock

4. Wind power costs keep dropping — cheapest option for new electricity in many places. Wind power is now the cheapest option for new electricity in many regions of the world, thanks to years of technological improvements and market maturation. Meanwhile, the continual improvement of wind power technology is projected to keep reducing the price of electricity from wind for years to come. Quite frankly, wind is a winner, and it is going to keep on winning. Here’s some 2012 news along this front:

 
It’s also worth remembering that, due to merit-order pricing, wind power drives down the price of electricity on the wholesale electricity market. Here are some stories along those lines from 2012:

 


 

largest offshore wind farm
Walney Wind Farm via Moggy443

3. Largest wind farm after largest wind farm — wind farm records set throughout the year. From Europe to… well, mostly in Europe, there’s been quite a bit of news this year regarding record-breaking wind farms.

 

2. Wind power growing by leaps & bounds around the world. Beyond those record-breaking wind farms above, there has been a ton of other wind power development across this world this year. Here’s a sampling of stories that highlight wind power’s tremendous growth:

 

Image Credit: U.S. Air Force/Lance Cheun

1. US wind power PTC is… going to be extended? We think and hope so, but the extension has been delayed for many months due to GOP extremists in Congress, sacrificing thousands or even tens of thousands of US jobs.

Some key stories on these and related topics from throughout the year:

 
Any more ideas for top wind power stories of 2012?

If you’re interested, also see:

 


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Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

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