Big Wind Player Expects More Growth in 2010

Suzlon Energy Ltd., India’s biggest maker of wind-turbine generators, said it expects orders to increase this year as a recovering global economy rekindles investments in alternative energy projects.

An existing orderbook of about $5 billion, held along with German unit Repower Systems AG, which has Repower USA subsidiary based in Denver, will probably expand in the second half of 2010, Chief Operating Officer Sumant Sinha said, without giving a specific forecast. Suzlon and Repower have a combined capacity to produce turbines to generate 5,450 megawatts of electricity, according to Suzlon’s Web site.

“Our current orderbook is quite decent,” Sinha said yesterday in a phone interview with Bloomberg. “The future is bright for us.”

Wind-power equipment makers, which faced slumping demand last year as the global economy suffered the worst recession since World War II, can expect a “pick up” in 2010, Denmark- based MAKE Consulting said in a Jan. 21 report. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s biggest maker of wind turbines, predicted the U.S. market will drive growth this year as financing becomes easier for customers.

Suzlon’s sales will increase in the fourth quarter ending March 31, he said, without giving a number. The company yesterday unexpectedly returned to profit in the third quarter after selling a stake in a unit.

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Taxing Wyoming Wind Power at Fossil Fuels Rate Will Hinder Growth

By Daniel Kesller

When I lived in Wyoming, I was continually impressed with its Governor, Dave Freudenthal. The former US attorney spoke with a plain tongue, advocated for pragmatic solutions, and managed to get elected in a very conservative state as a Democrat. I thought he was a model for other Democrats looking to break into traditionally conservative places. I still admire Gov. Dave, but lately he’s been making some weird decisions on climate and energy. Last week in San Francisco he said that wind energy producers should be taxed at the same rate as dirty fuel producers, a policy that is sure to stunt the growth of the wind power industry in the Cowboy State.

“Wind guys make the argument that ‘We’re so special, we don’t need to be taxed,’ but we need to be more practical and honest,” he said. “If it’s an energy source for which there is so much demand, they can bear the same burden as the rest of us. They get so much support from the federal government, I don’t know that the taxpayers of Wyoming need to subsidize them.” 

“If they can’t contribute to schools, roads, etc., it’s not an industry that I want,” he added. “We’re talking about 3 to 4 percent, not some huge tax.” Wind power producers currently pay property tax and sales tax; their sales tax exemption ended at the beginning of this month. Oil, natural gas and coal pay 4 percent in severance taxes, and counties and municipalities can choose to add up to 2 percent more.

Freudenthal is working on a bill that would tax wind production and will submit it through the state Legislature by Feb. 12, spokesman Jonathan Green said.

 

Wyoming added 170 megawatts of wind power in the third quarter of last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Federal studies show that Wyoming has some of the best-quality wind in the country, a reality I can attest to. While living there, there were times the wind was blowing so hard I couldn’t take the garbage out. Wyoming’s potential for wind energy is 235,000 gigawatt-hours per year.

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Wyoming Ranks 7th in Top 20 States for Wind Power

The Obama Administration has set the goals of generating 25% of our energy from renewable energy sources.  Currently, wind energy makes up about 1% of of U.S. energy supply, powering 4.5 million homes.  According to the American Wind Energy Association, more than twice the energy generated today could be powered by wind — 10,777 kWh annually. Currently, the states with the most wind power installed are not the states with the most wind power potential. 

 The top 20 States for wind power, as measured by annual energy potential in billions of kWhs, factoring in environmental land use exclusions for wind class of 3 and higher.

1. North Dakota – 1,21
2. Texas - 1,190
3. Kansas – 1.070
4. South Dakota – 1,030
5. Montana - 1,020
6. Nebraska - 868
7. Wyoming - 747
8. Oklahoma - 725
9. Minnesota - 657
10. Iowa - 551
11. Colorado – 481
12. New Mexico – 435
13. Idaho – 73
14. Michigan – 65
15. New York – 62
16. Illinois – 61
17. California – 59
18. Wisconsin – 58
19. Maine – 56
20. Missouri – 52

Source: An Assessment of Availability Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential in the Contiguous United States, Pacific Northwest Laboratory 1991.

Collecting Wind Power is Aim of Wyoming Infrastructure Authority’s New Arm

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP)–Developers with plans to send Wyoming wind power to western cities are trying to figure out how to connect scattered wind farms with proposed export transmission lines. The Wyoming Infrastructure Authority formed the Wind Collector and Transmission Task Force last summer to develop a coordinated system for collecting wind power.

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