First, the good news
In its third-quarter report, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) projects that 2,750 MW of wind power capacity will come on-line this year. That's about as much generating capacity as Rhode Island has. Accounting for a big chunk of the total is FPL Energy's just-completed Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Taylor County, Texas. At 735 MW, it takes the title of the largest wind farm in the U.S. The plant entered service in September and is powered by 291 GE 1.5-MW turbines and 130 Siemens Power Generation units each rated at 2.3 MW (Figure 2). FPL Energy currently operates 48 wind farms in the U.S. with a gross capacity of nearly 4,100 MW; more than 1,600 MW are in Texas alone.
2. Big is beautiful. FPL Energy dedicated the third phase of the 735-MW Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Texas on October 19. It is now considered the world's largest wind farm. One hundred and thirty Siemens Power Generation wind turbines rated at 2.3 MW apiece, like this one, do the heavy spinning there. Courtesy: Siemens Power Generation
When Horse Hollow came on-line, Texas surpassed California in total wind energy production, making the Lone Star State No. 1 in the U.S. California had been the leader for 25 years; at one point in the 1980s the Golden State was home to 8% of worldwide wind power capacity. Recent legislation calls for California utilities to get 20% of their supply from green sources by 2010. But transmission bottlenecks may make that laudable public policy goal difficult to reach.
If there's one thing AWEA members would like from the yet-to-be-seated 109th U.S. Congress next year, it's another extension of the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind power. The credit, which was extended for two years by the 2005 Energy Policy Act, is now set to expire in December 2007. In the past, whenever the PTC was allowed to expire, investment in wind projects was chilled by the uncertainty of future subsidies, until subsidies were reinstated. The interim result was an all-too familiar boom and bust cycle of wind project development.
"To strengthen our energy independence we need safe, domestic, and inexhaustible energy, and wind power provides just that," said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. "The U.S. wind energy industry is working all-out to meet current demand for new wind farms. But the nation needs a timely and long-term extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit to allow companies to plan beyond 2007 and continue to build a strong and secure energy future," he added.
According to the AWEA, some 1,345 MW of wind capacity already have been completed this year through the third quarter, bringing the U.S. total to 10,492 MW. The DOE's Energy Information Administration notes that this year new wind capacity may account for 18% to 20% of total U.S. new capacity; only new gas-fired generation will add more capacity. The AWEA had projected 3,000 MW for 2007, but many projects slated for 2006 will slip into 2007, principally due to interconnection delays. Next year looks equally bright, with 3,000 to 3,500 MW projected to enter commercial service.
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