Last year, the US wind industry Production Tax Credit was scheduled to expire at the end of December and the news media was all over it. The PTC is also scheduled to expire that the end of this year, but the issue is getting much less attention, why is that? Senator Don Nickles, who served… Keep reading →
Canadian government negations with energy industry representatives regarding a carbon emissions mitigation strategy have reportedly been underway for the past two years with little to show for the effort. A climate plan could improve the Keystone XL pipeline’s chances of being approved by the US government. [Reuters] The boom and bust cycle that characterizes PTC-dependent… Keep reading →
Quick Take: Bioenergy entrepreneur S. Michael Holly has posted on Energy Trends Insider to claim that special interests including electric power utilities and the wind industry are “misrepresenting wind power costs.” As a result, he claims, they are wrongfully rejecting renewables such as hydropower, geothermal and bioenergy that are actually lower in costs. – By… Keep reading →
Coal, renewables, nuclear and decreased year-on-year electricity demand are all eating into US natural gas-fired power generation. Increased installed wind power capacity played a major role, as developers rushed to achieve project eligibility ahead of scheduled end-2012 PTC expiration, according to Genscape data. “Year-to-date gas-fired generation continues to trail 2012 by 13%. It has lost… Keep reading →
With long development timelines, it’s not apparent yet in new installation capacity, but there was another strong signal on Monday that the wind power manufacturing supply chain is coming back in the United States. The question is if the growth will be sustained. First the news: Big turbine blade manufacturer LM Wind Power put out… Keep reading →
Renewables are making large gains globally, but if they are to continue grabbing market share from fossil fuels, they will require reliable policy backing, according to International Energy Agency Executive Director Maria Van Der Hoeven. The IEA’s 2013 Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report maintains a positive outlook for growth in renewables worldwide. “Despite a difficult economic… Keep reading →
The wind industry privately worries that MLPs are a bargaining chip for their tax credit.
Master limited partnerships are currently the policy du jour in Washington. And unlike the hollow “momentum” earlier this year for a carbon tax, MLPs actually have bipartisan support and legislative potential. Keep reading →
The IRS has clarified the “under construction” provision in the production tax credit.
Some good news from the IRS on April 15. Keep reading →
After a tough period when Chinese and Vietnamese companies dumped cheap products into the country and the production tax credit looked like it might be toast, things are looking up for the U.S. wind tower sector.
One indication: Broadwind Energy said on Tuesday that a new $14 million order means that its Abeline, Texas, plant is pretty much full up for the year. Keep reading →
We already knew it was a record-breaking year for the U.S. wind power industry in 2012, as fears that the production tax credit for wind would vanish drove installations at a frenzy pace toward the end of the year. Some 8,380 megawatts of the year’s 13,124 megawatts of generating capacity went online in the fourth quarter, which means that nearly 15 percent of the total wind power capacity ever installed in the country happened in the last three months of 2012.
But which states did the most damage in the year? A new release from the American Wind Energy Association breaks it down. Keep reading →
