The American Wind Energy Association has announced that the US wind industry installed 539MW in the first quarter of 2010, the lowest first quarter figure since 2007.
While the industry worked diligently to accelerate shovel-ready projects in 2009 and installed over 10,000MW, continued lack of long-term market signals, combined with low power demand and price, has allowed the pipeline for advanced projects to slow over the past 18 months. AWEA has called on Congress to put in place a strong national renewable electricity standard (RES) as part of comprehensive climate and energy legislation to provide the hard targets needed to stabilize the industry. The cycle of wind capacity installations over the past few years, illustrated by the figure below, has created a poor environment for long-term investment decisions, particularly in wind manufacturing. Dozens of manufacturing companies have already made commitments to build and upgrade US facilities, despite the market’s booms and busts. These companies have created the foundation for renewing the American manufacturing sector and the US could see explosive growth the instant there is a sign of market stability and US commitment to long term policy.