No Recession for Wind Power Industry
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 03.31.08
Many industries are currently worried about their short to medium-term prospects. Not the wind power industry, apparently. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) forecasts a 155% growth, with installed capacity reaching 240 gigawatts by 2012.
Part of the optimism is due to the fact that both the U.S. and Chinese markets for wind power are growing faster than was expected only a year ago, and the growing Chinese manufacturing capacity for wind turbines is also helping. Things are changing so fast, maybe even these new forecasts will later turn out not to have been optimist enough.
GWEC now forecasts an addition of 146 GW will come online in the next five years, equalling an investment of more than €180 billion (US $277 billion). By 2012 wind generated electricity is expected to reach over 500 terrawatt-hours (TWh) annually, up from 200 TWh in 2007. In 2012, Europe will continue to host the largest wind energy capacity, with the total reaching 102 GW, followed by Asia with 66 GW and North America with 61.3 GW, according to GWEC.
Big numbers!
The forecast for annual installation is also promising. By 2012, Asia (led by China) is expected to be #1 with 12.5 gigawatt/year, with North-America in #2 at 10.5 gigawatt/year and Europe #3 with 10.3 gigawatt/year.
Currently, installation rates for the whole industry are at about 20 gigawatt/year.
::GWEC Says Wind Boom will Continue
See also: ::New Wind Power Record in Spain: 40.8% of Total Demand!, ::Enercon E-126: The World’s Largest Wind Turbine (for now), ::Motorola's Solar and Wind-Powered Cell Phone Base Stations in Africa, ::Global Wind Power Capacity Reaches 100,000 Megawatts
There is embedded in this optimism an underlayer of environmental good that few are speaking of.
Put hundred wind turbines up just past the exurban fringe and you have effectively created a sprawl barrier, and a protecting agricultural lands from further housing incursion.
The value of the agricultural land is already going up because of commodity grain prices. Add the extra value of a few thousand bucks per year per turbine as compensation for the farmer and he no longer has a need to bail out of agriculture. He's a got a baseline income stream that buffers him against a drop in food prices.
JL, that's an excellent point. I never thought about it like that.
Unfortunately a harsh enough recession may kill a lot of these projects. Idle factories and empty offices don' t use as much electricity.
We have a 100% wind power for our house, and we pay more than the going rate for natural gas produced power. It wouldn't be the first on the list of things to go if "things got tight" but it certainly would be on the list.
jl good point never thought of it like that, i have been thinking for sometime about moving to texas to go to trade school to be a wind tech, green job and good money
Who out there is ready to put their money where our attention is focussed?
I have an opportunity for anyone interested in early-venture-stage wind technology investment that will prove to be 100% more efficient, more cost-effective, more readily-available and easier to transport and install, while at the same time have the ability to store energy and operate in all wind categories.
The time horizon on this turbine technology is not far off and it has gained the praise of energy experts at M.I.T as well as state government leaders in the US, Indian Reservations, and political and corporate leaders in China and India.
Please contact me for more details.
This technology will revolutionize the industry.
Any takers? You can contact me directly at danielflynn@gmail.com