THEY’LL SPEND ON WIND TO WIN THE FUTURE

Wind Energy Investment of $65 Billion May Curb Fossil Fuel Use
Jeremy Van Loon and Alex Morales (W/Chris Martin, Todd White and Reed Landberg), March 21, 2010 (Bloomberg News via BusinessWeek)

"China WindPower Group Ltd., Iberdrola SA and Duke Energy Corp. will lead development of an estimated $65 billion of wind-power plants this year that let utilities reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

"…Bloomberg New Energy Finance assumes a 9 percent increase in global installations of wind turbines this year, adding as much as 41 gigawatts of generation capacity. That’s the equivalent of 34 new nuclear power stations…Utilities that built natural gas-fired generators during the last decade are increasingly erecting turbines and buying wind power from competitors…as governments consider ways to penalize carbon-based fuels…[G]as-fired plants are relatively cheap to build and pollute less than coal plants…[but] still emit carbon dioxide, which will carry higher costs if governments tighten environmental rules…"

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"Last year, $63 billion was invested in turbines, adding 37.5 gigawatts of new capacity and bringing potential output of electricity from wind to 157.9 gigawatts…A third of those turbines were installed in China, which doubled its capacity to 25 gigawatts…Wind is gaining support as turbine costs fall and government stimulus money helps pay for the plants. Prices for turbines have declined by about 15 percent to 1.05 million euros ($1.44 million) per megawatt over the past two years…

"…[N]ew wind turbines may supply up to 12.3 million homes…Worldwide investment in renewable-energy, which also includes solar and biomass facilities, may top $200 billion this year after outlays fell 6 percent to $162 billion in 2009…That investment is moving ahead even after world leaders failed to reach a binding agreement limiting emissions from carbon-based fuels…This year, Duke plans to install 250 megawatts of wind equipment in the U.S…China WindPower will invest about HK$900 million ($116 million) in 10 to 12 wind farms this year, nearly doubling its capacity…Iberdrola SA’s clean-energy unit expects to add 1,750 megawatts of new capacity in 2010, most of that from wind power…"

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"Renewable energy sources may expand their share of the electric power generation market to 9 percent worldwide by 2030 from 2.5 percent now as gas use remains about 21 percent…Natural gas consumption has risen 20 percent since 2000…Coal, which produces the most carbon when burned, also is benefiting from rising energy demand. Its market share for electric generation will grow 3 percentage points by 2030 to 44 percent…

"Lower wind turbine prices mean more power for the same money, and developers are rushing to take advantage of $184 billion in economic stimulus money set aside for clean energy projects…Making wind power even more attractive is its “scalability,” or the ease with which a developer can add turbines as demand rises…[Wind is expected to reach grid parity] and be able to compete with fossil fuels without subsidies within four years…BP Plc, the world’s biggest oil producer, is investing in wind and solar power as renewable energy gains market share on fossil fuels…"