June 25, 2007—The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently released its first annual report on developments and trends in the US wind power market. The publication, “Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2006,” analyzes trends in the marketplace, including project costs, turbine sizes, and developer consolidation.
The report concludes that wind power is competitive and has been consistently priced at or below the price of electricity produced at fossil-fueled or nuclear power plants. Wind project performance has also been increasing due to improved project siting and technological advances in wind turbines, notes the report.
The report notes that US wind power capacity increased by 27 percent in 2006 and that the US had the fastest-growing wind power capacity in the world in 2005 and 2006. For the second straight year, the US led the world by installing 2,454 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity in 2006—16 percent of the capacity installed worldwide that year—followed by Germany, India, Spain, and China.
Leading the way in annual capacity growth in the US are Texas, Washington, and California. The report also notes that GE Energy is the dominant wind turbine manufacturer for the US market, although it is facing increasing competition from both domestic and foreign companies, several of which are building manufacturing facilities in the US.
For more information, see the complete report (PDF file) or a summary presentation (PDF file) from DOE’s Web site.
