Currents

An Energy Newsletter for Local Governments

DOE Releases First Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Market

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its first annual report on developments and trends in the U.S. wind power market in May. 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.

The report notes that U.S. wind power capacity increased by 27 percent in 2006 and that the United States had the fastest-growing wind power capacity in the world in 2005 and 2006. For the second straight year, the United States 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 United States are Texas, Washington, and California.

The report also notes that GE Energy is the dominant wind turbine manufacturer for the U.S. market, although it is facing increasing competition from both domestic and foreign companies, several of which are building manufacturing facilities in the United States.

See the DOE press release (www.energy.gov/news/5091.htm), the complete report (2.5 MB — www.nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/41435.pdf), and a summary presentation about the report (2.9 MB — www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/pdfs/wiser_data_report_summary_2006.pdf).

This article came from the June 6, 2006 issue of EERE Network News. This newsletter is funded by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and is also available on the EERE Web site (www.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm). You can subscribe to the EERE Network News using a simple online form (www.eere.energy.gov/news/subscribe.cfm).

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