2008 Wind Technologies Market Report
Berkeley, California - The U.S. Department of Energy released its “2008 Wind Technologies Market Report.” This report, authored primarily by Ryan Wiser and Mark Bolinger of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, provides a comprehensive overview of trends in the U.S. wind power market, with a particular focus on 2008. For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. was home to the fastest-growing wind power market in the world in 2008. Specifically, U.S. wind power capacity additions increased by 60 percent in 2008, representing a $16 billion investment in new wind projects. "At this pace, wind is on a path to becoming a significant contributor to the U.S. power mix," notes report author Ryan Wiser, of Berkeley Lab. Wind projects accounted for 42% of all new electric generating capacity added in the U.S. in 2008, and wind now delivers nearly 2% of the nation's electricity supply.
Wind projects
accounted for 42% of all new electric generating capacity added in the U.S. in 2008, and wind now delivers nearly 2% of the nation's electricity supply.
The “2008 Wind Technologies Market Report” provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the rapidly evolving U.S. wind power market. The need for such a report has become apparent in the past few years, as the wind power industry has entered an era of unprecedented growth, both globally and in the United States. At the same time, the last year has been one of upheaval, with the global financial crisis impacting near-term growth prospects for the wind industry, and with federal policy changes enacted to push the industry towards continued aggressive expansion. "With the market evolving at such a rapid pace, keeping up with trends in the marketplace has become increasingly difficult," notes report co-author Mark Bolinger. "Yet, the need for timely, objective information on the industry and its progress has never been greater...this report seeks to fill that need."
Some of the key findings of the report include:
- The United States continues to lead the world in annual capacity growth. For the fourth straight year, the United States led the world in wind capacity additions, capturing roughly 30% of the worldwide market.
- The cumulative wind capacity installed in the United States at the end of 2008 would, in an average year, be able to supply roughly 1.9% of the nation's electricity consumption.
- Soaring demand for wind has spurred expansion of wind turbine manufacturing in the United States. The share of domestically manufactured wind turbine components has grown from less than 30% in 2005 to roughly 50% in 2008, and that roughly 8,400 new domestic manufacturing jobs were added in the wind sector in 2008 alone.
- Texas led all states with 7,118 MW of total wind capacity installed, followed by Iowa (2791 MW) and California (2517 MW). Seven states now have more than 1,000 MW installed, and 13 have more than 500 MW.
- Iowa and Minnesota have the highest levels of wind penetration.
- Wind power remained competitive in wholesale power markets in 2008, with average wind power prices at or below the low end of the wholesale power market price range.
The report can be downloaded at:
http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/re-pubs.html
A PowerPoint presentation based on the report can be found at: