America’s wind power industry grew by 15% in 2010 and provided 26% of all new electric generating capacity in the United States. With the 5,116MW added last year, US wind installations now stand at 40,181MW.
Statistics from the AWEA US Wind Industry Annual Market Report reveal that wind continues to be an important player in the nation’s energy sector, with lower costs competitive with other generation sources, and it’s second in new generation capacity only to natural gas. In addition to wind power’s increased affordability, the 1603 investment tax credit program contributed to new project starts in 2010. On top of new construction starts, 2010 saw new manufacturing as well. The US wind market entered 2011 with 5,600MW under construction—more than twice the megawatts under construction at the start of 2010. The extension of the 1603 tax credit in December 2010 provided a signal to investors to continue growing wind in the USA, as this strong performance indicates. AWEA’s U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report is available to the association’s members by logging on to the member center at awea.org. Non-members can purchase the report at the AWEA store.
Statistics from the AWEA US Wind Industry Annual Market Report reveal that wind continues to be an important player in the nation’s energy sector, with lower costs competitive with other generation sources, and it’s second in new generation capacity only to natural gas. In addition to wind power’s increased affordability, the 1603 investment tax credit program contributed to new project starts in 2010. On top of new construction starts, 2010 saw new manufacturing as well. The US wind market entered 2011 with 5,600MW under construction—more than twice the megawatts under construction at the start of 2010. The extension of the 1603 tax credit in December 2010 provided a signal to investors to continue growing wind in the USA, as this strong performance indicates. AWEA’s U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report is available to the association’s members by logging on to the member center at awea.org. Non-members can purchase the report at the AWEA store.
