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Rough Year for WindWashington, D.C. U.S. wind installations dropped 71% in the second quarter of this year compared to 2009, according to new figures released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The numbers point to a trend that has been increasingly apparent: With a poor economy and an unstable policy environment, many wind developers and manufacturers are struggling. AWEA reports that total installed capacity was about 700 MW in Q2. The organization points to the lack of a long-term national renewable energy requirement as the single biggest obstacle in front of the industry. That is certainly a major problem. But lower demand for power and decreasing natural gas prices have also been key factors in slowing the development of projects. AWEA officials are calling for a renewable energy standard, which could again increase demand for wind electricity. "Strong federal policy supporting the U.S. wind energy industry has never been more important,” said AWEA CEO Denise Bode. Many advocacy groups fear that time is running out to pass legislation focused on renewables. With the prospects for a comprehensive cap and trade bill all but dead, the industry is hoping that simple steps like an extension of the grant program or the creation of a renewable energy standard can be taken before election season this fall. Congress' poor historical record on renewables-related support makes those slim possibilities as well. Here are some second quarter highlights as reported by AWEA:
While many in the industry predicted such a downturn, these statistics are certainly sobering. You can check out the full report here.
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Stephen Lacey
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We at Doty Windfuels have shown that there is a new solution that needs to enter the public conversation. Sound analysis and simulations, by a team of distinguished scientists and engineers, show that all types of standard fuels – gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel – can be made from CO2 and water using off-peak wind energy (that is, wind in the middle of the night), which is very cheap and clean. That might sound like science fiction, but we have recently published eight peer-reviewed technical papers showing that it can be done efficiently and at low cost. We call these fuels "Windfuels".
We project the cost of the equipment needed to make fuels from CO2 and off-peak wind energy will be only 1% of the cost of algae farms that could produce an equivalent amount of fuel. The analysis shows there is enough CO2 and potential off-peak wind energy in the United States to make three times as much transportation fuel as we currently use, and do that at prices that will compete, even at current oil prices. Many more technical and economic details are available on the website http://dotyenergy.com/ .
It's gratifying to see that the Air Force has recently begun to appreciate that this is worthy of supporting. The catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf is bringing a new awareness to the need for a real alternative to petroleum. Making fuels from CO2 and water using off-peak wind energy is our most viable solution to sustainable carbon-neutral fuels and energy storage.