By 2020, the Chinese government plans to generate 15 percent of the nation’s total energy consumption by increasing the use of alternatives to fossil fuels, such as wind and solar power. Today, China is the largest wind power market in the world, but this rapid growth is experiencing a backlash on several fronts. For example, the country is now imposing new quality standards to weed out smaller companies whose products have suffered from quality control, and concentrating manufacturing in larger, more established firms.

Furthermore, European manufacturers that entered the Chinese wind power market, such as the Spanish company Gamesa, have not generated the revenues they had hoped. This is largely due to the China’s strict local content rules that require 70 percent of all components be manufactured by its domestic supply chain. In what has now become a familiar tale, foreign manufacturers try to balance the pros and cons of doing business in a market that is clearly tilted toward maximizing returns for China – and not foreign international corporations. There are inevitable winners and losers.

In 2010, China increased its total wind power capacity to 41.8 GW, up 62 percent from the previous year. However, for the first time since 2005, growth in wind power is slowing down in China because of the following reasons:

• While China used Germany’s feed-in tariffs and mandatory grid access as a model, so far its laws have never been enforced. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 30 percent of China’s installed wind capacity has yet to be connected to the grid and actually delivering valuable carbon free electricity.

• Many PPA’s signed in China contain grid curtailment provisions that lack compensation, reducing expected profits for developers.

• Traditionally, subsidy payouts from the Chinese government happened monthly. Subsidies have been paid out every six months, creating cash flow issues for developers. This bi-annual payout makes it particularly difficult to finance projects in China when depending upon international sources of credit.

There is a striking lack of coordination between different provincial government actions and the central government. While such bureaucratic matters are not unique to China, the country’s inexperience in managing such large portfolios of variable renewable generation raises questions about the sustainability of the world’s hottest market for green energy.

The Chinese company that has the most sophisticated strategy for global wind power development is Goldwind Science & Technology Co, Ltd., a state-owned company, that is impressing wind industry veterans with its superior technology and creative business approach. The company appears to combine the best of all possible worlds: European engineering experience, U.S. entrepreneurship and China’s ability to drive down technology costs to the lowest possible levels.

Unlike other successful Chinese wind turbine companies – such as Sinovel Wind Group – Goldwind is looking well beyond China’s borders for business opportunities and has launched a joint venture in the United States. For example, the firm has installed its 1.5 MW turbine in Pipestone Town, Minnesota and has also signed a contract for a larger turbine delivery project (>106 MW) in Shady Oaks, Illinois.

Article by Peter Asmus, appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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Wind power can now supply 10 million American homes, says a new report by the American Wind Power Association.

The organization says the industry installed 1,100 MW of new wind power capacity in the first quarter of 2011 and entered the second quarter with another 5,600 MW under construction.

“The under-construction figure is nearly twice the megawatts that the industry reported at this time in both 2009 and 2010; moreover, two-thirds of those megawatts are already locked in under long-term power purchase agreements with electric utilities, indicating an enduring industry that has proven both nimble and strong through a range of economic and policy conditions”, AWEA said. Total wind fleet now stands at 41,400 MW.

“American wind energy is ramping up, and these first-quarter figures indicate an industry poised for a renaissance. Refined technologies, affordable prices, and continued demand for clean, home-grown energy – these are all reasons why wind has consistently posted strong growth numbers, adding 35% of all new generating capacity since 2007,” said Denise Bode, AWEA’s CEO.

Minnesota was the state with most capacity additions (293 MW), followed by Washington (252 MW), Illinois (240 MW), Idaho (119 MW) and Nebraska (81 MW).

Of the 5,600 MW currently under construction, one third is located in Oregon, Washington and California, making the West Coast a leader in wind project activity. “States continue to lead the nation with clear, strong policies,” said Elizabeth Salerno, AWEA’s chief economist. “For example, 10 years ago, California led the nation with 60 percent of U.S. wind capacity. With the recent passage of the strongest renewable target in the nation—calling for 33 percent renewables by 2020 – California is poised to retake its leadership, as it already had over 600 MW under construction in the first quarter.”

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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A new report forecasts that offshore wind capacity worldwide will increase by a factor of 17 over the next six years, rising from 4.1 gigawatts of installed capacity today to a projected 70.1 gigawatts in 2017.

While European nations, including the United Kingdom and Denmark, continue to be the leaders in the emerging industry, China’s offshore wind market is expected to pull even by 2017, according to the report by U.S.-based Pike Research.

Although the offshore wind industry faces significant challenges, including high costs, some of the world’s best wind resources are located offshore, often in shallow ocean waters near urban population centers, said Pike senior analyst Peter Asmus. “Interest in freshwater offshore wind is also picking up, especially in the Great Lakes in the United States and Canadian Midwest,” he said.

A key factor in the growth of offshore wind will be the industry’s ability to reduce costs closer to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2030 — less than half of current costs. Currently, offshore wind energy generation costs as much as two to three times more than land-based wind energy.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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Worldwide installed wind capacity grew by 38.3 GW in 2010, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. That’s an increase of 24% in global wind capacity, and slightly higher than previous estimates of how much wind had grown last year. In February the total new installed wind capacity was estimated at 35.8 GW, significantly less than the 38.6 new GW installed in 2009. The new estimate shows wind growth last year proceeded at nearly the same level as in the preceding year, and suggests the industry is poised to continue doing well.

The discrepancy between the February estimate and the one from this month seems to be due mainly to the fact that the Global Wind Energy Council underestimated the amount of growth in China. It now turns out China installed an astonishing 18.9 GW of wind in 2010almost half the new capacity put on the grid worldwide. Now China has a cumulative installed wind capacity of 44.7 GW, with no sign that growth in the industry will slow down anytime soon. Last year China’s installed wind capacity officially surpassed that of the US, making it the biggest wind producer in the world.

Yet as China’s economy continues to grow and the Chinese government struggles to curb carbon emissions, the country will need more wind turbines than ever before. Last month China finalized a Five-Year-Plan that includes a goal of building another 90 GW of wind capacity by the year 2015. By 2020 China wants to reach a total of 200 GW of wind power. Other developing countries are also ramping up wind production. Those that made large new wind energy installations last year include India, Mexico, and a scattering of North African countries.

In the United States wind energy growth did drop significantly last year. In 2009 the US installed 10 GW of new capacity, but the 2010 figure was only half of that. Industry leaders in the US say wind fared badly because Congress has failed to make support for wind permanent. US lawmakers have a habit of passing renewable energy tax incentives that only last a couple of years, giving the industry no certainty as to how long programs will continue to exist. This has made it difficult for wind in the US to really get off the ground, costing thousands of much-needed jobs. Congress’ on-again, off-again relationship with renewable energy is part of what has allowed China to become the new dominant player in the global wind market.

What will wind industry growth look like in 2011? Only time will tell for sure, but the firm MAKE Consulting predicts this will be a good year for wind. Rapid growth is expected to continue not only in Europe and Asia, but in other regions like Africa and Latin America. Of course if the US Congress finally gets serious about supporting wind development (don’t hold your breath), the industry could get a boost the United States too. Whether or not that happens, wind is destined to become a more and more important energy source around the globe as countries green their economies and cash in on cheap, clean energy from turbines.

Article by Nick Engelfried, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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The U.S. could generate 20 percent of its electricity from wind energy by 2030 if it develops offshore wind farms in the coastal waters of 26 states, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). Developing the nation’s offshore wind potential would also create $200 billion in “new economic activity” and 43,000 jobs, according to the report. While the U.S. currently leads the world in installed land-based wind capacity, the nation has no major offshore wind farms.

Last week, however, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed a 28-year offshore lease for the nation’s first offshore wind project off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., which would produce an average of 182 megawatts. State and federal officials are now considering other major offshore wind farm proposals. The Department of Energy report said that if offshore wind farms are densely developed along the U.S. coastline, such installations could theoretically provide four times the electricity capacity that now exists in the U.S.

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Turkey’s alternative energy potential is huge, but it remains locked – at least so far. Earlier this month, Ankara hosted the International Energy Congress on Renewable Energy where the Turkish energy sector was the main discussion point. The congress attracted a record number of participants from public and private sectors, including the Turkish Minister of Energy and members of the country’s Parliament. It was once more observed that the potential of investments in Turkey is by far exceeding the enthusiasm of the bureaucrats and the readiness of the Turkish infrastructure.

Currently 650 MW of wind capacity are installed in Turkey and 40 MW of geothermal capacity. Turkey is utilizing its geothermal resources mostly in the tourism sector. Turkish Hydro power capacity totals almost 14,000 MW. The Turkish solar thermal market is a mature market with 12 million sq-m of collector areas, however the solar PV industry is still at a crawling stage in this sunny Mediterranean state. The potential of all these Turkish renewable resources is very high, and Turkey could be a role model for other countries in the region. Even while investors are aware of the huge potential, legislation and feed-in-tariff incentives are lagging and infrastructure is not developing quickly enough.

The Renewable Energy Law, passed in 2005, was the first step towards utilizing Turkey’s own resources. Renewable energy resources, including hydro power, were seen as an important but not urgent alternative to the country’s dependency on foreign gas. Turkey uses 50% of total imported gas for 45% of the country’s total electricity production and the other 50% in industry and residential heating.

The amendment to the law in May 2007 secured a constant purchase price for all types of renewable sources. In November 2007, the market authority opened its doors for new wind project license applications. At that time, the total wind capacity was 143 MW, but in just one day 75,000 MW applications were registered, most of them being multiple applications on the same location, and some of them in unrealistic if not impossible locations.

The evaluation of these applications continues. The market authority has succeeded in reducing the number of eligible applications to 29,000 MW, but apparently infrastructure constraints in transmission lines limit the practical capacity to 7,500 MW. In order to further reduce the number of applicants, it is expected that a wind competition for recurring license applicants will be held this year, while asking for a wind energy contribution fee for 20 years.

On the other hand, an amendment to the renewable energy law regarding feed-in-tariff incentives still has not materialized. As I have discussed earlier on CleanTechies, the amendment was supposed to pass the National General Assembly last June, but it was suspended to reconsider purchase prices due to the fact that it would create an extra burden on the treasury. During the Energy Congress, it was understood that the solar PV industry still has a long way to go before it will get attractive incentives, and Turkey wants to take more cautious steps after having overburdened itself in the wind energy industry.

Despite the financial crisis which resulted in an estimated contraction of 6.5% of the Turkish economy and almost a 5.2% decrease in electricity consumption compared to last year, investors are not losing their interest in the sector as electricity prices are increasing. A supply shortage was postponed due to the decrease in demand but residential prices have increased 72% in only 22 months since the beginning of 2008.

It is now evident that dependency on foreign resources, lobbying investors and increased private interest in energy will force Turkey to make renewable energy a primary target within the next three years.

[photo credit: Flickr]

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