Wind Power in 2009: Review and Outlook

U.S Wind Energy Installations 2008-2009:

Source: American Wind Energy Association.

Texas is the clear leader in new wind project installations, with more than double the 09′ new capacity than its nearest competitor, Indiana. Texas is far and away the largest developer throughout 2008, as well as in every quarter last year. Note the lack of any new installations in California during the second half of 2009.

Total Megawatts in the United States from Wind Energy as of 2009: 35,159 MW

Source: American Wind Energy Association

Key takeaway:

“AWEA: the continuing lack of a long-term policy and market signal allowed total investment in the manufacturing sector to drop compared to 2008, with one-third fewer online, announced and expanded wind power manufacturing facilities in 2009. The result was net job losses in the manufacturing sector, which were compounded by low orders due to high inventory. Looking forward, the critical Recovery Act manufacturing incentives that were announced only at the start of this year will also need to be supplemented with the hard targets of a national Renewable Electricity Standard.”

Courtesy to Vincent Fernanado and Graham Winfrey at the Business Insider for bringing this to my attention