Tuesday, July 27, 2010, 4:39pm PDT | Modified: July 27, 2010, 4:39 PM

Report shows wind industry in distress

by Christina Williams
Sustainable Business Oregon

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The American Wind Energy Association released its mid-year report Tuesday showing an industry that's lagging behind both 2009 and 2008 results.

There were 1,239 megawatts of new wind capacity installed during the first half of 2010 — that's 57 percent below the first half of 2008 and 71 percent below the first half of 2009.

The numbers may be surprising given the recent activity seen by Portland-based wind developer Iberdrola Renewables, which just this week landed a huge stimulus grant for its investment in a large wind farm in Illinois, and Portland-based wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, which reported a record wind turbine order just last week.

But the AWEA reports that even with the pipeline of orders and wind farm construction planned for the balance of the year, 2010 will still fall at least 25 percent behind 2009 installations.

"The U.S. wind industry is in distress," said AWEA CEO Denise Bode, in a statement Tuesday calling for support of a national renewable energy standard to be included in the Senate energy bill. "A (renewable electricity standard) is a critical component to ensure the U.S. wind industry thrives."

The disappointing AWEA numbers appear with the backdrop of a drastically scaled-back energy bill — one without a renewable electricity standard — being introduced Tuesday in the U.S. Senate.

AWEA's 2009 year-end report signaled a slowdown was on the way as the flow of stimulus funding slowed, manufacturing dropped off and no comprehensive energy policy, including a price signal such as cap-and-trade or a renewable energy standard, appeared likely.

As of the second half of 2010, Oregon had 1,920 megawatts of wind energy capacity installed — enough to power about 480,000 homes — up 9 percent from 1,758 megawatts at the end of 2009.

Seeking Alpha points out that Vestas is apparently bucking the trend of doldrums in the wind energy sector.