June 1 - A study from IHS Emerging Energy Research forecasts that 6.3 to 7.1 GW of wind energy installations could be installed in the USA in 2010, 40 to 60 percent lower than the 9.8 GW installed last year.

One of the study's authors suggests that 2010 will be the first time since 2004 that the U.S. wind industry will not surpass the previous year's growth level, despite unprecedented federal wind incentives. The study blames reverberations from the financial crisis which continue to create a difficult near-term market landscape especially in light of continued energy policy uncertainty.

According to the study, the U.S. Wind Power Markets and Strategies: 2010-2025, the U.S. is still on track to add more than 165 GW of new capacity through 2025.

The study says that the Midwest, Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states will act as major wind power export hubs to other areas, including California, the South and the Mid-Atlantic. Wind will represent USD330 billion in investments between 2010 and 2025, but offshore wind projects will only account for 5 percent of total wind power installations built in 2025.

The study said that transmission continues to be a "barrier" to the development of wind projects.

The U.S. supply chain continues to expand domestically, supported by strong prospects for future wind power growth. The surge in U.S. wind installations over the past three years has encouraged established European players and new entrants from Asia to enter the U.S. market, ensuring a steady supply of turbines to the U.S. market for the foreseeable future. 

Companies active in this exciting area of the heavy lift and OOG market, will be interested to read that our industry focus item in the July / August edition of HLPFI will be on Power Generation - Renewable Energies. For more information about editorial or advertising opportunities please contact ian@heavyliftpfi.com

Topics