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About Joseph Romm:

Senior Fellow

American Progress

Joe Romm is a Fellow at American Progress and is the editor of Climate Progress, which New York Times columnist Tom Friedman called "the indispensable blog" and Time magazine named one of the 25 "Best Blogs of 2010." In 2009, Rolling Stone put Romm #88 on its list of 100 "people who are reinventing America." Time named him a "Hero of the Environment″ and “The Web’s most influential climate-change blogger." Romm was acting assistant secretary of energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy in 1997, where he oversaw $1 billion in R&D, demonstration, and deployment of low-carbon technology. He is a Senior Fellow at American Progress and holds a Ph.D. in physics from MIT.

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U.S. wind energy industry installed 1,649 MW in third quarter, more than Q2 and Q308

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Posted October 20, 2009 with 131 reads

Keywords: american wind energy association, awea, Carbon and De-carbonization, energy, renewables, Wind

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released its third quarter (Q3) market report today. Their news release noted:

Since the early July announcement of rules to implement the stimulus bill, the wind industry has seen over 1,600 MW (enough to serve the equivalent of 480,000 average households) of completed projects, and over 1,700 MW of construction starts. These projects equate to about $6.5 billion in new investment….

The total wind power capacity now operating in the U.S. is over 31,000 MW, generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 9 million homes, avoiding the emissions of 57 million tons of carbon annually and reducing expected carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 2.5%.

Thank you President Obama and Congressional Democrats (see “EIA projects wind at 5% of U.S. electricity in 2012, all renewables at 14%, thanks to Obama stimulus!”

Here are some more factoids from the release:

The state posting the fastest growth rate in the third quarter was Arizona, which installed its first utility-scale project. Pennsylvania ranked 2nd in growth with 29%, followed by Illinois with 22%, Wyoming with 21%, and New Mexico with 20%.

And from the report:

Texas again gains the largest amount of new capacity bringing the state closer to the 9-GW mark.

A 201-MW project completion in Illinois makes it the tenth state in the “Gigawatt club.”

Arizona saw the addition of the first utility-scale wind farm, making it the fastest-growing in the third quarter.

There are now utility-scale wind power installations in 36 states.

Now we need to pass the climate and clean energy bill.

Wind Power — A core climate solution

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JesseJenkins said:

Once again your (lack of) logic confounds.

Wind is booming despite the recession due to significant direct incentives and investments made in the Stimulus bill (ARRA). Most notably a cash grant worth 30% of the project costs is now available for wind programs, but regardless, the rapid growth in the wind industry has been propelled by a direct tax credit worth roughly $20 per MWh (the PTC).

Now your logic goes: incentives and cash grants spur wind growth, therefore, we need to pass a "climate and clean energy" bill that will do little but establish a modest price on carbon worth less to wind developers than the existing PTC. That's the answer to spur a clean energy revolution? Doesn't make sense.

ARRA invested roughly $35b per year over two years in clean energy, efficiency and related infrastructure. The House-passed ACES bill will invest roughly $10b, or less than a third as much in the same areas.

I'm all for passing a real clean energy bill that builds on the momentum created by the stimulus (and other direct incentives), which your graphics above illustrate. But that would imply investing at least $35b per year and more like $50b per year to spur forward not just wind but a whole suite of clean and low-carbon energy sources including other renewables, CCS, nuclear and, on the transportation side, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and high-speed rail. But that's not the bill you're advocating Joe. And you're doing little to help the Senate do better with your full throated endorsement of the House-passed bill, which you claim "will complete America's transition to a clean energy economy."

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Wed, 2009-10-21 13:11 — JesseJenkins

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