2018 Was A “Fulcrum Year” For Renewable Energy In The US

Donald Trump can huff and puff until he is blue in the face about the wonders of burning coal to make electricity, but experts in the field of renewable energy tell Inside Climate News that 2018 was a “fulcrum year” for energy generation in the United States. The old paradigm that has been in place for 100 years was ushered out and replaced with a new paradigm that will prevail into the foreseeable future.

“2018 has been a turning point, as some utilities are beginning to make decisions based on the market of the future rather than that of the past,” says Howard Learner, president and executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. The Midwestern states are ground zero for the transition to renewable energy. “In the Midwest in particular, renewable energy is a win-win for utilities and the ratepayers at this point,” says Travis Miller, director of utilities research at Morningstar.

Moea Defends Renewable Energy Plan After Control Yuan Pans Feed-in Tariff

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday defended its renewable energy policy roadmap after the Control Yuan issued corrective measures on Friday.

The Control Yuan in a report pointed to several shortcomings in the ministry’s renewable energy development plan, saying they could hamper the nation’s long-term progress.

Critics have said that the plan was hastily put together to meet President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy goal of generating 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from alternative energy sources by 2025.

Vietnam’s Wind Power Tariffs Attractive, but Grid Capacity a Major Concern

Vietnam’s new feed-in tariffs are attracting great interest in wind power, but investors are concerned about grid connection and purchase agreements.

The new feed-in tariffs (FIT) are expected to be attractive to domestic and foreign investors, Tommaso Rovatti Studihard, South East Asia sales director for wind power developer Vestas Asia Pacific, told VnExpress International.

The government recently approved tariff revisions under Decision 39 on support mechanisms for the development of wind power.

Build a Bridge, Not a Wall: Us Companies Have Renewable Energy Opportunities in Mexico

You might think the people of Texas are thrilled to hear the current president threaten to shut down the US government on December 7th if Congress doesn’t give him $5 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico, where everyone is a dangerous criminal, a rapist, or a murderer. Since Texas has a border with Mexico that stretches 1,254 miles and has 28 international bridges and other crossings, surely it favors such a wall, doesn’t it?

Not necessarily. It turns out many people in Texas see the people on the other side of the border as neighbors, not mortal enemies intent on slaughtering them in their sleep. According to an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News written by Carlos Torres-Verdin, now is the perfect time to leverage some of the experience Texas has acquired in renewable energy — especially wind power — by sharing it with Mexico. There’s money to be made, and Mexico has recently elected a new president and a new mayor of Mexico City who are strong renewable energy advocates. Torres-Verdin is a professor of petroleum and geosystems engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.

7 Incoming Governors Strongly Support Renewable Energy Goals

Two-thirds of voters in Arizona fell prey to one of the most vicious disinformation campaigns in the annals of US politics last month. Bombarded by more than $25 million worth of lies bought and paid for by local utility company Arizona Public Service, they turned thumbs down on a proposal that would have required the state to obtain 50% of its electricity from renewable energy sources — not including nuclear — by 2030.

Arizona’s loss is several other states’ gain, however. Incoming governors in Connecticut, Maine, Colorado, Illinois,  Nevada, New Mexico, and Oregon have all pledged to beef up their state’s renewable energy goals, according to a report by PV Magazine.

World's Largest Windfarm Opens Off Cumbria Coast

The world’s largest offshore windfarm, capable of supplying enough green energy to power around 600,000 homes, has opened off the coast of England.

The Walney Extension, a Danish-led and funded project in the Irish Sea off Cumbria, consists of 87 turbines covering an area of 145 square kilometres – roughly equivalent to 20,000 football pitches.

Nearly 12 miles off the coast of Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness, the windfarm is capable of generating 695 megawatts and has been connected to the National Grid by 300km of cables.

This Coal State Holds The Key To 100% Renewable Energy

In the topsy-turvy world of today’s renewable energy landscape, odd things are happening. One good example is the western US state of Wyoming. It is the nation’s single most coal-producing state, and yet it is also set to play a critical role in the 100% renewable energy plans of the City of Fort Collins, just across the border in Colorado.

Is Wyoming cutting off its nose to spite its face, coal-wise? Good question! There’s an interesting energy storage angle in play, so let’s take a closer look and see what’s going on.

Wind Power Poised for Record Year, Despite Initial Tax Law Concerns

• The number of contracts signed for wind power projects hit a record of 3,500 MW in Q1 2018, according to the American Wind Energy Association, signaling that 2018 should be a strong year for the renewable resource.
• There are now 33,449 MW of wind projects under construction or in advanced development in the U.S., a 40% increase from last year and the highest level since AWEA began compiling the metric at the beginning of 2016.
• Despite fears that changes in the tax code would slow wind power development, the tax equity market, the key financing vehicle for wind projects, appears to have adapted and survived intact.

Global Wind Power Capacity Grows by 52.6 GW

The Global Wind Energy Council released its annual market statistics last week in Brussels. The 2017 market remained above 50 GW, with Europe, India and the offshore sector having record years. Chinese installations were down slightly—‘only’ 19.5 GW—but the rest of the world made up for most of that. Total installations in 2017 were 52,573 MW, bringing the global total to 539,581 MW.

Beyond the statistics, however, is the fact that wind power is in a rapid transition to becoming a fully commercialized, unsubsidized technology; successfully competing against heavily subsidized fossil and nuclear incumbents. The transition to fully commercial market-based operation has left policy gaps in some countries, and the global 2017 numbers reflect that, as will installations in 2018.

Alberta, Canada Leads the Pack With Cheap Wind Power; More to Come

When the winning bids for Alberta’s renewable power auction were announced in December, jaws dropped.

The winning projects were approved at a record-breaking low price of C3.7 cents per kilowatt hour — the lowest price for electricity anywhere in Canada.

“This is a game changer. Even the most optimistic observers were shocked at how low the price turned out to be,” said Binnu Jeyakumar, electricity program director at the Pembina Institute.

Orleans, NY Adopts New Wind Law

The Orleans Town Council has adopted a new wind law after more than a year of determining new regulations and fine tuning.

The town’s attorney, James A. Burrows, said the board adopted the law at its Dec. 28 meeting and he sent the law to the state Department of State for its files less than a week later. The new law, which combines the 2011 version with dozens of amendments, takes effect when the department officially files it.

Creating and revising the town’s wind law has been an ongoing project for more than a decade, Mr. Burrows said. The board adopted the first version of its wind law in 2007.

Brazil to Dominate Latin America’s Wind Power Market in 2018

Latin American wind has grown swiftly in recent years to almost 20 GW by August 2017, with 80 percent of installed capacity in Brazil and Mexico.

Senior analyst for Latin America at MAKE Consulting, Brian Gaylord told Renewable Energy World that MAKE expects Latin America to rebound next year, with 4 GW of new wind power capacity.

Republican Tax Bill Hits Wind Power, Solar Largely Unscathed

A Republican tax bill unveiled on Thursday included cuts to renewable energy tax credits considered critical to enabling wind projects to compete with fossil fuel plants, but tax breaks for solar power were left largely intact.

The credits, which receive broad bipartisan support, were extended by Congress less than two years ago.

The wind industry decried the proposal, saying it put $50 billion in planned investment at risk, while the solar sector expressed relief the bill mostly preserved the timeline laid out in 2015 for its primary tax credit.

Idling Wind Power Facilities: A Serious Issue Facing China’s Wind Sector

The average curtailment rate among wind power facilities across China remains a serious issue, at 17 percent, while full-year capacity of the idling facilities stood at 49.7 billion kWh for 2016, according to data from the China National Energy Administration. 

Curtailment rates in Gansu province, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Jilin province were up to 43 percent, 38 percent and 30 percent last year, respectively. The average across the country as a whole stood at 16 percent, while the capacity of idling wind power facilities reached 13.5 billion kWh in 1Q17. 

Wind Power Grows While U.S. Electricity Prices Drop

Last month former Texas Governor and new Energy Secretary Rick Perry tasked his staff with looking at America's power grid. Secretary Perry wants to know how federal policies are impacting energy sources that are vital for ensuring the grid's long-term reliability, resilience and affordability. Recently, I wrote that Perry is asking the right question. As the governor who oversaw the transformation of Texas into a wind power leader, Perry is going to like what his staff finds.

Here's why. In his memo, Secretary Perry laid out three critical yardsticks he wants to assess with his 60-day review. I will offer my take on each of these — from a wind industry perspective — in three columns leading up to our annual WINDPOWER conference in Anaheim, Calif., on May 22-25.

Power Markets and Price

Perry’s first key metric is the marketplace. He wants to know how policies and a changing fuel mix are changing wholesale electricity markets.

It’s an important question because the business reality has moved past decades-old assumptions about how the grid operated when it was powered largely by coal, gas and nuclear.

But what has kept pace is the ability of the grid to adapt to a different energy mix, with widespread switching from coal to gas, and the addition of large amounts of economically competitive renewable energy.

Wind in particular is winning in the marketplace, because of its proven grid reliability and market-beating cost. Wind power costs are down 66 percent since 2009, as low-cost wind has joined low-cost natural gas as a market leader.

Indeed, across much of the nation, wind is now the cheapest source of new electric-generating capacity, attracting utilities such as Xcel Energy and MidAmerican Energy, and corporate buyers such as Amazon, Google, Home Depot and GM.

And as wind has increased its market penetration almost five-fold since 2008, overall U.S. wholesale power prices have dropped more than 60 percent. That is no coincidence.

In fact, in 2016 wind exceeded hydro as the No. 1 U.S. renewable energy in total capacity, enough to power 24 million homes. Wind capped a second straight year at more than 8,000 MW installed and beat both natural gas and solar in new U.S. utility-scale capacity for 2015-2016 combined, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The market has adapted and built up tremendous momentum behind its lowest-cost energy sources. Today, customers' preferred U.S. energy choices are wind, gas and solar, based on the latest levelized cost of energy (LCOE), as reported by Lazard.

Not surprisingly, these three home-grown energy sources accounted for more than 90 percent of new U.S. utility-scale electric-generating capacity last year. And in the first quarter of 2017, the U.S. wind industry installed nearly 1,000 new wind turbines, for its strongest 1Q since 2009.

Let the Marketplace Decide

Some may not like this new economic reality, but it remains a reality nonetheless. And it's a reality that powers a workforce of more than a half a million U.S. jobs today, and well over a million U.S. workers in years to come.

Federal and state policies have an important role in encouraging innovation without excessive regulation, ensuring a level playing field for competition based on price, eliminating barriers to entry and connecting supply with demand centers, and enabling investment with a predictable business environment.

Ultimately, however, it is up to the marketplace to decide winners and losers, based on price.

Those who oppose wind power’s role in reducing prices are arguing to turn back the clock to higher electricity costs for consumers and businesses.

That’s not a winning proposition.

Source

GWEC Annual Wind Power Update, Short Term Forecast More than 800 GW Globally by 2021

We have just released our Global Wind Report — Annual Market Update at Windergy in Delhi, detailing how in 2016, more than 54 GW of clean renewable wind power was installed across the global market, which now comprises more than 90 countries, including nine with more than 10,000 MW installed, and 29 which have now passed the 1,000-MW mark.

Cumulative capacity grew by 12.6 percent to reach a total of 486.8 GW. Wind power penetration levels continue to increase, led by Denmark pushing 40 percent, followed by Uruguay, Portugal and Ireland with well over 20 percent, Spain and Cyprus around 20 percent, Germany at 16 percent; and the big markets of China, the U.S. and Canada get 4, 5.5, and 6 percent of their power from wind, respectively.

How the US Wind Sector Is Building Momentum, Driving Economic Benefits

Strong growth in U.S. wind energy after a two-year slowdown

Winds of change are blowing across the nation. After a recent market slump, supportive policies and cost declines are driving growth in the wind energy sector, and bringing billions of dollars in economic benefits to states throughout the U.S.

The American wind fleet closed 2016 with 82,183 megawatts of cumulative installed capacity, enough to power 24 million average American homes, according to a new report released by the American Energy Wind Association (AWEA) in partnership with Navigant Consulting. Over the next four years, the wind industry is expected to add another 35,000 megawatts of capacity, and drive $85 billion in economic activity through investments in new wind projects, manufacturing, construction and operations expenditures, and tax payments.

Here are five graphics that show how the U.S. wind sector is building momentum.

China to Cut Solar, Wind Power Prices as Project Costs Fall

China is reducing the amount of money it pays to newly completed solar and wind power generators for their electricity, in order to reflect declines in construction costs, the country’s price regulator and economic planner said Monday.

The nation will cut tariffs paid to solar farms by as much as 19 percent in 2017 from this year’s levels, and by as much as 15 percent for wind mills in 2018 from current prices, according to a statement posted on the National Development and Reform Commission’s website. The changes will help reduce subsidies paid to new photovoltaic and wind power projects by about 6 billion yuan ($863 million) annually, the NDRC said.

Wind Power Reaches Lofty Milestones in Iowa

With the first three quarters of 2016 now in the books, it’s time to pause and take stock of where things stand. Here’s what I see: a homegrown industry achieving milestones that seemed far-fetched just a few years ago.

Wind becomes vital to state electricity mixes

The biggest news so far this year is that Iowa has set yet another wind power record: it generated over 35 percent of its electricity using wind from August 2015 through August 2016, the most recent month with available data. That makes Iowa the first state to generate over a third of its electricity using wind.

China’s Wind Power Curtailment Rate Declined During First Nine Months of 2016

China’s aggregate wind power curtailment reached 39.47 billion kWh during the first nine months of 2016, according to data from the National Energy Administration of China. The country’s average wind power curtailment rate was 19 percent, down from 26 percent in the first quarter of 2016 and 21 percent in the first half of this year.

According to the 13th Five-Year Power Development Plan, spanning 2016 to 2020, which was released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, China aims to reduce the wind power curtailment rate to 5 percent within five years. Industry insiders pointed out that it would be possible to achieve the target ahead of schedule if the country can cut the curtailment rate by around 10 percent on an annual basis.