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. "Wind power installations are up, and that is good news for America's economy, environment, and energy security," said AWEA CEO Denise Bode.
Nonetheless, the AWEA does not expect the fourth quarter of 2009 to be as strong as the fourth quarter of 2008 since the 5,000 MW now under construction is nearly 38% lower than the over 8,000 MW under construction at this time last year.
A total of over 31,000 MW of wind power capacity is now operating in the US, generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 9 million homes and avoiding the emissions of 57 million tons of carbon annually. As a result, expected carbon emissions from the electricity sector are 2.5% lower.
The state posting the fastest growth rate in the third quarter was Arizona, which installed its first utility-scale project. Pennsylvania ranked second in growth with 29%, followed by Illinois with 22%, Wyoming with 21%, and New Mexico with 20%. The top two states in additions for new capacity added in the third quarter are Texas with 436 MW and Oregon with 251 MW while the top five states in total operating wind capacity are: Texas (8,797 MW), Iowa (3,053 MW), California (2,787 MW), Minnesota (1,805 MW), and Oregon (1,659 MW).
Despite this significant addition of wind power during the third quarter, the AWEA has also reported that wind turbine manufacturing still lags below 2008 levels, in both production and new announcements. "Manufacturing, which has the potential to employ many more Americans in good, clean energy jobs, remains uncertain,” said Denise Bode. “A firm, long-term national commitment to renewable energy is still needed for the US to become a wind turbine manufacturing powerhouse and create hundreds of thousands of jobs,” she advised.
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