MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Xcel Energy announced today that this month the company will achieve 1,000 megawatts of wind power capacity on its Minnesota system.

This renewable energy milestone will be reached by year-end, when PPM Energy’s MinnDakota Wind Power project goes on-line. The 150-megawatt development is located on the Minnesota-South Dakota border.

Harnessing the vast potential of the UK’s island status entered a new phase today (Monday 10 December) as Energy Secretary John Hutton announced proposals to open up its seas to up to 33GW (gigawatts) of offshore wind energy. He also announced that he will chair a panel of experts to advise him on renewable energy, underscoring the UK Government’s determination to play its part in meeting the EU target of 20% renewable energy by 2020.

Speaking to the European energy industry in Berlin, Mr Hutton launched a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the seas surrounding the UK, paving the way for a possible ‘third round’ of wind energy development and beyond:

“The draft plan I’m setting out today could allow companies to develop up to 25 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2020, in addition to the 8 gigawatts already planned.

“This potential major expansion will be subject to the outcome of a Strategic Environmental Assessment. But if we could manage to achieve this, by 2020 enough electricity could be generated off our shores to power the equivalent of all of the UK’s homes. This could be a major contribution towards meeting the EU’s target of 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020.

“The challenge for Government and for industry is to turn this potential – for our energy and economy – into a cost-effective reality. This will be a major challenge.

“The UK has some of the best offshore wind resource in the world, a long history of design, installation and operational expertise in the offshore environment and the skills and manufacturing capability to transfer to this exciting new sector.

“The UK is now the number one location for investment in offshore wind in the world and next year we will overtake Denmark as the country with the most offshore wind capacity. I want to ensure the UK remains one of the best places for renewable business.

“Our trajectory on renewables is beyond question. They are as central to our future low carbon economy as chimneys were to the industrial revolution and road building following the invention of the mass produced car.”

The ‘first round’ of offshore wind farms, in 2001, comprised a number of small demonstration projects. The ’second round’, in 2003, resulted in the award of options for leases for larger scale projects in three designated areas – the Thames Estuary, the Greater Wash and the North West. Based on current plans under the first and second leasing rounds, about 8GW of capacity could be operational by around 2014. This includes the 1GW London Array which is the largest planned offshore wind farm in the world.

The proposal for a possible ‘third round’, and further regular rounds, of offshore wind development announced today would open up the vast bulk of the UK’s continental shelf to large scale development. It would allow for up to a further 25GW of offshore capacity on top of the planned 8GW. In total this could generate enough power for up to 25 million homes by 2020.

Mr Hutton announced that he will chair an enhanced Renewable Advisory Board with a bigger remit to advise the Government on the EU 2020 renewable energy target, and a wider pool of expertise to help deal with the issues and opportunities across renewable energy.

The Government is also working on a regulatory regime to ensure that all offshore projects can connect to our onshore electricity transmission and distribution networks, quickly, securely and as cheaply as possible. A response to the recent consultation will be published by BERR shortly.

These developments sit alongside plans in the Energy Bill, to be introduced shortly, to ‘band’ the support provided by the Renewables Obligation to give greater support to offshore wind, wave and tidal energy. This will incentivise the expansion envisaged by today’s proposals.

The amount of electricity from renewable sources of all kinds in the UK has doubled to almost 5% since the introduction of the Renewables Obligation in 2002. Current forecasts will see a further tripling to around 15% by 2015. Plans are also under way for a feasibility study into the potential for electricity generation from the Severn Estuary.

At the Spring European Council the EU agreed a target of 20% of all energy from renewables by 2020. This includes fuel for electricity, heat and transport. The Commission is due to propose how that target should be apportioned between Member States in January.

ELK RIVER, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Great River Energy is pleased to announce that it has signed a power purchase agreement with PPM Energy (PPM), a unit of IBERDROLA RENOVABLES, to purchase wind power from the Elm Creek Wind Farm. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2008 on the 99-megawatt Elm Creek Wind Farm near Trimont in southern Minnesota.

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Reinforcing its capability to meet the growing global demand for wind turbines, GE Energy has signed an agreement with one of the leading wind turbine blade suppliers, TPI Composites. In support of the agreement, TPI plans to build a new 316,000 square foot facility in Newton, Iowa that will create approximately 500 new jobs.

The new plant will expand TPI’s capacity to produce blades for GE’s 1.5-megawatt wind turbines, which are among the most widely used wind turbines in the world, with more than 6,500 installed.

“As the wind industry continues to grow, we face an ever-increasing demand for reliable and efficient wind turbines,” said Victor Abate, Vice President-Renewables for GE Energy. “Our commercial relationships with valued suppliers such as TPI are critical to the continuing growth and success of our business.”

Facility Will Help GE Energy Meet Wind Industry Demands

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–To help GE Energy meet the robust worldwide demand for wind turbines, Molded Fiber Glass Companies (MFG) held a groundbreaking ceremony today for a new wind turbine manufacturing plant in Aberdeen, South Dakota that will manufacture blades for GE’s 1.5-megawatt machine, one of the most widely used wind turbines in the world.

The new facility will be owned by the Aberdeen Development Corporation (ADC), and leased and operated by Molded Fiber Glass Companies (MFG), representing a $40 million investment and the creation of up to 750 new jobs. The facility will also enable MFG to increase the volume of wind turbine blade sets being supplied to GE Energy, starting in 2008.

Wind continues to rank as one of the largest sources of new power generation and a mainstream option to meet growing electricity demand

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today released its annual rankings of wind energy development in the United States. The U.S. wind energy industry installed over 2,400 megawatts (MW) of new power generation in the country, an investment of about $4 billion, making wind one of the largest sources of new power generation in the country at a time of growing electricity demand. Total installed U.S. wind power capacity is over 11,600 MW, or enough to serve the equivalent of 3 million average households.

The rankings include the states that generate the most electricity from wind, the nation’s largest wind farms, leading suppliers of wind turbines, largest owners of wind projects, utilities that use the most wind power for their customers, and other industry information. Following a growing number of inquiries, this year’s rankings also feature a new category: Congressional districts with most wind power installed.

“These wind power rankings tell the story of a vibrant industry that is growing fast, competing hard, gaining market share, and all the while powering a cleaner, stronger America,” said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher. “Our new Congressional district rankings also serve as a reminder of the many benefits that wind power brings to local communities–new jobs, more local revenue, cleaner air, and an essential, home-grown contribution to meeting the challenge of global warming.”

However, a long-term extension of the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) is crucial to sustain this growth. Previous short-term extensions have led to a boom-and-bust cycle in the wind industry, increasing costs along the entire supply chain and preventing businesses from growing to their full potential.

AWEA’s annual rankings provide a standard reference for tracking the growth of wind power in the U.S. The rankings (as of December 31, 2006) are listed below (one megawatt of wind power produces enough electricity on average to serve 250 to 300 homes):

States with most wind energy installed, by capacity (MW)

1. Texas 2,768
2. California 2,361
3. Iowa 936
4. Minnesota 895
5. Washington 818

Texas is firmly established as the leader in wind power development, with over 2,700 MW installed at the end of 2006 and some 1,000 MW currently under construction. Washington moves into fifth place (ahead of Oklahoma) with the addition of two large projects, Big Horn and Wild Horse. Iowa and Minnesota look likely to break the 1,000 MW mark in 2007. Washington will come close, with the 140-MW Marengo project that is currently under construction there.

Largest wind farms operating in the U.S. (MW)
Wind farm / Size (MW) / Project owner

Horse Hollow, TX / 736 / FPL Energy
Maple Ridge, NY / 322 / PPM Energy/Horizon Wind Energy
Stateline, OR & WA / 300 / FPL Energy
King Mountain, TX / 281 / FPL Energy
Sweetwater, TX / 264 / Babcock & Brown/Catamount

Horse Hollow, completed in 2006, is the largest single wind farm in operation in the U.S. The portion of Horse Hollow added in 2006 was 1/5 th the total capacity in the country. We are seeing more multi-phase, very large projects, such as Horse Hollow and Maple Ridge. Building large projects in several phases provides time to verify the resource and optimize costs.

Manufacturers’ installed capacity for the past five years(MW)1

2006
GE Energy 1,146
Siemens 573
Vestas 465
Mitsubishi Power Systems 128
Suzlon 90
Gamesa 50

2005
GE Energy 1,433
Vestas 700
Mitsubishi 190
Suzlon 55
Gamesa 50

2004
GE Energy 171
Mitsubishi 120
Vestas 97

2003
GE Energy 903
Vestas 359
Mitsubishi 201
NEG Micon 129
Gamesa 56

2002
Vestas 175
NEG Micon 98
GE Energy 62
Mitsubishi 61
Bonus 48

The fast-growing U.S. wind market is attracting large new manufacturing companies. GE remains in the lead. Siemens carves out the second-largest market share after entering the market with its acquisition of Bonus in 2004 (Bonus last sold wind turbines in the U.S. in 2002). Another indicator of the heated competition playing out in the U.S. market: fourteen manufacturers, including eight of the world’s top ten, will be exhibiting at the WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition.

Top five “managing owners” of wind energy installations (MW)4

1. FPL Energy – 4,016
2. PPM Energy – 1,058
3. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. – 593
of which MidAmerican Energy
owns 460 MW and
PacifiCorp 133 MW
4. Babcock & Brown – 559
5. Goldman Sachs/Horizon Wind Energy – 452

FPL Energy continues to dominate the U.S. wind energy market with the construction of 777 MW of new wind power projects in 2006 (about a third of all new installations in the U.S. that year). Wind projects owned by FPL Energy generated more than 9.4 billion kWh of electricity in 2006, according to the company (the average U.S. household uses about 11,000 kWh per year, making 9.4 billion kWh equivalent to powering 850,000 households).

Utilities/power companies with the most wind power on their
system (power purchased or projects owned with the power going
to the utility’s customers) (MW):

1. Xcel Energy – 1,323
with the following on its system:
Public Service Co. of
Colorado – 307.70
Northern States Power – 679.72
Southwestern Public Service – 335.16
2. Southern California Edison (SCE) – 1,026
3. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.(of which MidAmerican Energy owns 572 MW and PacifiCorp 289 MW) – 861
4. Pacific Gas & Electric (PGE) – 793
5. TXU Energy – 705

Xcel Energy is again in the lead after moving ahead of Southern California Edison last year. Xcel Energy is committed to increasing its use of renewable power throughout its eight-state service territory, according to the utility. MidAmerican Energy, which includes MidAmerican in the Midwest and PacifiCorp in the Northwest, moves into third place, with the acquisition in 2006 of several large facilities.

Largest wind turbines installed (rated capacity, in MW)

Rated capacity / Turbine manufacturer / Locations installed
3 MW / Vestas / Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Calif.
2.3 MW / Siemens / Minnesota., North Dakota, Texas
2 MW / Gamesa, Suzlon / Pennsylvania, Minnesota
1.8 MW / Vestas, Suzlon / Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington
1.65 MW / Vestas / Minnesota, New York
–[average installed nationally: 1.6 MW]

The wind industry installed 1,524 turbines in 2006, with a total generating capacity of 2,454 MW, bringing the average capacity to 1.6 MW. With 764 units installed, the GE Energy 1.5-MW is still the most widely installed. The second most widely installed in 2006 is the Siemens 2.3-MW, with 249 units installed.

These turbines all stand 100 meters to 145 meters tall (330–490 feet). Within each rated capacity, the length of the blades and height of the towers can vary to accommodate specific location and wind speed needs. Larger, taller turbines catch better winds at higher elevations and are more powerful because of the larger area swept by the blades; advances in technology such as sophisticated power electronics and high-tech materials also increase productivity. Wind turbines installed in 2006 average 1.6 MW in rated capacity and are at least twice as powerful as the average turbine installed in 2000.

Congressional districts with most wind power installed (MW)

1. Texas – 19th / 1,419 / Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R)
2. California – 10th / 920 / Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D)
3. Texas – 11th / 847 / Rep. Mike Conaway (R)
4. California – 22d / 707 / Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R)
5. Minnesota – 1st / 537 /Rep.Tim Walz (D)

AWEA is launching this new ranking in response to a growing number of inquiries and interest from Capitol Hill. Wind farms boost the tax base, helping to pay for schools, roads and hospitals. Wind farms also revitalize the economy of rural communities by providing steady income to farmers and other landowners. Each wind turbine contributes $3,000 to $5,000 or more per year in farm income, while farmers continue to grow crops or graze cattle up to the foot of the turbines.

These rankings are for House Congressional districts. The Senators from the states with most wind power installed are from California, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota and Washington.

Information for these rankings was reported to AWEA by Association members. For more detailed data on existing wind power projects in the U.S. please go to www.awea.org/projects.