Daniel Englander
Blowin’ In The Wind January 30, 2008 at 1:11 PM
On the face of it, 2007 was a banner year for U.S. venture investment in solar and biofuels. Flowing quietly under big time deals like HelioVolt’s $101 million Series B, however, was a strong undercurrent pointing towards the U.S. becoming a global leader in wind power. According to the American Wind Energy Association 5,244 MW of wind power were installed in the U.S. in 2007, representing a 45 percent capacity expansion and a $9 billion overall investment. European majors like Energías de Portugal, Iberdrola, Acciona, and E.On were especially active over the last year. In a landmark deal, Energías de Portugal bought Horizon Wind Energy from Goldman Sachs for an estimated $3 billion. E.On followed suit, purchasing Dublin-based Airtricity’s North American holdings for $1.4 billion.
But given America’s notoriously patchy renewable energy regulatory framework and severe NIMBY complex, what accounts for the massive European migration?
The answer, my friends, is space - both physical and economic. Wind power accounts for only 1 percent of energy generation in the U.S., compared with 10 percent in some E.U. countries. It’s possible the Europeans have simply run out of room to build more onshore wind farms and would prefer to build in the U.S. instead of laying out the additional expenses of developing offshore in the North Sea. 75 kw/m wave energy flux can be tricky like that. So can sea monsters. America’s rolling plains and dying agriculture industry are ripe for wind farm development. One major obstacle against continued investment inflows is the not-so-likely renewal of the ITC. So… let’s get on that. My expectation is that wind power will continue growing into 2008 - big time private capital development being slightly more recession proof than encouraging the day trading masses to bet the mortgage for another solar IPO.
And then, of course, there’s this. It always makes us cry a little.
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[...] and no one’s around to smooth the load, do utility customers get pissed off? Last year, U.S. wind grew by about 45 percent, adding 5,244 MW on $9 billion overall investment. In wind-leading Texas, however, grid operators [...]