2Sustain

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 includes several provisions to spur development of wind and other renewable energy industries, but unfortunately, wind turbine manufacturing in the U.S. still lags. In fact, both announcements and production activity have now fallen behind 2008 levels.

Put another way: last year was a mixed bag for the U.S. wind industry.

For a summary of 2009 wind industry highlights, check out the lengthy list recently released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). On the positive side of the ledger, AWEA stresses that last year the U.S. wind industry continued to:

• Lower carbon footprints:  The electricity produced by the entire fleet of wind turbines installed in the U.S. through 2009 will avoid emitting over 57 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, based on the conventional mix of fuels used for electricity generation.  That is equivalent to taking over 9.5 million cars off the road.

• Save water: The electricity from the entire fleet of turbines installed through 2009 will conserve over 20 billion gallons of water annually, which would otherwise be withdrawn for steam or cooling in conventional power plants.  Wind power makes it possible to meet our energy needs without further polluting or diminishing valuable water resources.

• Attract new businesses: AWEA experienced significant growth in 2009.  The association gained over 1,000 new business members—the largest increase ever for the association in a single year.  Many of these new members are companies entering or seeking to enter the wind turbine supply chain.

• Make progress on its 20% by 2030 Report Card:  AWEA issued its first annual progress report card on the roadmap as outlined in the DOE 2008 “20% Wind by 2030” Report.  The U.S. received a solid “B” for its 2008 progress toward reaching 20% of electricity supply from wind energy by 2030, but could be “at the high-water mark” for wind without a strong and immediate national policy commitment to renewable energy.

The full list of 2009 U.S. win industry accomplishments and developments is available here.