For instance, a lower price for wind turbines has also helped to push down overall project installation costs-the report notes that wind turbine prices have dropped by as much as 40 percent since 2008, with a cost of $1,710/kW for the average wind project installed in 2014 (reduced almost $600/kW compared to similar projects installed in 2009).
Advertisement
Berkeley Lab’s contributions to this report were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
According to the 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report released today by the Energy Department and its Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, total installed wind power capacity in the United States grew at a rate of eight percent in 2014 and now stands at almost 66 gigawatts (GW), which ranks second in the world and meets 4.9 percent of end-use electricity demand in an average year.
According to the Department of Energy’s recent Wind Vision report, growing wind energy to 20% of the U.S. electricity mix could create 380,000 jobs. “The expansion of offshore wind power capacity in Germany and Europe represents an enormous opportunity for northern Germany and Siemens”. “Wind energy is increasingly cost-competitive in several parts of the U.S., but we need stable, predictable policy to continue bringing this consumer benefit to every corner of the country”. Wind sector employment increased from 50,500 in 2013 to 73,000 in 2014. Lower wind turbine prices and installed project costs, along with improvements in expected capacity factors, are enabling aggressive wind power pricing.
The facility is set to be built in Cuxhaven, in the country’s north, and bordering on the North Sea – prime territory for the development of offshore wind turbines, thanks to optimal wind conditions, but also strenuous locales. Meanwhile, the diameter of wind rotors has increased dramatically too – newly installed turbines averaged a rotor diameter of 99.4 meters in 2014, an over 100 percent increase in size since 1998-1999.
In nine US states wind makes up 12% of total electricity generation, in three of those comprising over 20% of generation.
Prices for wind power purchase agreements (PPA) have reached all-time lows.
The United States was the global leader in total wind energy production in 2014.
“We’re looking forward to building at this factory the most efficient and reliable “Made in Germany” wind turbines”, said Markus Tacke, CEO of the Wind Power and Renewables Division.
Advertisement
“Via continued investments and the assistance of secure insurance policies, we’re assured that wind energy will maintain enjoying a serious position in creating jobs and shaping America’s clear power future”, he stated in a press release. Anheuser-Busch, for instance, has now installed two wind turbines at its Northern California Fairfield brewery.
