Wind Turbine Windfall?
Posted on: Saturday, 17 May 2008, 06:00 CDT
By Korn, Derek R
Conversations about the current "hot markets" for U.S. shops tend to gravitate toward the aerospace, medical and oil industries. Lately, though, wind energy is popping up with more regularity. Although power generation via wind turbines is more popular in Europe than in the United States, it appears to be gaining steam in the States as an alternative energy source. That will lead to business opportunities for U.S. shops that have the capability to machine the very large components that comprise modern wind turbines.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) reports that more than 20 gigawatts of wind power capacity were installed worldwide in 2007, led by the United States, Spain and China. This represents a 31- percent increase compared with 2006, lifting the total global capacity to more than 94 gigawatts.
According to the GWEC, the United States installed more than 5 gigawatts of wind power capacity in 2007, bringing its total installed capacity to more than 16.8 gigawatts (a 45-percent increase from 2006). As a result, the United States now ranks second in the world behind Germany's 22.3 gigawatts of installed capacity- for the moment, anyway. The GWEC estimates that the United States will surpass Germany and become the leader of wind energy production by the end of 2009.
Chances are, if your shop has heavy machining capacity, then you already know about the opportunities that this alternative-energy market presents or perhaps you are currently making money from it. If either scenario is the case, then how can you gage if this market will represent a steady stream of work in the coming years? I suggest looking for news about:
* Federal production tax credits-Installation of wind turbines fluctuates in sync with the expiration and extension cycles of a federal production tax credit that is made available to renewable energy providers. The future of this tax credit is uncertain; it is due to expire at year's end. A long-term commitment to this tax credit would brighten wind power's future.
* Improvements in transmission lines-Wind-power advocates say improvements are necessary to allow electrical transmission lines to better accommodate alternative energy sources such as wind power. Progress in this regard could lead to more widespread adoption of wind power as a viable source of energy.
* Gigawatt-size projects-As of early 2008, at least three gigawatt-size wind energy projects were proposed in the United States. If the number of these sizeable projects increases, then that shows strong investments are being made in wind power.
DEREK R. KORN
Senior Editor
dkorn@mmsonline.com
Copyright Gardner Publications, Inc. May 2008
(c) 2008 Modern Machine Shop. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Modern Machine Shop
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