HERMAN K. TRABISH: AUGUST 10, 2010

Strong Growth, But Are Rocky Times Coming for Wind?

Wind is strong, but natural gas, transmission line issues loom

“We’re growing dramatically,” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory staff scientist Ryan Wiser said of the wind industry’s 2009 performance. “We’re on a path to achieve much higher levels of wind.” This is in stark contrast to wind’s 2010 first half performance, which American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode characterized as “dismal.”

The 2009 Wind Technologies Market Report, by Wiser and Mark Bolinger of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), describes a record-breaking 2009. Yet a 71 percent drop in installation in the More >