Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Cash windfall for wind power to 2012

Before I forget, Keith Johnson, at the WSJ's Energy Roundup had a post yesterday, Blowing In From China on what might be some tough competition for GE and Vestas in the mid-size turbine market:

Add another item to the list of Chinese exports to the U.S.: wind turbines.

China’s Guangdong Mingyang Wind Power Technology Co., Ltd., a wind-turbine maker, said it has landed its first U.S. order. That further expands the restricted club of wind-turbine makers in the U.S., the world’s hottest wind-power market. India’s Suzlon Energy Ltd. has carved a niche for itself in the U.S. over the last year.

According to China Industry Daily News, the Guangdong-based electricity firm signed an agreement in late November with a “famous wind power operator” in New York to export 72 1.5 megawatt turbines to be installed in Montana. The deal is said to be valued at 720 million yuan, or just shy of $100 million. At $1.3 million a machine, that is cheap by recent standards. Supply constraints and booming demand have driven prices for the giant wind turbines higher over the last year.

From Energy Current:

Offshore wind will see US$16.3 billion of capital expenditure in the coming five year period to 2012 as 4.5 GW of new capacity is installed, said Douglas-Westwood managing director of John Westwood. Addressing delegates at the European Offshore Wind Conference in Berlin, Westwood presented findings of a new study of the growing offshore wind energy industry and highlighted significant growth, fast-rising costs and shifting market dynamics.

The industry is finally showing the growth and market development long-promised, with investors being buoyed by signs of long-term confidence demonstrated by government and industry, he said. It appears that 2008 will be a record-breaking year with construction currently underway on many projects and contracts placed with suppliers up-to 2010.

With just over 1.1 GW of capacity online by the end of 2007, the projections for the next five years represents significant market growth and will lead to an annual capital expenditure of over US$4.2 billion by 2012.

Of the biggest markets, the UK is dominant with 2.4 GW of new capacity forecast to 2012, a market worth US$8.6 billion. It will overtake Denmark to become the world leader in installed capacity in 2008....MORE