US plugs in 419 MW of wind farms in Q3

Oct 21, 2014 - The US added 419 MW of fresh wind power generation capacity in the third quarter of 2014 bringing the cumulative to 62,300 MW as of end-September, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said Monday.

For comparison, 619 MW of wind parks were brought online in the April-June quarter of the year.

Since the beginning of 2014, some 19 wind farms of 1,254 MW in total have been put on stream in the US, with their generating capacity exceeding the 2013 result. This triggers hopes for a “strong finish” to 2014 and an increase in capacity additions next year, AWEA’s CEO Tom Kiernan said.

The slowdown in the third quarter reflects the expiry at end-2013 of the two major incentives for the sector -- the investment tax credit (ITC) and production tax credit (PTC). Kiernan expressed his optimism that the Congress will once again extend the PTC for wind power and “offer this increasingly affordable source of electricity to more Americans.”

According to AWEA’s US Wind Industry Third Quarter Market report, the construction of a further 105 wind parks with a combined capacity of 13,600 MW was in progress as of end-September. Of the total, some 7,600 MW are located in Texas. An additional 3,700 MW of wind parks are “under development” with off-take agreements, but their construction has not been initiated yet, AWEA said.

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