The wind-power industry is hitting some turbulence.
At their annual conference Monday in Denver, traditionally upbeat wind-energy officials backed away from boosterism and addressed the industry’s growing pains.
The once-small sector is getting big enough that it’s being forced to deal with political, economic and environmental problems.
“Welcome to the big leagues,” said Randy Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association. “As the stakes become higher, we can expect to face more opposition.”
Among the issues: uncertainty over congressional approval of wind production tax credits, inadequate transmission to ship wind power to urban areas, rising material costs for wind turbines and utilities that are hesitant to embrace wind-generated electricity.
And there’s opposition to emissions-free wind power from one of the least likely sources: environmentalists who fear visual pollution from thousands of towering, spinning turbines.
Wind power accounts for 1 percent of U.S. electrical generation. But the industry has grown at a 24 percent annual rate since 2000. States such as Colorado that have passed renewable-energy mandates are fueling its growth.
The industry’s biggest conundrum may be the on-again, off- again nature of the federal production tax credit. The incentive effectively reduces generation costs by 20 percent to 40 percent, allowing wind to compete with traditional sources such as coal and natural gas.
Congress has let the credit expire several times during the past decade, then renewed it for periods of one or two years. Wind-energy developers, financiers and turbine manufacturers have been unable to make long- term plans because of the credit’s unpredictability.
While the industry clamors for a longer-term credit, there’s also a growing desire among some wind-power officials to wean the sector from the incentive, relying instead on innovation and efficiency to let wind compete economically.
Some politicians are going a step further, seeking a federal renewable-energy mandate that would build demand for wind power, helping its competitiveness, said U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., in an address to convention delegates.
Salazar and U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, another Colorado Democrat, said they would push this year for passage of a renewable mandate in Congress.
Similar measures in recent years have passed the Senate but failed in the House of Representatives.
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-820-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
Talking wind power
Event: Windpower 2005 Conference and Exhibition
Dates: Through Wednesday with a record 4,000 registrants
Site: Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St.
Time: Exhibition hall open to the public today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
