Wind Industry

As of 2005, total installed wind power capacity was 59,084 MW according to the Global Wind Energy Council, Europe accounted for over 40,000MW, and the United States over 9,000MW. The United States added an additional 2,500MW in 2004, a grow rate of nearly 30%. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) estimates that wind installations worldwide will total more than 75,000 megawatts over the next decade, or more than $75 billion worth of business.

Interest in wind energy is growing for several reasons. The Kyoto Protocols mandate that industrialized nations substantially reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Governments have begun to take real action to support sustainable energy. Finally, improvements in wind energy technology have lowered the price of turbines and made the price of the energy produced by wind competitive with that of other utilities. Over the last 20 years, the cost of electricity from utility-scale wind farms has dropped by more than 80 percent. In the early 1980s, the first utility-scale turbines produced wind-generated electricity at a rate of U.S.$0.30 per kWh. Current estimates now indicate that wind sites now generate electricity for less than U.S.$0.05 per kWh - a price that is competitive with many conventional energy technologies. Wind power has a number of other economic advantages over conventional power. Capital, construction and operating costs for wind projects undercut those of almost every other type of power plant. Modern wind turbine design allows for easy expansion and remote supervision. Wind farms require only small amounts of land and do not interfere with other land uses. Wind projects need no water or fuel.

Naturener foresees an enduring opportunity in Canadian wind power. Canada's stake in commercial wind capacity has increased by over 29% in the last year. Over the next 15 years, the Government of Canada will invest at least $920 million in the promotion of wind power. The Federal government has committed to purchase 20% of its electricity needs from renewable sources, including wind, by 2006. Energy Logics is poised to benefit from the renewed development of wind power in the United States. The US wind industry has undergone rapid growth and transformation since 1999. More than 2100MW of wind generated power came online in the US in 2005 alone, nearly 25% of global growth in installed generation capacity last year, according to AWEA.