Monthly record in US as utilities choose wind energy over coal, gas

US wind power accounted for 6 per cent of the nation’s total electricity generation capacity, after an extraordinary rush to finish projects before the expiration of a tax credit, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.

BNEF said a record 13.2GW of wind turbines was installed in 2012, including 5.5GW in the month of December, as producers rushed to take advantage of a production tax credit that was due to expire – but which has in fact been extended after the re-election of Barack Obama and agreement over debt extension in Congress.

“It’s clear that the economics, aided by the Production Tax Credit, drove wind growth in 2012,” said Amy Grace, BNEF’s lead analyst on wind in North America.

But she added: “Capacity was built without any near-term state mandated demand. This means that in most areas, utilities are buying wind power because they want to, not because they have to.”

Pity we can’t say the same thing about Australia, where the majority of utilities are whinge about building wind farms, even when they have to.

The US now has 60GW of installed wind capacity, and more will be built as the production tax credit has been extended for a year to cover wind farms that start construction in 2013. This is a change from previous extension, which only covered projects that started working by the expiration date, Bloomberg noted.