The Roscoe, Texas, project became the world's largest wind farm.

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

The US wind industry will finish 2009 ahead of projections for wind installations, though the numbers will still fall behind the industry’s record-breaking year in 2008.

“It’s not a bad year given the financial crisis,” said Liz Salerno, director of industry data and analysis at the American Wind Energy Association, in a news conference this week.

The US is expected to have installed about 7,000 new megawatts of wind energy in 2009, falling short of  the 8,500 megawatts of 2008, but ahead of analysts’ predictions for the year and ahead of 2007’s installations.

With 31,000 megawatts of wind power online, the US currently leads the world in wind energy development, ahead of China, which is fast developing wind power, and traditional leader Germany.

The AWEA attributes the strong showing in 2009 to grant money provided by the US government, which allowed wind entrepreneurs and developers to show lenders they had seed money for projects. That helped companies secure credit, which was difficult in the wake of the financial fallout of late 2008, Salerno said.

“We know things were tough, and it was very difficult to get a deal done earlier in this year. But what we’re hearing from our wind community is that things are slowly being unlocked.”

Some private capital has helped fund projects as well, and utilities, which are able to access lower cost money, also continue to move into the wind market, she said.

Companies developing installations include large and small firms, including General Electric, Vestas, Siemens, Suzlon, Gamesa, Clipper, Mitsubishi, Acciona and Repower.

To keep wind aloft, advocates say a consistent and dependable national policy will be needed; keeping projects in the pipeline will require continued federal incentives, either as grants or production tax credits.

Click to enlarge

The AWEA also wants Congress to pass a strong Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), a measure that would require states to produce/obtain a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar or geothermal power.

A strong RES, combined with continued investment incentives, would send a signal to developers and the world that the US was committed to wind power and would buoy developers on the wind generation side, as well as the manufacturing sector related to wind, Salerno explained.

US wind parts manufacturers have experienced a slowdown with the 2009 global recession, she said.

“We can’t ignore the fact that we are competing with other countries for these manufacturing facilities and for these jobs…We have to step up and show that the US is a good place to do business compared to other countries.”

Congress also needs to invest in new transmission lines to get wind from outlying areas to population centers. Coupled with a strong RES, that would demonstrate the public commitment that the wind business has been seeking for years.

“Having a stable market in place,” she said, “will be the foundation for growing wind.”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Congregations of any faith may benefit from joining the nonprofit Interfaith Power & Light initiative. The non-profit group offers members a way to lessen energy costs and at the same time, promote renewable energy.

The IP&L initiative came into effect in 1998 when a coalition of Episcopal churches formed with the support of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. They joined together to purchase renewable energy. In 2001, the group grew into the California Interfaith Power and Light, helping people of all faiths in California organize to promote environmental change and address global warming. Today, under the umbrella group, The Regeneration Project, there is a movement to establish similar programs in all states. Today, 29 states have Interfaith Power and Light organizations.

The mission of The Regeneration Project, as stated on their website, is to make the connection between ecology and faith. The project’s Interfaith Power and Light campaign is generating a religious response to global warming in congregations by advocating renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation.

Massachusetts’ Interfaith Power & Light group, for example, gives members an option to join an oil-purchasing group that can lock in prices; gives them access to utility rebate programs and offers technical advice on energy issues as well as a comprehensive energy audit of their worship facility. In Wisconsin, the Interfaith Climate & Energy Campaign works closely with the state’s Islamic Environmental Group. The latter’s mission is to educate the local Muslim community as well as the general public about Islamic environmental teachings and how they can be incorporated in every day life for a sustainable future.

IP&L also offers a program called STEM, which stands for Saving Through Energy Management. It’s a 15-hour program for congregations that teaches the skills needed to reduce energy consumption. Membership starts at $50 for an operating budget up to $150,000.

Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham is the president and founder of The Regeneration Project. She says putting faith into action is key. This includes educating congregations by getting them to buy energy efficient lights and appliances, offering energy audits, encouraging people to buy more fuel-efficient cars, and supporting large-scale renewable energy installations such as rooftop solar.

EPA’s Energy Star website includes links to many of the Interfaith Light and Power groups.

(See our related story on churches employing green design.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media