|
January 4 , 2013
|
Top Story
Congress extends wind energy tax credits for projects that start in 2013
It went down to the wire, but Washington got it done.
That’s true of the “fiscal cliff” legislation that drew the attention of the nation during the holiday week. But it’s also true concerning what the wind industry has been urging for the last 12 months. Congress included the long-sought extension of wind energy tax credits in final passage of the bill, swiftly signed by President Obama, to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.
America's 75,000-strong comprising the wind energy industry this week celebrated over the continuation of policies expected to save up to 37,000 jobs and create far more over time, and to revive business at nearly 500 manufacturing facilities across the country. The extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), and Investment Tax Credits for community and offshore projects, will allow continued growth of the energy source that installed the most new electrical generating capacity in America last year. Wind farms or factories producing components for the wind industry now contribute to the economies of all 50 states.
The version of the legislation included in the nighttime New Year’s Eve deal covers all wind projects that start construction in 2013. That tweak in the way the PTC deadline has historically been implemented may seem slight, but it is highly significant for the industry, given that companies have lived with policy uncertainty for the past year and had already begun to both feel its effects as well as put development and business plans on hold. Companies that manufacture wind turbines and install them sought that definition to allow for the 18-24 months it takes to develop a new wind farm. The tweak, therefore, would not have been as necessary had the extension been passed earlier in the year.
Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee included the “start construction” version in a "tax extenders" package it assembled in August, which made it into the overall fiscal-cliff deal that passed the Senate early in the morning of Dec. 31 and the House that night. President Obama has consistently supported the wind energy tax credits throughout the process, and so his signature was known to be imminent.
Wind set a new record in 2012 by installing 44 percent of all new electrical generating capacity in America, according to the Energy Information Administration, leading the electric sector compared with 30 percent for natural gas, and lesser amounts for coal and other sources. With the PTC’s expiration looming, a flurry of project completions were announced in the final days of the year. (See stories below.)
America's wind energy workers have been living under threat of the PTC's expiration for over a year and layoffs had already begun, as companies idled factories because of a lack of orders for 2013. Uncertain federal policies have caused a "boom-bust" cycle in U.S. wind energy development for over a decade.
Half the American jobs in wind energy – 37,000 out of 75,000 – and hundreds of U.S. factories in the supply chain would have been at stake had the PTC been allowed to expire, according to a study by Navigant Consulting.
In the closing days of this year's "lame duck" session of Congress, America's wind energy workers posted videos to tell their stories of working in the new industry. The 2,000 companies that belong to AWEA sent delegations to Capitol Hill repeatedly, invited Members of Congress on tours of wind farms and factories, and delivered hundreds of thousands of letters from constituents.
"On behalf of all the people working in wind energy manufacturing facilities, their families, and all the communities that benefit, we thank President Obama and all the Members of the House and Senate who had the foresight to extend this successful policy, so wind projects can continue to be developed in 2013 and 2014," said Denise Bode, CEO of AWEA for the past four years.
"Now we can continue to provide America with more clean, affordable, homegrown energy, and keep growing a new manufacturing sector that's now making nearly 70 percent of our wind turbines in the U.S.A.," said Rob Gramlich, who became AWEA's interim CEO on January 2 with Bode's return to private practice as a tax attorney, as previously announced.
top |
Project News
Big BP-Sempra wind farm in Kansas up and running
BP Wind Energy and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power’s Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm in Kansas has moved into full commercial operation, the joint-venture companies announced.
The 470 MW facility is the “largest, single-build wind farm” in the U.S., according to the companies. The nation’s largest wind farms, several of which have capacities of 700-plus megawatts and beyond, typically have been constructed in phases.
Located in Harper, Barber, Kingman and Sumner counties, the Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm is the largest wind farm in the state of Kansas.
BP and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power are 50-50 joint venture partners in the project, which represents a combined investment of over $800 million. A wholly owned affiliate of BP Wind Energy will be the operator.
The project created over 500 jobs during the peak of construction, while some 30 permanent jobs have been added to monitor and maintain the facility now that it is online. The wind farm uses 294 GE 1.6 MW wind turbines.
The entire power output from the wind farm is secured under long-term power purchase contracts with Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (310 MW), American Electric Power subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. (109 MW), and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (51 MW). Electricity generated from the Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm will be exported to Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.
“The state of Kansas has created a predictable, stable environment in which companies can invest and do business, said John Graham, president &CEO of BP Wind Energy. “The Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm is a testament to the success of this strategy and is helping the state to be a net exporter of energy. This pro-growth strategy is the kind of approach wind energy needs from state legislators, and BP looks forward to further expanding its wind energy footprint in Kansas as and when the business opportunity becomes available.”
The joint venture links BP, an oil-and-gas conglomerate that has been in the wind business for several years now, with Sempra, the energy company that owns investor-owned utility San Diego Gas & Electric.
“This is a world-class project and a great example of why strong state and local leadership is essential in both attracting investment and ensuring the optimal use of our clean natural resources,” said Jeffrey W. Martin, president and CEO of Sempra U.S. Gas & Power. “Our strategic partnership with BP Wind Energy has allowed Sempra U.S. Gas & Power to accelerate its growth into renewable energy, and we are on track to reaching our goal of creating 1,400 MW of renewable energy capacity.”
top |
Project News
MidAmerican finishes recently acquired Tehachapi projects totaling 300 MW
MidAmerican Wind’s recently acquired 168 MW Pinyon Pines Wind 1 and 132 MW Pinyon Pines Wind 2 projects in California are now complete, the company said.
The projects, located near Tehachapi, Calif., consist of a total of 100 Vestas 3 MW V90 wind turbines. In November MidAmerican acquired the projects, then called Alta Wind 7 and 9, from Terra-Gen.
MidAmerican Wind is a subsidiary of MidAmerican Renewables, which is owned by energy company MidAmerican Energy Holdings—parent of investor-owned utilities and other energy assets, both regulated and non-regulated.
The projects bring MidAmerican Wind’s renewable energy portfolio to 381 MW, said President Tom Budler. Southern California Edison will purchase electricity from each of the projects under long-term power purchase agreements. The projects are interconnected to Southern California Edison’s Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project.
top |
Project Finance
EDF Renewable Energy closes financing on Spearville 3 Wind Project
EDF Renewable Energy, formerly enXco, recently completed tax equity financing with Bank of America Merrill Lynch for the 100.8 MW Spearville 3 Wind Project in Ford County, Kan.
The project, located northeast of Dodge City, consists of 63 GE XLE 1.6 MW turbines and generates enough electricity to supply approximately 40,000 average homes with renewable energy, according to EDF.
The tax equity financing is the first such deal between the two companies, although they have an established relationship with each other based on other deals. “The financing deal demonstrates our continued success in the tax-equity market and underscores wind power’s ability to provide clean, abundant and affordable power, while creating economic benefits,” said Jim Peters, vice president of project finance for EDF Renewable Energy.
In October Spearville 3 began delivering electricity into the Kansas City Power & Light generation portfolio under a 20-year power purchase agreement. EDF Renewable Services, formerly enXco Service Corp., will provide operations and maintenance service.
top |
Project News
Invenergy Illinois project goes online
Invenergy Wind LLC’s 200 MW California Ridge Wind Project in Illinois has begun producing clean, affordable electricity, the company announced.
California Ridge features 134 GE 1.6 MW wind turbines. The facility, which generates enough electricity to power approximately 65,000 homes, sends the output and associated renewable energy credits to the Tennessee Valley Authority under a long-term contract. The facility is operated and maintain by the developer’s affiliate, Invenergy Services LLC.
Located in Champaign and Vermilion counties, the project employed more than 230 skilled construction workers and now employs 14 full-time staff for its operation and maintenance. It will continue to contribute to the area’s economic development through property tax payments, which can be used for schools, fire and police protection, road repair and other improvements. The project also provides yearly lease payments to more than 200 landowners.
White Construction performed the turbine erection and other balance-of-plant work, while Illinois-based Henkels & McCoy constructed the project’s transmission line and substation.
top |
Community Wind
Appropriately, new Vermont community project powers community event
Vermont’s Georgia Mountain Community Wind project went online recently, just in time to help power the festivities at an annual New Year’s Eve “First Night” celebration that draws people from around the region.
The 10 MW, four-turbine Georgia Mountain Community Wind farm will meet approximately 8 percent of Burlington Electric Department’s (BED) energy demand through a long-term, stably priced contract.
The project is owned by two local business leaders and life-long Vermonters: renewable energy manufacturer and developer David Blittersdorf and Jim Harrison and his family. Blittersdorf’s involvement with the wind industry goes back decades. He founded wind measurement company NRG Systems, now owned and led by Jan Blittersdorf Blomstrann. Currently he is president and CEO at another of his ventures, solar tracker manufacturer AllEarth Renewables.
Another community slant to the project is that it is financed locally by Merchants Bank. Further, Lyndon, Vt.-based contractor J.A. McDonald performed the site construction, while local businesses around Chittenden and Franklin counties supplied materials and services for the project. Some of those businesses include Alpha Testing, Graybar, Milton Building Supply, Milton Rentals, Rene’s Gas and Deli, and the Apollo Diner, among many others.
“This project fits perfectly into BED’s sustainability goals,” said Burlington Electric Department General Manager Barbara Grimes. “We are moving toward a 100 percent renewable power portfolio, and we like power close to home so that these dollars recirculate in the economy. Projects such as Georgia Community Wind are pro-environment and pro-economy.”
“It is incredibly exciting to have this project complete and powering the community,” said Blittersdorf. “So much about this project features the best of local community wind, from where the energy will be used and where the workers came from, to the project’s local financing. Since growing up with a view of Grandpa’s Knob where Vermont’s first wind farm stood in the 1940s, I’ve wanted to see Vermonters return to our roots of greater self-reliance and stewardship for our future.”
The project was built among the Harrison Family’s maple sugar operation on Georgia Mountain in Milton and on land in Georgia owned by Green Crow Corporation, a timber products firm with a local office in Waterbury.
“We’ve been an employer in the community and feel strongly that local renewable generation is critical for our future,” said Jim Harrison. “This project and our sugaring operation fit right in to Vermont’s proud tradition of self-reliance and a productive landscape.”
Harrison, his wife Janet and their children, are life-long Vermonters and local business owners and operators of third-generation concrete businesses serving northwestern Vermont – Harrison Concrete Construction, Inc., and Harrison Redi-Mix Corporation.
GMCW’s four 2.5 MW Goldwind wind turbines include American-made blades, towers and other domestic content. GMCW hired local Vermont expertise, including project managers (Northeast Wind), contractors, landscape architects, archeologists, historic preservationists, financial advisors, legal, engineering, economists, loggers, foresters, and environmental scientists.
top |
Project News
WKN USA starts commercial operations at projects in Texas, California
Commercial operations began at WKN USA projects on Dec. 22—Project Mozart in Texas and Project Wagner in California.
Located just north of Rotan, Texas, Project Mozart features 12 Nordex N100 2.5 MW turbines. The 30 MW project interconnects to the local grid system within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and is expected to deliver energy for more than 6,000 households annually. The project represents the first phase of a larger, 250 MW development.
Project Wagner, located in Palm Springs, Calif., features two Vestas V90 3MW turbines.
German concern BayWa acquired a majority stake in WKN USA in August 2011. The other partner in the joint venture is WKN AG.
top |
Supply Chain
Supply Chain Connections
GL Garrad Hassan engineering services support Pattern Energy financing effort
GL Garrad Hassan’s independent engineering (IE) services helped wind project developer Pattern Energy to realize construction loan financing for its Ocotillo Wind Power Project. The project, located almost entirely on federal Bureau of Land Management land in California's Imperial Valley, will be Pattern Energy's fifth operating wind facility in North America.
Ocotillo Wind is the first wind project to deliver renewable energy over the newly constructed Sunrise Powerlink transmission line under a 20-year contract to supply San Diego Gas & Electric utility customers.
GL Garrad Hassan provided IE technical due diligence services for the project on behalf of Deutsche Bank, as joint bookrunner, co-structuring bank and administrative agent, RBC Capital Markets as joint bookrunner and co-structuring bank and a lending group that includes North American Development Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale, NORD/LB, and KeyBank.
top |
AWEA News
AWEA Regional Wind Energy Summit – West: Calif. Energy Commissioner speaking
Recently announced: Karen Douglas, Commission, California Energy Commission
Commissioner Karen Douglas will join a panel of distinguished experts to explore Western U.S. siting and wildlife mitigation challenges for the highly-anticipated Building Wind in the West: Overcoming Siting Issues session. Douglas is the lead commissioner on power plant siting (including the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan) and federal stimulus programs. Attend this event to get Douglas' perspective on the current array of wind siting challenges, including steps being taken to address these issues.
The AWEA Wind Energy Summit – West takes place Jan. 14 in La Jolla, Calif. Don't miss this important regional event and business opportunity! Learn more.
And, you can also attend our other events in La Jolla the same week, in the same location, at a 20 percent discount:
top
|
AWEA News
AWEA Wind Project Operations, Maintenance & Reliability Seminar
Today’s highlight: Be the first to review and comment on the AWEA Operations & Maintenance Recommended Practices.
A long time in the making, the official AWEA Operations & Maintenance Recommended Practices are in draft form, and will be distributed and discussed at this targeted event. Only registered attendees of this event, and active members of the AWEA O&M Working Group, will be given the chance to preview and make initial comments on this critical document before the final version is released at WINDPOWER 2013 in Chicago.
The Wind Project Operations, Maintenance & Reliability Seminar, which takes place Jan. 15-16 in La Jolla, Calif., covers all areas of the field. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn, network, and do business. Learn more.
And, you can also attend our other events in La Jolla the same week, in the same location, at a 20 percent discount:
AWEA Regional Wind Energy Summit - West
AWEA Wind Environmental Health & Safety Seminar
top |
AWEA News
AWEA Wind Project Siting Seminar
Today’s highlight: Understanding the complexity of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and related Take Permit process under the 2009 Permit Rule is essential to creating a successful project development strategy. During the featured session, BGEPA Compliance: Navigating the Act during Project Development, equip yourself with the means to navigate the permit process in order to avoid costly delays and minimize the risks that can adversely impact project development and financing. The full agenda for this educational session includes risk modeling and compliance strategies for the BGEPA, with analysis of examples covering both successes and failures. Learn from experienced panelists how to incorporate eagles as a covered species in Endangered Species Act permitting and investigate a case study that examines how eagle permitting is being approached.
Additional sessions slated on the program for the AWEA Wind Project Siting Seminar, include:
- Data Collection: Reduce Costs by Boosting Efficiency
- Wildlife Mitigation Strategies: Avoid Project Delays
- Financial Procurement and Regulatory Risks
Feb. 20 in Portland, Ore. The early bird registration deadline is approaching—save 25 percent by registering by Jan. 9! Learn more.
top |
|
Volume 29, Issue 1514
| Wind Energy Weekly is a publication of the American Wind Energy Association and a service to its Members. |
 |
Upcoming AWEA Events: |
|
AWEA Regional Wind Energy Summit - West
January 14, 2013
La Jolla, Calif.
AWEA Wind Project Operations, Maintenance & Reliability Seminar
January 15-16, 2013
La Jolla, Calif.
AWEA Wind Environmental Health & Safety Seminar
January 16-17, 2013
La Jolla, Calif.
AWEA Wind Power on Capitol Hill
February 5-6, 2013
Washington, D.C.
AWEA Regional Wind Energy Summit - Northwest
February 19, 2013
Portland, Ore.
AWEA Wind Project Siting Seminar
Febuary 20, 2013
Portland, Ore.
AWEA WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition
May 5-8, 2013
Chicago, Ill.
More information:
www.awea.org/events
|
| Executive Leadership |
|
Denise Bode
Chief Executive Officer
Pam Poisson
Chief Financial Officer
Rob Gramlich
Sr. Vice President for Public Policy
Stephen Miner
Sr. Vice President for Conference, Membership & Business Development
Chris Chwastyk
Vice President for Federal Legislative Affairs
Peter Kelley
Vice President for Public Affairs
Lisa Wagner
Vice President of Finance
|
| Primary AWEA Contacts |
|
AWEAconnect
Amanda Fortner
afortner@awea.org
Conference - Program
Sakura Emerine
semerine@awea.org
Conferences & Meetings
Stefanie Brown
sbrown@awea.org
Distributed & Community Wind
Larry Flowers
lflowers@awea.org
Exhibits, Sponsorships & Marketing
Lori Rugh
lrugh@awea.org
Legislative Affairs - Federal
Aaron Severn
asevern@awea.org
Legislation and Policy - State
Susan Williams Sloan
ssloan@awea.org
Labor, Health and Safety
Michele Myers
mmyers@awea.org
Membership - Core Member
Amna Khan
akhan@awea.org
Policy Analysis
Liz Salerno
esalerno@awea.org
Regulatory Affairs
Tom Vinson
tvinson@awea.org
Siting
John Anderson
janderson@awea.org
Strategic Policy Initiatives
Jim Martin
jmartin@awea.org
Utility Programs and Business Development
Jeff Anthony
janthony@awea.org
Wind Energy Weekly / Publications
Carl Levesque
clevesque@awea.org
About AWEA |
|
