Utility Scale Wind Turbines Market Shares

According to Susan Eustis, the lead author of the study, “the use of utility scale wind power generators represents an emerging high growth market. New technologies have increased the efficiency of wind energy based electricity generation and of systems installations both onshore and offshore. The evolution of hydrogen campus fuel cell systems will introduce electricity storage that makes the wind generation systems even more cost efficient. Thin film battery storage of electricity in the electric vehicles and in hardened cases on the ground will increase the efficiency and consistency of wind farm generated electricity delivery”.

The wind turbines renewable energy accounted for 62% (17 GW) of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the European Union (EU) in 2009. Rural economic development has had a focus on wind generated electricity. Wind turbines contribute to energy price stability. Wind generated energy helps address global climate change.

Every energy technology is supported by federal governments. Wind energy is gaining increasing recognition that a higher proportion of subsidies are needed as leaders begin to realize the need for a sustainable energy policy. The visibility into the oil drilling companies brought by the BP oil spill has had what promises to be a long term impact on the market.

The availability of hydrogen storage and electricity generation in the form of stationary fuel cells that work in campus and substation environments is going to impact wind generated electricity. Hydrogen turns out to be a good way to store excess electricity generated by wind.

The US the government accountability office (GAO) looked at federal incentives for electricity between Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 and FY 2007 and noticed that tax expenditures largely go to fossil fuels. About $13.7 billion was provided to fossil fuels and $2.8 billion to renewables. With the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, this policy ratio is likely to change, tilting more toward renewable energy. Wind is the most economically viable of the renewable energy sources.

Wind power systems have proved that they can readily be accommodated into existing fossil fuel and nuclear electric system operations reliably and economically. Wind Turbines are achieving combination with natural gas systems to create a hybrid unit that operates continuously. The natural gas generator uses the wind turbines grid systems to create an efficiently operating unit. Similar designs are evolving as hybrid wind turbines that operate in combination with solar energy systems.

Electric vehicles provide a significant market thrust to the need for wind generated electricity. Electric vehicles will depend on curbside and garage based metered delivery of electricity. Electricity generated from renewable sources will replace gasoline in the future.

Utility scale wind turbine markets at $35.6 billion in 2009 are anticipated to reach $130 billion by 2016. The enormous size of the existing market gives a significant market thrust going forward, because the major vendors and their customers have access to capital markets. This access is needed to achieve the significant growth that will be achieved as wind and solar energy replace the fossil fuel industry.

Only natural gas will compete with the renewable sources of energy for utilities as new capacity is put in place and aging existing facilities are retired, to be replaced with more modern facilities.

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