Stagnation in wind energy market expected in 2009

Samuel Dalzell
Sunday, April 26, 2009
10:34 PM
Energy/Alternative Energy

Vestas, a Danish company and the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbine parks, announced on Wednesday that it expects the market for wind energy to stagnate in 2009 in comparison to last year. This comes despite the German Association of Wind Energy's recent announcement that they expect the wind market to expand by 10% this year globally. In the United States, the wind market is expected to be about half of what it was in 2008, while in Europe sales will remain relatively flat. Up to 10% growth is expected in Asia, where Vestas recently constructed new facilities in inner Mongolia. Vestas also accounts for approximately 8 percent of the total market in China, so the corporation is well positioned in many places in Asia. Despite the expected stagnation, the company still intends to follow through on its plans to invest over one billion euros in the United States in 2009 and 2010. Vestas has not yet seen, and doesn't expect any delays or cancellations as a result of the global recession; nevertheless, the company has stated that financing for new projects has become much more difficult.
This is pretty dismaying news for those advocating wind power---and somewhat surprising, too, seeing as many industrialized nations signed huge stimulus packages into law a few months ago that allocated billions of dollars to alternative energies, including wind power. Most of these provisions, however, will not officially be put in place until 2010, meaning we have to wait just that much longer to see any qualitative progress in the battle for new energy. It's fortunate that Vestas is still holding by its plan to invest in this country---we sorely need it, and I feel that now is a time when many Americans are seriously prepared to embrace new energy technologies in a much more significant way than they were in the past. Now is the time for change, and it's good that Vestas understands this. Of course, nothing is set in stone, and we may yet see expansion in this industry; however, if the company's predictions prove to be true, we can only hope that the stagnation will be but a minor setback in the larger scheme of things.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE53L49M20090422