Distributed Wind Energy Association

Our Wind, Our Power, Our Future

DWEA Lauds New ITC Legislation Supporting Distributed Wind Power

by | Feb 9, 2018 | Uncategorized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2018

DWEA Lauds New ITC Legislation Supporting Distributed Wind Power
Industry Now Well Positioned for Rapid Growth

 

Durango, Colorado. Today, Congress passed new legislation to provide a multi-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for small wind systems (100kW and below), and other clean energy technologies. The bill, included in today’s budget deal, provides parity with solar energy’s tax extension passed into law at the end of 2015. Notably, the legislation reinstates projects installed in 2017, as well as extends both the business and residential ITC through 2021.

“This is an exceptionally important day for the distributed wind industry and we applaud champions like Reps. Reed, Thompson, Blumenauer, and Cole, Senators Carper, Heller, Wyden, Schumer, Bennet, Thune, Grassley and many others for making this fix happen,” stated Jennifer Jenkins, Executive Director of the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA).

“With long term federal policies on parity with solar, the U.S. distributed wind industry can finally refocus its efforts on cost reduction, technology improvement, and broad market adoption. This will surely lead to thousands of new American jobs and much needed rural economic development throughout the country” said Russell Tencer, DWEA Board President.

“The last few years have been a struggle due to cheap solar imports and unbalanced federal tax policy. We are preparing to launch a breakthrough small wind turbine that cuts energy production costs in half, so a fix to the federal tax credit issue is very timely for us,” said Mike Bergey, CEO of small wind turbine manufacturer Bergey Windpower and past president of DWEA.

“We have aligned with local U.S. customers to generate significant business opportunities for Eocycle,” reported Richard Legault, CEO of the Canadian-based wind turbine manufacturer with offices in the U.S. “We’ve just been waiting for the ITC to get extended to invest in this fertile market.”

“Placing small wind on parity to solar for the Investment Tax Credit allows corporations as well as small businesses and farms in the heartland of our country to realize the monetary value of their natural renewable resources,” stated Ciel Caldwell President and Chief Operating Officer of Northern Power Systems. She continued, “This will also support expansion of our United States operations as we continue to deliver reliable, technologically advanced turbines.”

“This type of support for distributed wind power grows America’s small businesses and supports the growth of U.S. manufacturing jobs. It also builds economic opportunity and energy self-sufficiency in rural towns from Maine to California,” noted Jenkins.

Since the end of 2015, the distributed wind industry has suffered many rounds of layoffs while waiting for the fix. “We are elated and ready to get back to work on the immense potential of the U.S. distributed wind market,” noted Tencer.

Many thanks are due all of the bi-partisan sponsors of bills such as HR 1090, and S2256.

DWEA projects 30 gigawatts of distributed wind capacity by 2030 and tens of thousands of new jobs with the right policies in place. DWEA’s white paper can be found here: https://distributedwind.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/DWEA-Distributed-Wind-Vision.pdf  

About the Distributed Wind Energy Association
The Distributed Wind Energy Association is a collaborative group comprised of manufacturers, distributors, project developers, dealers, installers, and advocates, whose primary mission is to promote and foster all aspects of the American distributed wind energy industry. Distributed wind, commonly referred to as small and community wind, is the use of typically smaller wind turbines at homes, farms, businesses, and public facilities to off-set all or a portion of on-site energy consumption. DWEA seeks to represent members and associates from all sectors with relevant interests pertaining to the distributed wind industry. For more information on DWEA, please go to www.distributedwind.org. Follow us on Twitter @DWEA and like us on Facebook

For more information
Jennifer Jenkins, DWEA Executive Director
jjenkins@distributedwind.org, 928-380-6012

DWEA Confirms Continued Distributed Wind Industry Growth

by | Aug 9, 2017 | News, Uncategorized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 9, 2017

Durango, CO, August 9, 2017 – Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) released the 2016 Distributed Wind Market Report showing growth in the domestic residential, commercial, and institutional market sectors as well as in domestic manufacturing and export markets.

“Our industry offers a reliable solution to on-site power and has found success in communicating its benefits to homeowners, businesses, and farmers,” said DWEA Executive Director Jennifer Jenkins. “We look forward to continued growth as predicted in the 2015 Distributed Wind Vision report. We’ll need the ITC extension for orphaned technologies and continued support in the states to get there.”

Flexible financing mechanisms, such as third-party financing and leasing options, continue to make distributed wind economically viable for individuals and companies by allowing installation and maintenance costs to be shared by providers.

New York-based United Wind, which offers leases to farmers and businesses to install wind turbines on their land with little to no upfront costs, and Netherlands-based EWT International, which offers power purchase agreements so companies can install large turbines at their facilities, are two DWEA member companies that offer successful third-party ownership models.

“Property owners in “wind rich” markets throughout rural America love the wind leasing product we offer,” said Russell Tencer, CEO of United Wind. “With early majority minded consumers now starting to adopt at higher rates, we anticipate year-over-year bookings to increase by more than 200% in 2017.”

Key findings of the report, courtesy of PNNL, include:

 The nation’s cumulative distributed wind power capacity is about 1 percent of all U.S. wind power capacity, or enough to power roughly 265,000 typical U.S. homes annually.
 27 states are home to companies that manufacture components for distributed wind turbines.
 Six U.S. manufacturers exported 10.3 megawatts in distributed wind turbines with an estimated value of $62 million.
 45.4 megawatts of distributed wind power was added in 25 U.S. states and the U.S. territory of Guam in 2016.
 The nation has added a total 992 megawatts of distributed wind in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands between 2003 and 2016.
 Institutional customers, such as utilities, churches and schools, accounted for 29 megawatts of the new distributed wind power installed in 2016.
 New York led the nation by installing a quarter, or 627 kilowatts, of new small wind power capacity in 2016.

For more information about the 2016 Distributed Wind Market Report, and other distributed wind updates, visit DWEA’s website. For more information about PNNL’s wind power research, visit PNNL’s wind website.

About the Distributed Wind Energy Association: The Distributed Wind Energy Association is a collaborative group comprised of manufacturers, distributors, project developers, dealers, installers, and advocates, whose primary mission is to promote and foster all aspects of the American distributed wind energy industry. Distributed wind, commonly referred to as small and community wind, is the use of typically smaller wind turbines at homes, farms, businesses, and public facilities to off-set all or a portion of on-site energy consumption. DWEA seeks to represent members and associates from all sectors with relevant interests pertaining to the distributed wind industry. For more information on DWEA, please go to www.distributedwind.org. Follow us on Twitter @DWEA and like us on Facebook.

For more information:
Jennifer Jenkins, DWEA Executive Director
jjenkins@distributedwind.org, 928-380-6012