PowerFacts
New Reports Confirm Regional Power Markets Reliably Facilitate Renewable Energy
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) each recently released new reports on the state of renewable energy in the U.S. In its Annual Wind Industry Report, AWEA highlighted a record breaking year in wind power construction. According to the report, over 8,500 megawatts (MW) of new wind capacity were installed in 2008, bringing the total installed capacity in the U.S. to over 25,300 MW and making the U.S. the country with the world's largest capacity of wind power. The report notes that "Independent Power Producer ownership of wind assets is still the norm," with 85% of the projects installed last year developed by competitive suppliers. Organized wholesale electricity markets have facilitated this effort to increase the amount of renewable energy available, with 81% of new wind capacity installed last year located in Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) or Independent System Operator (ISO) regions. NERC last week released Accommodating High Levels of Variable Generation, which further underscores the value of large organized wholesale markets in reliably integrating renewable energy across the country.
Electricity generated from a wide variety of fuel sources is necessary to provide sufficient quantities of clean, reliable and economically efficient power for consumers. These reports confirm that competitive suppliers and independently-administered competitive wholesale electricity markets provide the best path forward to continue to develop fuels and electricity supplies whether from renewables, nuclear, natural gas, coal or other generation technologies.
- 7,258.5 MW (85%) of the 8,545 MW of wind capacity that was constructed in 2008 came from competitive suppliers.
- 6,929.3 MW (81%) of the 8,545 MW of wind capacity installed last year was constructed in organized markets.
- In all, nearly 130 new wind power plants were constructed in 2008, with over 100 of them constructed by competitive suppliers and nearly 100 in organized wholesale electricity markets.
- States with independently administered, competitive wholesale markets, whether RTOs or ISOs, continued to show that they are the most conducive to wind farm construction. The top four states in the country for wind generation capacity - Texas, Iowa, California, and Minnesota - all enjoy the independent transmission dispatch and transparency that are hallmarks of these regional markets.
The full reports can be found at http://www.awea.org/reports and http://www.nerc.com New Reports Confirm Regional Power Markets Reliably Facilitate Renewable Energy
CONTACT: JOHN SHELK
(202) 349-0154or 703-472-8660
EPSA is the national trade association representing competitive power suppliers, including generators and marketers. These suppliers, who account for nearly 40 percent of the installed generating capacity in the United States, provide reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities serving global power markets. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.