Texas Tops California in Wind Power Installations - Do The Oil Guys Know Something That You Should Also?

Record year for new wind still forecast for 2006

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Washington DC July 25, 2006; As the U.S. wind energy industry stayed on pace for another record year, Texas for the first time supplanted historic leader California as the top state in cumulative wind power capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association�s (AWEA) Second Quarter Market Report.

The report also shows that U.S. developers brought online a capacity total of 822 megawatts (MW) in the first half of the year. With the strong growth, the U.S.�s cumulative wind power capacity surged to 9,971 MW�within close striking distance of the 10-gigawatt (10,000-MW) milestone. (For a listing of projects completed and under construction, see below.)

Texas �s cumulative total now stands at 2,370 MW of capacity�enough to power over 600,000 average American homes�followed by California�s 2,323 MW. Texas edged ahead of California by adding a total of 375 MW, about half of the total amount installed in the country since the beginning of the year.

It�s a historic moment. California has led the nation in installed wind capacity uninterruptedly for nearly 25 years, ever since the first wind farms were built there in late 1981, and at one time the Golden State was host to more than 80 percent of the wind capacity in the entire world. However, energy and electricity prices tanked during the global oil glut of the 1980s, putting California�s wind power boom on hold.

But Texas by no means has been the lone state busy developing wind power projects. In fact, while Texas took the capacity crown from the perennial state leader, development activity in California has not exactly been dormant, with PPM Energy�s (PPM) 150-MW Shiloh Wind Project in Solano County and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District�s 24-MW project near Rio Vista coming online earlier in the year.

Developers continue their steady advance in project activity while the industry confronts a series of inevitable challenges, one being the interplay between wind turbines and military radar. At AWEA�s annual conference, the WINDPOWER 2006 Conference & Exhibition in June, industry players gathered for a siting panel on military issues, an event that brought together stakeholders from all sides of the radar issue. At the session Lt. Col. William Crowe, chief of airspace for the U.S. Air Force, offered to serve as a point of contact for the industry as the various parties work through the challenges and concerns.

Meanwhile, the industry forges ahead, despite delays in some projects due to radar issues. AWEA forecasts that the industry remains on track to install more than 3,000 MW of new wind capacity, which would decisively eclipse the previous record of 2,431 MW set in 2005. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) estimates that slightly less than 10,000 MW of new natural gas plants will be brought online in 2006, and that less than 400 MW of new coal- and oil-fired generating plants will be added, making wind power second only to natural gas in new capacity and new power generation for the second year in a row.

With this robust climate serving as a backdrop, wind energy leaders are thinking both short- and long-term. At WINDPOWER 2006, AWEA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and National Renewable Energy Laboratory committed to develop an action plan focused on providing up to 20% of the nation's electricity from clean, renewable wind energy, the potential of which was highlighted in the Advanced Energy Initiative released by President George W. Bush in February. The process will solicit input from key stakeholders including environmental groups, utilities, policy planners, investors, educators, communities, and others, with the action plan being unveiled at the WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition in Los Angeles, Calif., June 3-6, 2007.

To reach the 20% benchmark and for the strong industry growth to continue even in the short term, the federal production tax credit, which expires at the end of 2007, needs to be extended in a timely fashion before it expires; furthermore, a long-term extension is needed to allow wind energy businesses to operate and invest in a stable environment and to further reduce costs. Added transmission capacity will also be needed to ship large amounts of power from windy areas to market.

�Wind energy works, for America�s economy, environment, and energy security,� commented AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. �Continuing the federal commitment to this clean energy source will keep us on the road to a sustainable energy future.�

Wind Power Projects Completed to Date in 2006 � 822 MW

State	Project Name	Location	Capacity (MW)	Developer	Power Purchaser	Turbine Manufac.	# of WTs	Rating (kW)
Alaska	Kotzebue Wind Project	Kotzebue	.066	Kotzebue Electric Association	Kotzebue Electric Association	Vestas	1	66
Alaska	Kotzebue Wind Project	Kotzebue	0.15	Kotzebue Electric Association	Kotzebue Electric Association	Integrity Wind Systems	3	50
California	Shiloh Wind Project	Solano County	150	enXco, PPM Energy	PG&E - 75 MW, Modesto Irrigation District - 50 MW, City of Palo Alto Utilities - 25 MW	GE Energy	100	1500
California	Solano IIA	Rio Vista	24	SMUD	SMUD	Vestas	8	3000
Colorado	Spring Canyon Energy Center	Logan County	60	Invenergy Wind	Xcel Energy	GE Energy	40	1500
Hawaii	Hawi Renewable	Upolo Point, island of Hawaii	10.56	enXco	Hawaiian Electric Light Co.	Vestas	16	660
Hawaii	Kaheawa Wind Project	western slope of Maui	30	UPC Wind Management & Makani Nui Associates	Maui Electric Co.	GE Energy	20	1500
Massachusetts	Hull Wind II	Hull	1.8	Hull Municipal	Hull Municipal	Vestas	1	1800
Massachusetts		Buzzards Bay	0.66	Massachusetts Maritime Academy	Massachusetts Maritime Academy	Vestas	1	660
Minnesota	Wolf Wind Farm	Nobles County	6.25	Landowner developed	Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency	Suzlon	5	1250
Minnesota	Minnesota Wind Share	Lake Wilson	5.4	Project Resources Corp.	Xcel Energy	Suzlon	3	1800
Montana	Horseshoe Bend	Horseshoe Bend	9	Exergy	Idaho Power	GE Energy	6	1500
New York	2005 Maple Ridge wind farm, (completion)	Lewis County	61.05	PPM Energy & Horizon Wind Energy	NYSERDA/market	Vestas	37	1650
New York	Maple Ridge wind farm, phase I a	Lewis County	33	PPM Energy & Horizon Wind Energy	NYSERDA/market	Vestas	20	1650
North Dakota	Wilton Wind Farm (completion)	Burleigh County	18	FPL Energy	Basin Electric	GE Energy	12	1500
North Dakota	Velva Wind Farm	Velva	11.88	Global Renewable Energy Partners/Acciona Energia	Xcel Energy	Vestas	18	660
Ohio	Great Lakes Science Center	Cleveland	0.225	Leadership Cleveland and Sustainable Cleveland	Great Lakes Science Center	Vestas	1	225
Pennsylvania	Bear Creek Wind Farm	Luzerne County	24	Community Energy Inc./ Global Wind Harvest/ CH Energy Group	PPL Energy	Gamesa	12	2000

Rhode Island	Portsmouth Abbey School Wind Turbine	Portsmouth	0.66	Portsmouth Abbey School	Portsmouth Abbey School	Vestas	1	660
Texas	Horse Hollow expansion	Taylor County	3	FPL Energy		GE Energy	2	1500
Texas	Horse Hollow III	Taylor County	223.5	FPL Energy		GE Energy	149	1500
Texas	Horse Hollow II	Taylor County	64.4	FPL Energy		Siemens	28	2300
Texas	Red Canyon Wind Energy	Borden, Garza and Scurry Counties	84	FPL Energy	various	GE Energy	56	1500

Wind Power Projects Currently Under Construction
(not a comprehensive list)*

State		Project Name	Location	Capacity (MW)	Developer	Power Purchaser		Turbine Manufac.	# of WTs		Rating (kW)
Illinois	Twin Groves I		McLean County	198	Horizon Wind Energy					120	1650
Kansas	Spearville Wind Energy Facility		near Dodge City	100.5	enXco	Kansas City Power & Light	GE Energy			67	1500
Michigan	Noble Thumb Wind Park		Huron County	48	Noble Environmental Power	Consumers Energy	GE Energy			32	1500
Maine	Mars Hill		Aroostook county	42	Evergreen Windpower (subsidiary of UPC Wind Partners)		GE Energy			28	1500
Massachusetts	Town of Orleans Wind Project		Town of Orleans	3.3			Vestas			2	1650
Minnesota	St. Olaf Wind Project		Northfield	1.65		St. Olaf College	Vestas			1	1650
Minnesota	East Ridge Wind Farm		Lincoln County	10	Edison Mission Group	Northern States Power	Suzlon			8	1250
Minnesota	Bingham Lake Wind Farm		Bingham Lake	15	Edison Mission Group	Alliant Energy	Suzlon			12	1250
Missouri	Bluegrass Ridge Project		Gentry County in northwest Missouri	33.6	Wind Capital Group	Associated Electric Cooperative	Suzlon			16	2100
New York	Maple Ridge wind farm, phase II		Lewis County	123.75	PPM Energy & Horizon Wind Energy	NYSERDA/ market	Vestas			75	1650
Oregon	Leaning Juniper		near Arlington, Gilliam County	100.5	PPM Energy		GE Energy			67	1500

Texas	Forest Creek	Glasscock and Sterling Counties, near Abilene	125	Airtricity/RGI	TXU Wholesale	Siemens	54	2300
Texas	JD Wind IV	panhandle	79.8	John Deere Credit/Distributed Wind Systems		Suzlon	38	2100
Texas	Lone Star Wind Project		200	Horizon Wind Energy
Washington	Big Horn Wind Power Project	near Bickleton, Klickitat County	199.5	PPM Energy		GE Energy	133	1500
Washington	Wild Horse Wind Power Project	Whisky Dick Mountain, Kittitas County	228.6	Horizon/Puget Sound Energy	Puget Sound Energy	Vestas	127	1800

* The cumulative total capacity should be considered provisional; moreover, the listing of projects under construction should be considered only a sampling of such projects around the country and is not intended to be comprehensive. For more information about existing wind farms and those under construction, go to AWEA�s project database at http://www.awea.org/projects. Please send any project information to Kathy Belyeu at Kbelyeu@awea.org.

AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. The association's membership includes turbine manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested individuals. More information on wind energy is available at the AWEA web site: www.awea.org.