SUGAR LAND, TX -- 06/04/08 --
Researched by Industrial Info Resources
(Sugar Land, Texas) -- The Rocky Mountain states -- Arizona, Colorado,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming -- currently have more
than 20 operational windfarms totaling about 2,000 megawatts (MW) of power
generation capacity. Wind proponents are developing about 77 new windfarms
in the Rockies for an additional 8,000 MW of power generation capacity --
an increase of 400%. This would increase wind-power capacity in the region
up to 10,000 MW by 2012. The new windfarms are projected to be between 10
MW and 500 MW. This new generation will cost about $1.8 million and higher
per megawatt to construct, making the total cost of the new generation to
about $14.5 billion.
Four of the states, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming, each have more
than 1,000 MW of planned wind power development with Idaho having more than
1,850 MW. Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Nevada have between 500 MW and 840 MW
each. Ten windfarms are currently under construction in the region, with
more than 60 in the planning and/or engineering phase. About 950 MW is on
hold because of permitting issues, the need for power-purchase agreements,
legal issues or investment holdups.
Windfarms are capital-intensive for construction, but once they become
operational they are fairly cost-efficient. One of the draw backs for wind
turbines is that they are projected to have a life of only 20-25 years,
whereas nuclear and coal units have a life of 40-60 years and hydroelectric
have an expected life of 50 years or more.
For more information on wind power in the Rocky Mountains and other parts
of the U.S., check out Industrial Info's recently released United States Wind Turbine Power Generating Industry
2nd Edition Wall Map.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service
specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets
with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics,
forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.
For more information send inquiries to powergroup@industrialinfo.com or
visit us online at www.industrialinfo.com.
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to Double in 2008
Contact:
Joe Govreau
713-783-5147
