Wind industry bemoans decline in construction, says renewable energy mandate is needed

Construction of wind farms has dropped dramatically this year, and industry officials say it will continue to do so if Congress doesn't enact a federal renewable energy standard to require a certain amount of U.S. electricity to come form renewable sources and "reassure investors that there will be a market for additional wind power, Phillip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports. Data from the American Wind Industry Association shows "construction of wind farms has fallen 71 percent nationwide this year and has disappeared from Iowa," Brasher writes.

AWIA reports orders for wind turbines rose slightly during the second quarter of the year, but not enough to encourage manufacturers to expand. While Iowa remains the No. 2 state for total wind capacity with 3,670 megawatts, no construction projects for new wind farms are currently underway, Brasher writes. The No. 1 state for wind generation, Texas, added 202 megawatts during the first half of 2010, the largest increase in the country. Texas now has a total capacity of 9,708 megawatts. While the Senate is moving forward with a scaled-back energy bill that focuses on the Gulf of Mexico oil blowout, Bode claimed that a renewable-energy mandate alone has at least 60 votes, the number needed to avoid a Republican filibuster in the Senate. (Read more)