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Zoltek's Take: This article reiterates what has been said before, that wind power is no longer a “marginal player.� The cost of producing electricity from wind power, even without government incentives, is already on par with the cost of producing electricity from fossil fuels, such as coal. This is important because in the past, government tax credits were a necessity for making wind power economical. Today, through technological improvements in wind turbine design and the materials used to make them, wind is far less reliant on government tax credits. This is even more evident when compared to the cost of electricity produced from solar, which is still very much dependent on government tax credits.
Also noted is the tough macro environment moving into 2009, and while it’s still too early to estimate its effect, there are benefits to the wind industry that are being created from this tough macro environment.
Investments in wind power are made for long term stability and a secure future. Wind power is not meant to be a temporary source of energy to help us deal with periods of high oil prices. The push for wind energy is to allow the world to decrease its dependence on fossil fuels, for both financial and environmental reasons. We believe this push will undoubtedly continue.