ORLANDO — The opening general session at Windpower 2015 marked
the first appearance by a U.S. energy secretary at the show, “which is
surprising,” said current energy secretary Ernest Moniz, “but better
late than never.”
Moniz addressed the crowd of attendees during what AWEA CEO Tom
Kiernan called “the most important time in the wind industry.” Indeed,
the industry is facing some potential challenges ahead. With the
production tax credit slipping through the cracks, wind may soon be
stepping into a low-incentive era, while proper transmission is a growing concern.
In addition to these obstacles, Moniz emphasized the critical need to
address climate change, and said that the government can’t enforce
carbon-reduction solutions without finally defeating the climate
skeptics.
“If it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, and acts like a duck,
then it’s probably a duck. That’s where we should be with climate
change,” said Moniz. “It’s time to move past fruitless debates that
[aren’t] debatable. We need climate solutions, and wind will be a huge
part of that.”
In the meantime, Moniz emphasized the importance of continued
research and development. In the past five years, the wind industry has
reduced costs by more than half and while great strides have been made
to increase individual turbine capacity,
Moniz highlighted the importance of focusing on other areas, as well.
For example, the DOE is investigating the viability of higher turbine
heights above 100 meters, which could unlock gigawatts of potential
nationwide.
“We’re talking about one-half to two-thirds expansion of highly
viable wind resource, and getting up that high is not unheard of. It is
done today in Europe, so we need to bring that technology here and
deploy it,” said Moniz. “We are far from reaching the R&D horizon,
and we will work simultaneously on farther-out concepts while we work
with you on things today like higher hub heights.”
On the finance side, Moniz acknowledged that yieldcos are a growing and positive vehicle
for private investment, and on the federal side, the DOE will continue
to show its support for clean energy with its loan program. With
billions of authority remaining, the department is actively working to
provide financial support, and Moniz mentioned its recent commitment to the Cape Wind project, though with the recent PPA troubles, everyone is waiting to “see about future of that project.”
Of course, Moniz couldn’t end his address without mentioning the
elephant in the room, the PTC. While Kiernan stated that he is confident
that a long-term deal will pass, Moniz was a bit more reserved. He
acknowledged the “clear, critical need” for a long-term PTC extension,
and said the administration is working to include a permanent extension
in its FY16 budget request, which focuses on infrastructure for a clean
energy future.
“We think this is a very important time for our climate challenge and
wind has the opportunity to be major part of the solution to that
challenge,” said Moniz. “We need to keep working to…drive down costs and
develop technology that greatly enlarges our footprint for deployment.
If we can do that, we’ll be able to hit the necessary, ambitious targets
for carbon reduction.”
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/05/wind-energy-is-crucial-in-the-fight-against-climate-change-says-us-energy-secretary.html