Can the US Wind Industry Get Beyond Its Boom-Bust Cycle?

Energy Gang

Wood Mackenzie

Tech News, Environment, Sustainability, Innovation, Renewable Energy, Technology, Alternative Energy, Energy, News, Cleantech, Wind Energy, Business, Climate Change, Solar Energy

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2015

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Wind has become a favorite target for politicians and conservative action groups looking end energy subsidies. But industry leaders are hitting back, saying they’ll only consider dropping the production tax credit when oil and gas lose their tax benefits. But does it need the subsidy? The average price for U.S. wind contracts is now 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Some argue that the industry would remain competitive even without the PTC, and could avoid boom-bust cycles if it were eliminated. In this episode, Tom Kiernan, the CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, joins us to defend the industry’s stance on tax credits. He’ll also talk about some key economic and technology developments in the sector. Then, we take a look at the Ecomodernist manifesto, a new document from a group of academics, scientists and analysts outlining a human-based approach to environmentalism they call the “good Anthropocene.” Finally, we turn to the devastation in Nepal and ask whether distributed renewables can play a more prominent role in disaster response. This podcast is sponsored by ReneSola, a Tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the cleantech industry. The Energy Gang is produced by Greentechmedia.com. The show features weekly discussions between energy futurist Jigar Shah, energy policy expert Katherine Hamilton and Greentech Media Editor Stephen Lacey. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The Energy Gang is brought to you by Renna Sola, a tier 1 solar cell and module manufacturer with a decade of experience in the clean tech industry.
0:09.0	Renna Sola is your complete procurement Call 415, 570, 2647 to find your local representative or go to renna sola.
0:30.0	US.
0:31.0	For the week of April 30th, 2015, this is the Energy Gang from Green Tech Media. Hello all, welcome to the show.
0:48.0	I'm Stephen Lacey, a senior editor with Green Tech Media in Washington, D.C.
0:52.0	I appreciate you being with us this week. The U.S. wind industry
0:55.4	picked back up in 2014, but can it get beyond the boom bus cycles that have plagued it for
1:01.0	so many years? This week we talk with the CEO of the American Wind Energy Association about how to keep growth strong.
1:07.0	Then we'll take a look at the Eco Modernist Manifesto, a new document from a group of academics, scientists, and analysts outlining a human-based
1:15.4	approach to environmentalism they call the good Anthropocene.
1:19.9	Finally, we'll turn to the devastation in Nepal and ask whether distributed renewables can play a more prominent
1:25.3	role in disaster response.
1:28.1	Here with me as always to talk about these subjects are my co-hosts, Catherine Hamilton and Jigger Shaw.
1:34.0	Catherine's in Washington, D.C. as always, she is a partner with the Clean Tech Public
1:38.4	Policy Firm 38 North Solutions.
1:40.4	How are you?
1:42.0	Great. I had a chance to have breakfast this morning at the British
1:45.8	embassy. In fact one of Tom's colleagues was there, Rob Grahamlich and we got to
1:51.4	talk with Sir David King,
1:52.8	who's the head of climate change for the UK.
1:55.0	Sipping tea or coffee?
1:56.9	I was having coffee out of necessity,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wood Mackenzie, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wood Mackenzie and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.