Cetting the federal production tax credit (PTC) renewed, for more than the time it takes to help re-elect a presidential can- didate, is a solid accomplishment for the U.S. wind industry. However, other challenges loom, most notably in transmission and turbine/generator scale-up, which could frustrate the industry even more as it seeks legitimacy for generation capacity additions. At the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) annual conference and exposition in May, held in Denver, the broad issue of managing the impact of larger percentages of wind energy on the T&D grid seemed to gamer the spotlight, both in the general and technical sessions. In addition, leading project developers, owner/operators, and suppliers hinted that rapid scale-up of turbine designs may not be the panacea for reducing wind's cost of electricity (COE). Wind still clearly enjoys strong public support at the grass roots. More states are designing subsidies to support or encourage wind projects, a growing number of utilities are participating in these projects, new and stronger developers have entered the fray, and the investment community is clearly more interested in its long-term prospects. As one speaker put it, it's still a double-digit growth market. Not many of those exist in the power industry. However, there was a dichotomy between the political and industry rhetoric. Why?
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