Dive Summary:

• The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) have told Congressional leaders that they will accept a six-year phase-down of its vital production tax credit (PTC) in return for its extension at 100 percent for projects started next year and 90 percent for projects starting n 2014.
• The tax credit of $.022 per kilowatt-hour of electricity is estimated to have leveraged $15.5 billion in private investment in wind over the past five years; the PTC was extended in 2008 as part of the crisis relief package.
• Some experts have observed that recent wind industry finances could be affected by the price of natural gas and the nature of state mandates and the associated utility demand.

From the article:

At present, load is flat due to economic stagnation, excess capacity, energy efficiency improvements, low natural gas prices and the filling out of many state mandates. Technology advances will continue to grow efficiencies. But an economic recovery could grow demand, put excess capacity to work, and drive the price of natural gas up. And state legislatures may increase existing mandates, all of which would increase wind’s return.

"We want to move the industry toward becoming competitive without the subsidy,” John Eber, Energy Investments Managing Director at JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) noted. “That was the whole purpose of it -- to be a bridge.” ...