Little Expansion In Wind Power Forecast For 2004

Growth in the use of wind power is expected to drop dramatically in 2004, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a national trade association. In fact, little to no growth is expected compared with the 1,687 megawatts of new capacity installed in 2003, according to the AWEA. The association says new capacity installed in 2003 is enough to serve almost 500,000 homes. AWEA said new installations in 2004 are likely to be less than 500 megawatts, a drop-off it blames on the expiration in December 2003 of a federal wind-energy-production tax credit. Legislation to extend the tax credit is awaiting Congressional approval, the organization says.