The 2015 Wind Technologies Market Report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab was released this month. My takeaway from the report are:
- 8.598 GW of wind power was added in 2015. which amounted to $14.5 billion investment
- Wind power was 41% of electricity generating capacity additions in 2015
- Wind penetration is slightly above 5% of total electricity generation
- Project finance environment was strong in 2015: After-tax Tax Equity yield was about 7.5% and after-tax 15-year debt interest rate was about 2.5%
- In 2015, average rotor diameter crossed 100m. Average hub height was slightly above 80m. Average nameplate capacity was slightly above 2 MW
- Average specific power of wind turbines was about 250 W/m2
- Average capacity factor of wind plants in 2014 was close to 42%
- Average 2015 price of wind turbine was $1,100/kW
- Average 2015 total installed cost of wind power plant was $1,690/kW
- Average 2015 O&M costs were close to $8/MWh for projects built in 2014
- Average 2015 PPA was $38/MWh, based on sample of 6 projects of total capacity of 401 MW. It was much higher than 2014 PPA of $23/MWh and 2016 PPA of below $20/MWh. The 2016 sample was based on 2 projects.
- The forecasted amount of wind power additions until 2020 is 8 GW per year.