The House-passed bill and the Senate plan would offer $13 billion over 10 years to extend a production tax credit through 2012 — the credits currently expire each year — and provide tax breaks for investments in renewable energy. The House version also includes a grant program that covers 30 percent of the upfront costs of wind energy investments.

The Senate version includes the tax breaks but does not offer the grant program, which would allow wind and solar industries to convert tax credits into grants from the Energy Department.

Wind power advocates say the grant program is needed because tax credits have been hampered by the recession. The projects require large upfront financing and have traditionally attracted investors who use the credits to offset tax liabilities. But few of these investors are profitable now.

Clipper Windpower announced about 90 layoffs last month, mainly at a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and several wind-related manufacturers have announced similar cuts.

Several Midwest states are hoping to increase their stake in wind energy, pointing to the potential for rural development. Wetstone’s organization estimates that North Dakota has nation’s largest wind energy potential, followed by Texas, Kansas and South Dakota.

Proponents in Congress said the extension of the production tax credit would help. Wind farm developers would see a tax credit for every kilowatt-hour of electricity they produce extended through the end of 2012.

In Texas, state regulators have picked several developers to build nearly $5 billion in high-voltage electricity lines stretching from the growing wind farms of West Texas to the state’s largest cities. When completed in the next four to five years, the Texas lines should be able to carry 18,500 megawatts, enough electricity for 14 million to 18 million typical homes.

Vestas (VWDRY.pk) announces earnings on Feb 11th and with the recent PR announcements about landing its 8th major Chinese wind contract, is Vestas worth buying given the world economic problems???   Lets look at what Vestas has done in past four years………growing revenues, growing net income, growing margins, and expanding in over 60 countries installing wind turbines almost as fast as they can build and assemble them.   Vestas announced at Davos that their capacity is now being underutilized by 15% given the world economic crisis and slowing orders and demand slowing.  Vestas ADR’s use to sell for $48 this summer when oil was $140 per barrel.   Given that Vestas produces profits and then reinvests its profits into expanding markets (ie, CHINA 350 Million in 3 separate wind turbine plants INSIDE CHINA) and then takes existing market share from the established providers.   Vestas in 2010 will be making a 3.0 MW wind turbine every single hour 24/7/365 and will take more market share from 2nd place GE.  Yes, Vestas imho is a strong buy at these price points of $16 per share…….Feb 11th will test the price given that overall markets will probably drop short term in next two weeks before USA employs the bad bank system to try and turn the USA economy around.  Vestas imho is a strong buy anything close to $16 per share for the LONG TERM and I mean more than 3 years time frame!! 

Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systesm (VWS.CO), one of the world’s top producers of wind turbines, plans to invest $350 million in its China-based subsidiary in order to meet growing demand for wind power in the country, according to reports. 

Since the new year, Vesta China has received several orders for wind turbines, including one from China Guangdong Nuclear Wind Power for a total of 116 wind turbines. Industry Week reported that order was the eigth made by the company, for a total of 500 megawatts (MW) worth of wind turbines.

Vestas also reported sales of 100 MW of turbines for two other projects in China. The developers of those projects were not disclosed.

“As of June 30 2008, Vestas had delivered more than 1,000 turbines to China and we continue to have high expectations for the growing Chinese market,” Lars Andersen, who heads up Vestas’s China division, said in the statement.

Vestas China is located in Tianjin’s Binhai District, a hub for wind power companies.

China’s wind power manufacturing capacity is about 8 gigawatts (GW) and is expected to reach 12 GW by 2010.

Article Below was taken from Vestas PR story::

Engel said promises by Gordon Brown to creates thousands of new jobs in Britain and China’s intention to pump $70bn on electricity grid connections also gave him confidence for the future.

Vestas already employs 20,000 people, around double the figure four years ago.

The Global Wind Energy Council estimates there are now 400,000 people worldwide employed in the sector.

It told a World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that this figure could grow to 1 billion by the end of the decade.

But there were warnings this week from Wall Street with financial analysts saying both wind and solar firms were in for a rough ride.

“We believe that the most important theme in 2009 within the alternative energy space will be a move from severe undersupply to one of at least a more balanced market and potentially serious oversupply,” said Goldman Sachs analyst Jason Channell in a note to investors.

SunPower and First Solar clawed their way back into investors focus after SunPower delivered much stronger results than guided by management.   Given that its always better to under promise and over deliver vs the other way around, SunPower stock closed up 12% today.

NEW YORK (AP) – SunPower Corp. shares jumped Friday as its fourth-quarter and full-year results beat expectations and its outlook, although lowered, failed to disappoint investors.

For the full-year the San Jose, Calif.-based company earned $92.3 million, or $1.09 per share, compared with $9.2 million, or 11 cents per share. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.28 per share. Analysts predicted $2.15 per share.

The company also lowered its 2009 earnings per share to between $1.40 and $1.90 from a prior estimate of $3.

SunPower today LOWERED guidance from $3 to $1.40 and the stock soared 10% based on great earnings for 2008.  My gut tells me to short SunPower given they got nothing but tough road ahead given the financial crisis in the world.  All the good news is out for SunPower.   However, APWR needs to guide down based on they are behind on their 2009 wind production schedule and some DG contracts have been pushed back or postponed.  End of 2008, APWR guided down missing revenues by 75 million due to postponed projects and the stock dropped 15% and then came roaring back with the GE press release.  All analysts who cover APWR have guided down already and the estimates are about 400 million per year different than management of APWR.   Why can APWR management live in China and not understand how to manage shareholders of an American company trading in USA but yet the factories are located in China???  Management of APWR still have a billion of revenues for 2009 and a profit of around $2 per share.  Sure they could still deliver these type numbers if some ridiculous amount of new contracts and new work were signed an booked for 2009.   Shareholders live in reality and expect management of APWR to deliver realistic results and guidance.   I hope I am put to shame with final numbers way above my revised estimates which mirror Roth Capital and Jesup and Lamont, its time for APWR management to come clean and maintain honest transparency with their currrent shareholders cause you can deceive me once (Dec 29th, 2008) but you wont get a third chance if you blow 1Q09 without guiding down and being honest and realistic!!

NEW YORK (AP) – SunPower Corp. shares jumped Friday as its fourth-quarter and full-year results beat expectations and its outlook, although lowered, failed to disappoint investors.

For the full-year the San Jose, Calif.-based company earned $92.3 million, or $1.09 per share, compared with $9.2 million, or 11 cents per share. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.28 per share. Analysts predicted $2.15 per share.

The company also lowered its 2009 earnings per share to between $1.40 and $1.90 from a prior estimate of $3.

Here’s a talking point in the green jobs debate: The wind industry now employs more people than coal mining in the United States.

Wind industry jobs jumped to 85,000 in 2008, a 70% increase from the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday from the American Wind Energy Association. In contrast, the coal industry employs about 81,000 workers. (Those figures are from a 2007 U.S. Department of Energy report but coal employment has remained steady in recent years though it’s down by nearly 50% since 1986.) Wind industry employment includes 13,000 manufacturing jobs concentrated in regions of the country hard hit by the deindustrialization of the past two decades.

The big spike in wind jobs was a result of a record-setting 50% increase in installed wind capacity, with 8,358 megawatts coming online in 2008 (enough to power some 2 million homes).  That’s a third of the nation’s total 25,170 megawatts of wind power generation. Wind farms generating more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity were completed in the last three months of 2008 alone.

Another sign that wind power is no longer a niche green energy play: Wind accounted for 42% of all new electricity generation installed last year in the U.S. Power, literally, is shifting from the east to west, to the wind belt of the Midwest, west Texas and the West Coast. Texas continues to lead the country, with 7,116 megawatts of wind capacity but Iowa in 2008 overtook California for the No. 2 spot, with 2,790 megawatts of wind generation. Other new wind powers include Oregon, Minnesota, Colorado and Washington state.

will this 500MW wind order from China be enough to salvage the year for Vestas going forward????

Vestas manages the winds of change

The company’s financial results and forecasts are positive, but falling energy prices and the global financial crisis may yet take their toll on Vestas, writes NJ Watson

VESTAS Wind Systems ended 2008 on a high, receiving large orders for its wind turbines from China. But with banks cutting their target prices for the Danish wind-turbine manufacturer’s stock in December, there are fears that the company will not escape the gathering financial storms in 2009.

On 31 December, Vestas said it had received two orders for wind turbines, with a total capacity of 100 megawatts (MW), to be delivered to two projects in China – at the customer’s request, further details were not disclosed. This followed a 29 December announcement that China Guangdong Nuclear Wind Power had ordered 116 of its 850 kilowatt (kW) V52 turbines, bringing the total capacity of V52 wind turbines sold to the company to 500 MW.

Before the China deals, Danske Bank analyst Henrik Breum claimed Vestas’ order intake for fourth-quarter 2008 had almost doubled from the previous quarter

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has received an order from China Guangdong Nuclear Wind Power Company for the delivery of 116 of its 850kW V52 wind turbines, bringing the total capacity of V52 wind turbines sold to the company to 500MW.

Related Articles

• Vestas to supply 23 wind turbines for SN Power’s Totoral wind farm
• AAER ships first wind turbine from Quebec plant
• Vestas receives 50MW wind turbine supply orders from Spain
• DeWind ships five wind turbines for Chilean power project

Suppliers to this Sector

• Funke Huster Fernsig GmbH

The new wind projects completed in 2008 account for about 42% of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally last year, according to initial estimates, and will avoid nearly 44 million tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking over 7 million cars off of the road.    

The amount that the industry brought online in the 4th quarter alone – 4,112 MW – exceeds annual additions for every year except 2007.  In all, wind energy generating capacity in the U.S. now stands at 25,170 MW, producing enough electricity to power the equivalent of close to 7 million households and strengthening our national energy supply with a clean, inexhaustible, homegrown source of energy.  

Iowa, with 2,790 MW installed, surpassed California (2,517 MW) in wind power generating capacity. The top five states in terms of capacity installed are now: 

-Texas, with 7,116 MW
-Iowa, with 2,790 MW
-California, with 2,517 MW
-Minnesota, with 1,752 MW
-Washington, with 1,375 MW

Oregon moved into the club of states with more than 1,000 MW installed, which now counts seven states:  Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota, Washington, Colorado, and Oregon.