Wind power battling economic headwinds - Going Green
Wind power battling economic headwinds
After finally hitting its stride, industry gets slammed by credit crunch
By Jennifer Alsever
msnbc.com contributor
updated 10:57 a.m. ET, Fri., Oct. 31, 2008
Just a couple months ago, wind energy had huge momentum.
T. Boone Pickens, who made his billions in the oil sector, touted the technology in a $58 million ad campaign and promised to build the world’s largest wind farm.
Fellow billionaires Phil Anschutz and Warren Buffett planned to build their own wind farms.
And wind power regularly appeared in stump speeches by presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain.
Then came the credit crunch. If the momentum for wind power was measured by the Beaufort scale, which measures wind speed, it has dropped from a strong gale to a gentle breeze.
After 45 percent growth in the market and $50.2 billion invested in the technology last year, the wind energy industry may come to a grinding halt as developers seek financing and big investors such as Lehman Bros. shut down.
Wind power battling economic headwinds
After finally hitting its stride, industry gets slammed by credit crunch
By Jennifer Alsever
msnbc.com contributor
updated 10:57 a.m. ET, Fri., Oct. 31, 2008
Just a couple months ago, wind energy had huge momentum.
T. Boone Pickens, who made his billions in the oil sector, touted the technology in a $58 million ad campaign and promised to build the world’s largest wind farm.
Fellow billionaires Phil Anschutz and Warren Buffett planned to build their own wind farms.
And wind power regularly appeared in stump speeches by presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain.
Then came the credit crunch. If the momentum for wind power was measured by the Beaufort scale, which measures wind speed, it has dropped from a strong gale to a gentle breeze.
After 45 percent growth in the market and $50.2 billion invested in the technology last year, the wind energy industry may come to a grinding halt as developers seek financing and big investors such as Lehman Bros. shut down.
