Wind Power

Wind power is growing faster than any other form of energy. The next generation of the already-giant turbines anchored off the shores of Europe will be as tall as the Eiffel Tower. Maybe more importantly, many of the next round of wind turbines won’t be eligible for the subsidies that helped the industry grow — but won’t need them. Wind energy has gotten so cheap that it’s now the lowest-cost new source of power in much of the world. In Denmark, Germany, Texas and elsewhere, one problem wind power producers face is what to do with the excess power they produce. Dozens of big companies, including Bank of America, General Motors and Alphabet’s Google, have been signing long-term contracts with wind as well as solar farms. Wind power, particularly offshore wind farms, has one big skeptic: U.S. President Donald Trump. But market forces seem to be, well, blowing past his objections.

Trump is committed to boosting fossil fuels, particularly coal, but his first budget proposal left tax credits for wind power unchanged. In April, Germany approved bids for the first offshore farms that promise to supply electricity at market prices without any subsidy. Meanwhile, manufacturers led by Siemens AG are working to almost double the capacity of the current range of turbines, which already have wingspans bigger than the largest jumbo jets. In 2016, global wind capacity reached 487 gigawatts, including 54 gigawatts from new installations, roughly equivalent to Turkey’s electric output. More than half of that was installed in China, which has the world’s largest fleet of wind farms. But China typically idles at least one-tenth of its capacity because its grid can’t deliver it.