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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In its 2018 sustainability report, NextEra Energy Resources LLC (Juno Beach, Florida), the clean power unit of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach), said it was the world's largest operator of wind energy, with 14,000 megawatts (MW) in operation and plans to add between 3,000 MW and 4,300 MW during the 2019-2020 period.
That new project pipeline took a bit of a hit last month, as two projects slated for western Oklahoma were cancelled. The total generating capacity of the now-cancelled Minco and Crowder projects was 470 MW. The projects had a value of about $570 million.
NextEra Energy Resources cancelled the two projects because a recently passed Oklahoma law required windfarm developers to ensure that project construction would not interfere with low-level military training flight routes. Windfarm developers needed approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense prior to beginning construction. Despite lengthy negotiations, the developer was not able to secure those permissions.
Excluding those two canceled projects, Industrial Info is tracking 13 NextEra wind projects that are scheduled to kick off construction between January 2019 and December 2020. The total investment value (TIV) of these 13 projects is about $3.54 billion. Their combined generating capacity is about 2,225 MW.
NextEra plans to be especially busy in North Dakota through the end of 2020, where four projects valued at about $1.5 billion are scheduled to break ground. Arizona, Texas and Indiana are other states where NextEra plans to build wind generation.
Click on the image at right to see the states where NextEra Energy Resources plans to begin construction of wind generation through the end of 2020.
What happened in Oklahoma is, to varying degrees, playing out in other areas across the country, as local officials, for one reason or another, push back on windfarm construction. Aside from its now-cancelled Oklahoma projects, NextEra Energy Resources has canceled or placed on hold nine other wind projects around the country valued at about $2.9 billion. These nine proposed projects were scheduled to break ground between January 2019 and December 2020. They have combined generating capacity of about 1,469 MW.
The federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) awards tax-paying entities a declining federal tax credit for electricity generated by wind projects depending on the date they begin construction. The 2015 extension of the PTC sought to incentivize near-term construction, and awarded a credit of 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity produced for projects that began construction in 2016. For each year after that, the credit declined 20%. Wind projects that begin construction in 2019 are eligible for a credit of slightly under one penny per kWh of electricity generated for 10 years. Projects that break ground next year will be eligible for a credit of about a half cent per kWh generated for a decade.
According to Industrial Info's project database, NextEra Energy Resources completed 10 windfarm projects between January 2016 and June 2019, valued at $3.22 billion. These 10 completed projects have combined generating capacity of about 1,748 MW.
Click on the image at right for a bar chart showing the windfarms NextEra Energy Resources has completed between January 1, 2016 and May 30, 2019.
"The PTC extension seems to have succeeded in getting windfarm developers to put steel into the ground sooner rather than later," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Tens of thousands of megawatts of wind generating capacity have been built since Congress last extended the PTC, in December 2015. It's not likely it will be extended again, as wind generation is increasingly competitive with other forms of electric generation. The subsidy appears to have worked."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
That new project pipeline took a bit of a hit last month, as two projects slated for western Oklahoma were cancelled. The total generating capacity of the now-cancelled Minco and Crowder projects was 470 MW. The projects had a value of about $570 million.
NextEra Energy Resources cancelled the two projects because a recently passed Oklahoma law required windfarm developers to ensure that project construction would not interfere with low-level military training flight routes. Windfarm developers needed approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense prior to beginning construction. Despite lengthy negotiations, the developer was not able to secure those permissions.
Excluding those two canceled projects, Industrial Info is tracking 13 NextEra wind projects that are scheduled to kick off construction between January 2019 and December 2020. The total investment value (TIV) of these 13 projects is about $3.54 billion. Their combined generating capacity is about 2,225 MW.
NextEra plans to be especially busy in North Dakota through the end of 2020, where four projects valued at about $1.5 billion are scheduled to break ground. Arizona, Texas and Indiana are other states where NextEra plans to build wind generation.
What happened in Oklahoma is, to varying degrees, playing out in other areas across the country, as local officials, for one reason or another, push back on windfarm construction. Aside from its now-cancelled Oklahoma projects, NextEra Energy Resources has canceled or placed on hold nine other wind projects around the country valued at about $2.9 billion. These nine proposed projects were scheduled to break ground between January 2019 and December 2020. They have combined generating capacity of about 1,469 MW.
The federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) awards tax-paying entities a declining federal tax credit for electricity generated by wind projects depending on the date they begin construction. The 2015 extension of the PTC sought to incentivize near-term construction, and awarded a credit of 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity produced for projects that began construction in 2016. For each year after that, the credit declined 20%. Wind projects that begin construction in 2019 are eligible for a credit of slightly under one penny per kWh of electricity generated for 10 years. Projects that break ground next year will be eligible for a credit of about a half cent per kWh generated for a decade.
According to Industrial Info's project database, NextEra Energy Resources completed 10 windfarm projects between January 2016 and June 2019, valued at $3.22 billion. These 10 completed projects have combined generating capacity of about 1,748 MW.
"The PTC extension seems to have succeeded in getting windfarm developers to put steel into the ground sooner rather than later," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Tens of thousands of megawatts of wind generating capacity have been built since Congress last extended the PTC, in December 2015. It's not likely it will be extended again, as wind generation is increasingly competitive with other forms of electric generation. The subsidy appears to have worked."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
