Released May 25, 2010
FARGO, N.D. – This week, I attended the American Wind Energy Association annual meeting in Dallas. This is the largest trade show for the industry. I was invited to attend and summarize the eight-state wind energy education program being developed for http://www.eXtension.org.
The mood at this year’s event was far more positive than last year. In a future article, I will describe the new financial strategies being used to fund wind energy development projects. Interestingly, while the collapse of Wall Street lending and finance was the impediment to wind energy expansion last year, now it is just three letters – PPA.
PPA is an industry acronym for power purchase agreement. Any developer of a wind energy project must find and secure a buyer who is willing to purchase the electricity that is produced. These buyers usually are electric power utilities that are seeking more renewable energy. Since wind energy is a long-term investment, a PPA usually spans many years so investors can be assured of a payback.
--continued on North Dakota State University Extension news
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