US wind farm operations and maintenance annual spending is forecast to double by 2030 compared with 2018 amounts, according to a new report from IHS Markit.
The analyst’s Wind Power Plant Benchmarking in North America: Technological Advancements for Operations and Maintenance study projects annual spending to grow to $7.5bn by 2030.
“The forecasted increase in O&M spending follows the race to leverage a soon-to-expire US federal tax credit for wind energy,” stated the report.
The tax credit plus technology advancements have helped drive investment in new wind projects, with 2018 capital spending reaching $12bn.
IHS Markit forecasts continued momentum in new project development, with 2019-2021 capital spending expected to average $14bn a year.
Following the tax-credit induced surge and the credit expiration that will follow, capital spending is expected to slow.
“The current surge, however, will drive growth in O&M spending during the 2020s. Moreover, the early 2020s will mark a transition in wind industry employment opportunities from construction to O&M jobs,” said IHS Markit
“Wind operations job growth will be particularly strong in the next decade,” said Michael McNulty, associate at IHS Markit and report author. “We estimate the number of these jobs in North America to increase from about 6000 today to nearly 9000 by 2030,” he added.
The new IHS Markit report also highlights variation in regional trends.
Texas far outpaced other states and provinces in 2018 wind O&M spending and employment, the report said. The Lone Star State’s 2018 O&M spending reached nearly $1.3bn, reflecting the fact that it is largest state in terms of wind power.
California followed with more than $400m in 2018 O&M spending.
Looking to the future, the study found that wind O&M spending and employment growth are expected to be stronger in the Great Plains and upper Midwestern states, such as Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Colorado and Minnesota.
By 2030, these six states will increase annual O&M spending by $1.3bn, the report stated.
The IHS Markit study comprises data from more than 340 wind projects, representing 36,000 megawatts of capacity and more than 20,000 turbines installed in North America.