Driving across the wind-swept expanses of Eastern Washington is enough to make a person wonder: isn't there potential for more wind power in Cascadia. If only legal ambiguity and NIMBYism weren't in the way.
Add this to the list of hurdles: a shortage of windmill makers.
This Wall Street Journal article shows how surging global demand for turbines outstrips supply. Manufacturers are reluctant to make long-term bets since the market in the U.S. isn't stable. Wind power requires major capital investment up front and who knows if tax incentives will continue or if siting the projects will get easier or more difficult.
Oregon is mentioned as encouraging turbine-makers to set up in the state. That's one way Washington could encourage development (instead of simply mandating alternative energy). Consider the possibility:
In the U.S., more wind power was installed last year than in any country in the world -- 2,454 megawatts, or more than the equivalent of two nuclear reactors. Despite the recent action, the U.S. still lags behind other countries that have spent decades nurturing wind power with subsidies and price supports. Germany has fewer wind resources -- breezy, wide-open spaces -- than the state of North Dakota, for instance, but has twice as much wind power as the entire U.S. Spain, with one-seventh the population of the U.S., has the same amount of wind power. Overall, only about 1% of power in the U.S. comes from wind.