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February 24, 2012

Wind in Trouble on Two Fronts

Amy Myers Jaffe, Energy Collective


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Wind power is being squeezed on two fronts. Natural gas prices remain low, limiting the financial incentive to install wind capacity. Meanwhile, the Chinese government continues limit the supply of rare earth elements (REE), and the magnets required for wind turbines use sizable quantities of two of them, neodymium and dysprosium. Any interruption in supply, accompanied with price shocks, could debilitate the wind industry, whose struggle to become competitive is already being harmed by the success of its competitors like natural gas.

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TAGGED: renewable energy production, China, natural gas, natural gas prices, rare earth metals, production tax credit, wind energy

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