Obama's Push
President Barack Obama in January called for 80% of U.S. electricity to come from "clean" energy sources by 2035, including solar and wind, as well as nuclear, cleaner coal and natural gas.
The best wind projects will cost about the same as new coal-fired plants, according to New Energy Finance estimates.
Electricity from new wind projects built today in the most windy areas cost about $65 a megawatt-hour, the researcher says. Power from a new coal-fired power plant costs about $68 a megawatt-hour, including carbon price and project finance risk.
"We're taking advantage of the low-demand regime by improving efficiency, and seeking non-traditional markets," Cukurs said. "We're getting customers in new markets that hadn't considered wind power before in Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. These areas are less transmission-constrained than, say, Texas."