US wind power will get more expensive as the production tax credit (PTC) winds down and expires for good, but better turbines will soften the blow, says Pattern Energy chief executive Michael Garland.

The wind PTC – worth $24/MWh of generation at its full value – has long been the bedrock of the US wind market, with annual wind installations gyrating wildly over the past decade as the tax credit went through a rolling cycle of expiration and revival.