China's HZ Windpower ready to move into US despite PTC doubts

Chinese turbine manufacturer HZ Windpower plans to be in the US market for the long haul, according to Kurtis Sherer, the chief executive of the company’s Iowa-based unit.

“It’s not a great time to enter the US market. Growth could be stalled for a while. But we are ready to move forward,” he tells Recharge, referring to uncertainty over whether Congress will extend the federal wind production tax credit ( PTC), which expires on 31 December. It pays $22 per MWh, inflation-adjusted, for a project’s first decade in operation.

If the PTC does expire, industry consultants forecast that 2013 US wind installations will plummet as low as 1-3GW, compared with a record 11-12GW this year.

A recovery to 3.5-5GW is…

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