Wind turbine projects in Massachusetts and elsewhere are being delayed for up to two years due to a worldwide shortage of wind turbine parts, the Boston Globe reports.
The situation is especially acute in the U.S. because wind power is growing faster in the U.S. than in any other country, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
In 2007, more than 5,200 megawatts of wind power came online in the U.S. almost twice the amount from the year before. The association expects more than 4,500 turbines to go up this year, with a combined capacity of at least 7,500 megawatts.
Of the projects being monitored by Massachusetts, which includes 282 turbines, only a handful have been built.
Ian Bowles, Boston’s secretary of energy and environmental affairs, told the Boston Globe that “the number of proposals in Massachusetts pending right now are some of the most difficult to get turbines for because they are only one or two turbines, and the wind companies are most focused on those people who they can sell a dozen turbines to.”