Macro outlook from the Windicator

Two factors outside the wind business will likely encourage further strong growth this year. First, uncertainty over fuel supplies and prices, particularly with regard to gas, is growing. In a gas-fired power station, fuel cost alone is now around $36/MWh. Second, fossil fuel prices are being loaded with extra costs in global cap-and-trade markets for reducing carbon emissions. On the other hand, wind may suffer if nuclear makes a come-back. As concerns about gas rise so do nuclear's aspirations. It is issuing increasingly confident statements about its superiority as a carbon free source. In Britain, the whole question of a possible nuclear future is likely to be re-examined.