US wind projects fall 93 percent

Investors in wind-generated power nearly abandoned ship when Congress let the tax credits for wind projects expire, a new report says.

Installations of new U.S. wind projects fell 93 percent last year. A Navigant Research report says wind power installations had increased to a record high of 13,100 in 2012, according to the Houston Chronicle.

{mosads}After deadlines passed in Congress and the $2 billion tax credit failed to boost investments, financiers pulled heir backing of projects.

The biggest driver behind the pull out, however, was a 20 percent drop in global wind power development, making it the first decline in eight years, the report states.

Globally, developers installed more than 36,000 megawatts of new wind power, but North American and South America lost nearly half of their combined 35.2 percent share in the market.

Germany, China and India led the global wind industry last year.