Truth To Power

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro presents an update on some of the analysis IntelStor has completed on #windenergy asset profitability & the prospects for the O&M market in the USA.

A high power purchase agreement (PPA) price and a high net capacity factor (NCF) typically leads to high profitability. High NCF definitely has an impact on the energy yield benchmarking independent of PPA price.

But some assets with a high PPA price and poor technical performance can still turn a profit for an owner. While we make a big deal about technical performance, there are a number of projects which have fantastic technical performance but a low PPA price that is causing them to see a challenge to achieving a financial breakeven.

Now that PPA prices are trending up, partly due to the loss of the PTCs, this should have a beneficial impact on asset profitability.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro recaps the #WindSummit event in Houston, Texas last week and give an overview of the panel discussions and presentations on all the hottest O&M topics impacting the USA.

It was a fantastic turnout for the first Wind Summit in the USA. There were more than 80 participants from 45 different companies. Over 30 speakers and panelists spent a day and a half discussing and debating the hottest O&M challenges we face today.

We want to ensure that these events continue to maintain the quality of the discussion that was seen last week in Houston. The experts who were on the stage were there because of their expertise in the industry and technology, and not because their company sponsored the event.

This event wasn’t run by a political lobby group, and our main focus with this Wind Summit event series is to provide asset owners, operators, service companies and the supply chain with knowledge they can implement to operate better & at a lower cost.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://www.intelstor.com/store/Research-Notes-Subscription-p127663810

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro takes a look at the anti-wind disinformation headlines in the United Kingdom and Spain.

The UK saw wind energy curtailment payments of £1.3 million on a single day last week. Wind energy gets blamed for these payments despite the fact that wind energy is operating efficiently and the real problem is lack of adequate grid capacity as well as limited options for energy storage.

According to our own analysis, UK ratepayers would be spending almost four times that amount to leave old coal plants online, amounting to £3.8 billion in coal operating costs instead of £1 billion in wind energy constraint payments.

Average energy storage costs in the UK are £580,000 per MW in CapEx and operational costs are ~ £2.50 / MWhr. 6000 MWhr of storage would have facilitated the offtake of almost 100% of the #windpower.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the UK, Spain, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro showcases the latest operations and maintenance cost forecast, and how OEMs, ISPs and asset operators can determine how much they can expect to spend on component repairs.

In 2025, the #windenergy industry is poised to spend more than $2.92 billion on wind turbine repairs in the USA. Blades contribute the most at 37% of the overall, and blades now total more than $1 billion in annual cost.

Lightning damage is the largest cost center, with more than $255.7 million in repairs being undertaken in 2025. That is poised to escalate to more than $333 million by the end of 2034.

Blade root failures are now the second most expensive repair for wind turbines, with more than $222.3 million in annual costs. Root insert separation is a well- known issue on certain makes and models.

For turbines which are in the 1 – 2 MW class, lightning damage is the number 1 issue. Looking at the 2 – 3 MW class, they have more incurred annual cost from fatigue failure in the root as a larger blade repair issue than lightning damage based on data for the 2025 installed base.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro takes a deep dive into the profitability of #windenergy assets in the USA on the back of the updated annual release of production data from the independent power producers via the EIA.

The US wind energy market is now seeing an average of more than $1.13 million per installed MW of net profit through the planned end of asset life. Across the entire installed base, asset owners who have GE Vernova #windturbines see the highest net profit per MW at more than $1.25 million.

Meanwhile, asset owners with Siemens Gamesa turbines show the lowest overall maintenance cost per megawatt hour produced over the lifetime of the wind farm, as well as the slowest degradation of performance over time. Owners with Vestas and Nordex Group turbines show a more traditional increase in relative maintenance cost over time as asset technical performance degrades.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro takes a look at a recent revelation regarding the business activities of the US president and his family who are profiting from #windenergy while simultaneously bashing it and intentionally undermining the industry.

The Canadian Breaks wind farm was commissioned back in 2019. The original developers and owners of the project applied for production tax credits. Since being commissioned in 2019, the wind farm has racked up more than $39.1 million in PTCs.

That wind farm powers the Vega Data Center, recently brought online by Hut 8, and the facility in Texas will be used to mine American Bitcoin, a joint venture between Hut 8, and the sons of the US President, Eric & Donald Jr. as well as Gryphon Digital Mining.

Is it acceptable to publicly bash wind energy, but still have your family profit from it? That wind farm wouldn’t exist without millions in production tax credits they have received. The bitcoin mining operation wouldn’t exist without the inexpensive #windpower they are supplied.

We leave it to you to decide.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro shares a preview of the upcoming #WindSummit event in Houston, Texas this October.

Topics will include:

* Impact of PTC loss on project repowering or refurbishment 

Speakers will include Daniel DePonte from RNWBL®, Alli Gallaher from NextEra Energy Resources, Anthony Martin from AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc., Heinrich Dyck from Phoenix Contact USA, Rosemary Barnes from Pardalote, John McKay, MBA from RNWBL® and Søren Kellenberger from CNC Onsite A/S, with panel moderation and support by Allen Hall and Joel Saxum from Weather Guard Lightning Tech.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the #renewableenergy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro provide an analysis of the smoke screen the US government is running on #renewableenergy, and what the industry can do about it.

When governments behave like the US administration in choosing to behave towards the trillion-dollar renewable energy industry in the USA, it does not provide confidence to investors who expect a return on their investments.

more than $50 billion in capital that would have been spent in the USA over the past 7 months that has now made it’s way to the UK, Canada, Poland, Denmark and Germany. For someone who seems keen to portray himself as an expert business man, that’s not so clever.

Since the inception of the production and investment tax credits, more than ~$160 billion of taxpayer money has been committed by the government over the past 32 years. That has unlocked more than $250 billion in CapEx for onshore wind energy project development in the USA, as well as $100 billion in capital investments for domestic production of #windturbine components.

It’s also unlocked more than $300 billion in capital in solar project development and factories to produce racks and electrical systems. Energy storage is already at $65 billion and growing according to IntelStor.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro provides an analysis of the operational impacts for renewable energy assets based on a loss of PTC driven refurbishment & repowering.

Today, some renewable energy asset owners in the USA have enjoyed re- qualifying their projects for PTCs after their first 10 years in operation. This extra PTC revenue led many owners to become highly dependent on PTC revenue as a percentage of total revenue. The average across all wind energy projects in the United States is just under 24%.

That dependency has led to some O&M decisions which are now becoming unviable as the PTC goes away. If some asset owners who over-run their turbines do not change their operational or maintenance habits, they risk being stuck with a fleet they would need to repower without the benefit of a PTC. In order to do that, they will likely have to show their project has already achieved a net positive return on capital, or else get very close to breakeven.

Increasing demand and limited supply of power will make asset refurbishment or repowering more attractive if a PPA can be renegotiated at a higher price, even without the PTC benefit. A desire to lock in a long-term fixed PPA in the face of a potential surge in power prices will lead corporate power buyers to try to firm up more lucrative deals sooner rather than later as they anticipate these price increases.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn

On this week’s episode of #TruthtoPower, IntelStor's Founder & CEO, Philip Totaro shares some stats on the renewable energy sector in the USA and how the industry can unite to fight the political opposition and protect this trillion dollar industry.

Collectively, the renewable energy sector is already a $1 trillion industry in the USA. The onshore wind energy sector has contributed $246 billion in capital costs to build onshore wind farms in the USA.

The industry now spends $2.75 billion annually in onshore wind farm operations and maintenance costs. IntelStor projects that will increase to more than $3 billion per year by 2030. More than $100 billion has been spent on factories to build wind turbine components in the USA, as well as improve port infrastructure to accommodate receiving.

The $300 billion solar industry and a $65 billion energy storage industry in the USA also continue to be jeopardized with laws and executive orders meant to wantonly and deliberately derail investment.

Nationwide, wind and solar projects alone contribute about $3.5 billion annually in lease or easement payments directly to landowners as well as bolstering state and local tax coffers.

Sadly, the industry has heard very little from several of the industry trade associations and lobby groups who are meant to represent our interests. If fear of retaliation from the US administration is even part of your thought process, then you have no place leading the industry.

But we stand resolved!

The #renewableenergy sector will not let any administration in any country of the world stop or slow down the inevitable energy transition.

Have a listen today, and get in touch with your best questions about the renewable energy market in the USA, or any other country around the world.

This show examines data driven insights for the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. To subscribe to IntelStor Research Notes and get early access to our latest content as well as these Truth to Power weekly editorials, visit https://lnkd.in/grfixJn