Another wild card is the imminent restructuring of the U.S. electric power industry. While it is too early to predict the outcome of proposed regulatory reforms, how a restructured power market values renewable electricity will be a major determining factor for U.S. renewables. The pace of development has slowed, however. U.S. renewable electricity industries are consolidating. Just over half of the developers appearing in the 1989 edition are not included in the 1995 edition because they have left the renewables arena or become inactive.
Developers are less optimistic about the near-term future.
With each subsequent edition of Power Plays, profiled developers have reported significantly fewer planned projects with utility power purchase agreements. In 1986, profiled developers reported 5,056 MW of planned capacity with utility contracts. U.S. renewable electricity developers are pursuing more fossil fuel development domestically and increasing international activities. For instance, Calpine Corp., a leading geothermal energy producer, says its more significant growth prospects are in natural gas. More than half of the companies profiled reported pursuing overseas development.