For example, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, an Amarillo, Texas-based co-op group that secures power for 16 distribution co-ops in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, says that it has just signed a 20-year, 100-MW wind PPA at a fixed price of less than $40/MWh.

Randy Allison, Golden Spread's vice president of production, says he cannot identify the developer yet but that the power price under the deal is competitive with the price of power from low-cost natural-gas-fired units.

A push is on to extend the PTC, but the odds of success are unclear. In August, 24 governors sent a joint letter to the White House urging that the PTC be extended for another seven years. “It is important to have consistency in policy” to advance not only the generation of wind power but to support the nation's wind-turbine manufacturing sector, the governors said.

“The PTC has been a significant driver for the wind industry for 17 years,” says Mortenson's Grundtner. “Without consistent federal legislation—whether it be extending the PTCs or enacting the clean energy standard—the wind-energy market will suffer and jobs will be lost and many companies will see a significant reduction in revenue.”