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In 32 data-packed pages, a U.S. Department of Energy Berkeley Lab study released last May details America’s exploding wind power marketplace, with a focus on capacity growth, prices and costs to producers in 2007.

The conclusion? The industry has seen unprecedented growth that has beaten the most optimistic projections.

But, the authors also conclude that the federal renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) has been vital to wind’s immense success, and predicted more boom-and-bust if it’s left to expire in December ‘08. They bottom-line it this way:

If the PTC is not extended, 2009 is likely to be a difficult year of industry retrenchment.

This week, a bill introduced by Senator Max Baucus (Montana-D) containing an extension of the expiring tax incentive failed to move past a cloture vote in the Senate, again. That’s a big blow to the industry and an end to the Baucus bill chapter.

But it’s not the end of the story.

The good news and the great news, on the state of U.S. wind power, after the jump.