Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

A bipartisan effort by three U.S. Senators to have an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) considered by the full Senate was thwarted yesterday, when the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act (S. 2237) failed to receive enough votes to move forward.

Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kans.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) had filed a proposed amendment to the bill that would have extended the PTC for two years, but since the bill will not be debated, the amendment will not be considered.

In a letter late yesterday, AWEA's Chris Chwastyk, Vice President for Federal Legislative Affairs, told PTC supporters, "We very much appreciate your efforts to reach out to your Senators about an amendment that had great potential to give the ...

Read more

Local communities near Enid, Okla., are seeing a boost in business as construction begins on the 235-MW Chisholm View Wind Project, according to the Enid News and Eagle newspaper.

Enid Regional Development Alliance Executive Director Brent Kisling noted that there are about 200 people currently working on the project, and patronizing local motels, stores and restaurants.  In addition to the short-term lift to local businesses, though, he pointed to longer-term impacts of the wind farm: “The reason this is significant in the long term is two-fold. First, it’s about a $400 million investment in our area, and once that wind farm is complete, they will be the largest ad valorem taxpayer in ...

Read more

The wind industry somehow got pulled into a campaign tussle over “outsourcing” this week, even though we have created a flood of U.S. jobs, private investment, and factories since tax relief helped restore financing for wind projects at the depth of the recession.

The campaign claim: The government “has been outsourcing a good deal of American jobs by putting money into energy companies that end up making their products outside the U.S.,” as candidate Mitt Romney said in Colorado on Tuesday.

Read more

Senators file amendment to small business jobs bill to extend PTC

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kans.) filed an amendment yesterday to extend the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).  Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is a cosponsor of the amendment, which has been filed to the small business jobs bill.

The amendment would extend the PTC for two years and is paid for.

“Colorado is a proven leader in the development of wind energy production and would suffer a huge economic blow if this tax credit expires,” Sen. Bennet said. “The wind PTC has helped our state attract new companies and create thousands of jobs in a diverse energy sector. This credit has bipartisan support, and it is time for ...

Read more

The United Steelworkers (USW) union said it was disappointed by Gamesa’s announcement that it will furlough 165 workers at its wind turbine nacelle and rotor blade plants in Fairless Hills and Ebensburg, Pa., and urged Congress to extend the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).

“The PTC is vital to creating a strong U.S. renewables market with clean energy manufacturing jobs,” said Leo W. Gerard, USW International President. “Without it, there is little incentive for existing U.S. wind manufacturers to keep doing business here. Nor is there any ...

Read more

Wind farm developer Terra-Gen Power, which is working on development of what is ultimately planned to be a project of more than 3,000 MW in California, said it will not go forward with expansion in 2013 if the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) is not extended by Congress, according to Platts Electric Power Daily.

Terra-Gen's Alta Wind project in Tehachapi, Calif., is expected to reach 1,320 MW by year's end, the article said.  The wind farm as originally envisioned, it added, is a major building block toward California meeting its state renewable energy standard goal.

Said the article, "Terra-Gen is in much the same position as other big wind farm developers such ...

Read more

The following article is one in a series of case studies included in AWEA's recently published Small Wind Turbine Market Report Year End 2011.

When Mark Mayhew joined the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as small wind program manager in 2008, NYSERDA received more applications for PV in a week than the small wind program received in a year. Mayhew set out to improve the small wind program. In 2011, NYSERDA cemented its reputation as a leading state small wind incentive program.

The NYSERDA incentive is now based on expected kilowatt-hours. "When I inherited the program, we used a nameplate ...

Read more

Recently, several news outlets, including Wired magazine's website, picked up a release from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) concerning innovative approaches to reducing bat fatalities at wind farms.  While the stories that resulted were not especially critical of wind power, they did not provide the context in which its impacts should be viewed.

All Americans can profit from our homegrown wind energy, not only in terms of economic value, but in the health and environmental benefits it provides. Wind energy is one of the safest forms of energy for both humans and animals. Unlike conventional fuel generation sources, wind energy does not pollute our air or drinking water, nor does it produce hazardous waste, and it consumes no water in the generation of ...

Read more

Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa announced furloughs of 165 U.S. workers last week, adding that it hopes to recall them once Congress renews the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).

David Rosenberg, a spokesman for the firm, told Bloomberg bluntly, "The lack of a PTC is the cause for this action," explaining that it is not a situation that applies only to Gamesa, but to the entire wind turbine manufacturing industry.

Said the article, "Wind farms take years to plan and build, and developers are trimming orders now. Total 2013 installations may fall to 4.9 gigawatts from an estimated 10.5 gigawatts this year if ...

Read more

A vibrant domestic wind power industry not only creates a market for components to be used at wind projects around the country, it allows for made-in-the-USA products to be exported.
 
That reality was on full display recently, when 37-meter wind turbine rotor blades manufactured at LM Wind Power's plant in Grand Forks, N.D., began arriving at the port of Duluth, Minn., on tractor-trailers and were staged at the port's breakbulk terminal awaiting final delivery to Brazil. The blades will be used at IMPSA Wind's new CEARA 2 project in the state of Ceara in the northeastern part of the country, along the Atlantic coast. Departure was scheduled for last Friday.
 
North Dakota ...

Read more