Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

The Watertown (S.D.) Public Opinion, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, Wednesday became the latest in a series of newspapers across the country to support an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).

In an editorial titled "Wind power needs help," the Public Opinion opined, in part:

"Last month, a group of 10 U.S. senators, led by Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging quick renewal of the federal wind energy ...

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The National Governors Association (NGA) has sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), as well as an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for the first 3,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind installed in the U.S.

Said the NGA, "Governors are pursuing a wide variety of strategies to promote job creation and economic development in their states.  Continued development of renewable energy resources and manufacturing is an important component of these efforts.  Renewable energy provides Americans with high-tech manufacturing jobs, secure sources of energy, and our states with crucial economic ...

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Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) joined representatives from BP Wind Energy and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power yesterday afternoon at their Flat Ridge 2 wind farm in Harper County to mark the launch of the project’s construction.

“The development of the Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm is an important component to achieving balance in our country’s energy production and revitalizing rural Kansas,” Gov. Brownback said.  “Our state has a rich abundance of this home-grown, renewable energy and we are happy to add it to our list of Kansas export commodities alongside oil and natural gas, beef and wheat.”

Located on a 66,000-acre site about 40 miles southwest of Wichita and consisting of 262 GE ...

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U.S. Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) toured the factory of a wind turbine manufacturer earlier this week and reiterated his call for extension of wind power's primary incentive, the federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC).  In a visit to Leitner-Poma of America, based in Grand Junction, he noted, "It's nice to see things stamped made here in America."

Colorado, Bennet added, has seen thousands of new jobs from the wind power industry, and businesses need policy certainty to preserve those jobs and create more by investing in more factories.  Referring to Washington, D.C., and the ongoing struggle to extend the PTC, he said, "I call that place 'The Land ...

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PTC uncertainty threatens limitless energy source that pays dividends in jobs

WASHINGTON, DC, April 4, 2012 – The sights and sounds associated with Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church are much like those of many older urban churches across America. Tall columns outside the entrance recall old-world neoclassical architecture. Inside, high ceilings and stone floors create a wonderful echo for the organ that plays every Sunday. But something a little extra special is energizing the church these days. Wind energy.

Recently, the Washington, D.C., church began purchasing wind power to meet its electricity needs. Mount Vernon Place United Methodist is the subject of the latest segment of

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The three commissioners of Wheatland County, Montana, had a letter in the Billings (Mont.) Gazette Sunday expressing their support for the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and calling on the state's Congressional representatives, U.S. Sens. Max Baucus (D) and Jon Tester (D) and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) to seek its extension beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of this year.

Tom Bennett, chair of the county board of commissioners, was joined in signing the letter by colleagues David Miller and Richard Moe.  The three commented in part:

"The wind farms in our county have created ...

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There wasn't any school Saturday, but it was a red-letter day for many students, current and past, of Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, Me., where the ribbon-cutting was held for a new 100-kW Northern Power Systems wind turbine resulting from an eight-year-long student project.

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U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) delivered a strong speech in support of wind power's primary incentive, the federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC) on the Senate floor this week.  Some excerpts from Sen. Grassley's remarks:

... I've championed the [PTC] as a way to provide a level playing field for a very clean, renewable resource. As a result ... wind energy has become more efficient and cost-effective.  The cost of wind energy has declined by 90 percent since the 1980s. Wind has accounted for 35 percent of all new American electric generation in the last five years.  Wind has already provided 20 percent of the electric ...

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In a Daily Caller op-ed Wednesday, Joseph T. Kelliher, who chaired the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for four years after being appointed to it by President George W. Bush, called for an extension of the federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC).

Kelliher, now a senior executive with NextEra Energy, urged support for the PTC as part of an "all of the above" energy strategy to ensure a diversified U.S. energy supply for the long-term future:

One hundred years ago, Winston Churchill explained the importance of ...

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A spokesman for Power Co. of Wyoming (PCW), which is working on a very large wind farm in Carbon County, Wyo., said Wednesday that its wildlife assessment efforts are consistent with avian guidelines for wind power recently issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

An AP article quoted PCW Vice President of Land and Environmental Affairs Garry Miller, who said the firm is doing extensive studies to determine potential impacts of the project on birds and other species of wildlife.

"What we're doing is we are ...

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