Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

A recent commentary on NBC4’s “iReporter” discussed concerns about the sound of wind turbines at a wind farm in West Virginia.

Any time a debate regarding the intangible “cost” of wind power arises, it’s important to remember that wind energy emits no pollution, creates no hazardous waste, and uses virtually no water. All of these advantages are good for human health and wildlife, and they are not shared by any non-renewable energy source.

With respect to the sound levels generated by modern turbines, typically, two people can carry on a conversation at normal voice levels even while standing at the base of a turbine. As a non-polluting energy source, wind power is ...

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In a recent op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, Alex Pavlak, a professional engineer, raised questions about the cost of wind and how it is integrated with the power system. The following response was posted as a comment.

There are several critical flaws in the arguments made in this opinion piece:

1. The author relies on a fictional thought experiment that is completely divorced from the reality of how the power system actually operates. He asks us to imagine a power system “with no electricity imports or exports across state borders. Assume a constant load with no daily or seasonal variation.” Unfortunately for Mr. Pavlak, that is the exact opposite of how our power system actually works. Electricity demand is constantly fluctuating, varying ...

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Wind power has created new manufacturing jobs and can help create more if the federal Production Tax Credit incentive is extended, according to an opinion article in Friday's edition of the Daily Caller by power technician Scott Wood of Danotek Motion Technologies, located in Canton, Mich.

Wood, formerly a construction worker for 18 years, decided the time had come to make a change when he found himself out of work for a year.  Having seen a wind farm in northern Michigan while on a hunting trip, he enrolled in a training course at the Michigan Institute for Aviation and Technology (MIAT), also in Canton. After graduating, he landed a job with Danotek, which ...

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Self-described “conservative meat-and-potatoes” rancher sees need for clean energy

The old juxtaposed with the new. That’s what visitors get when they head to the Colorado Cattle Co. ranch in New Raymer, Colo., and Tom Carr wouldn’t have it any other way.

Carr and his wife Darcy were once visitors to the ranch, and they liked it so much, they bought the business, which is both an operating ranch with cattle and a tourist destination. Today, the land is also host to a wind farm. Their business is featured on the latest segment of WindTV, the American Wind Energy Association’s vehicle to highlight how wind works for America.

“I’m ...

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As wind power continues to grow across the U.S. (see AWEA's 4th quarter 2011 market report, "Wind energy making new inroads, building on success," Jan. 26), wind generation records are toppling.

On Jan. 1, the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO), which manages the electric utility system in a broad swath of states in the Upper Midwest, reported that wind power had set a new record of 8,522 MW for the hour between 5 and 6 p.m., surpassing a previous high of ...

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Members write Senate, House leadership and payroll tax conference committee

The entire Iowa Congressional delegation wrote a letter yesterday urging a short-term extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy.  The lawmakers wrote to the leadership of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House as well as the conference committee which is currently meeting on the payroll tax cut extension.

“Our state and the whole nation have benefited tremendously from the economic development, new manufacturing jobs, and increased domestic energy supply that wind energy has provided.  And the PTC has been a major factor behind this success,” wrote Sens. Tom Harkin ...

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Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called for extension of clean-energy tax credits including the wind energy production tax credit (PTC) in an opinion article today in The Hill.

In a plea stressing the urgency of the tax incentives, Bingaman echoed concerns expressed repeatedly by AWEA in recent months, saying in part, "Failure to extend tax incentives for clean energy now will result in jobs lost, reduced U.S. manufacturing competitiveness in a growing, multitrillion-dollar market and a blow to our economic recovery. Despite recent years of solid growth, several industries ...

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The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania posted a piece to their blog this afternoon purporting to poke holes in the American wind power industry's SaveUSAWindJobs.com advertising campaign, as well as pointing out fallacies in Rep. Mike Pompeo's comments on his anti-renewable energy legislation and the Karl Rove-led Crossroads groups' Solyndra ads.

We won't quibble with their findings on Mr. Rove and Congressman Pompeo, but on wind, they are flat wrong. Here are the facts:

Allowing tax credits to expire has the same impact on business as raising taxes. But don't take our word for it. Grover Norquist is widely regarded ...

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Expiration of tax credit jeopardizes Colorado jobs, economy which includes 6,000 wind energy, manufacturing workers

Seven members of Colorado's Congressional delegation, from both political parties, yesterday called on a Congressional conference committee to extend the wind energy production tax credit (PTC) as part of the payroll tax extension. The wind PTC has helped drive substantial economic growth in Colorado.

Senators Mark Udall (D) and Michael Bennet (D) and Representatives Diana DeGette (D), Cory Gardner (R), Ed Perlmutter (D), Jared Polis (D), and Scott Tipton (R) delivered a letter of support for the PTC to the chairmen of the conference committee negotiating the extension of the payroll tax credit.

In the ...

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In a report to the state legislature released Feb. 3, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said that in 2011, the state recorded its largest increase in renewable generation since the beginning of its ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and that the cost of electricity from new renewable energy projects is dropping.

The CPUC said more than 830 MW of new renewable capacity, all of it wind and solar, came online in 2011 and the state’s large investor-owned utilities served 17 percent of their collective electricity demand with renewable energy in 2010.

More importantly, though, the agency said the ...

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