Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, had another thoughtful column Sunday, "How Did the Robot End Up With My Job?," about the dramatic changes that are being wrought in the global economy due to the Internet and the hyperconnectivity it provides.

In fairness, he said from the outset that his article concerned primarily white-collar workers and the way their jobs are, increasingly, being displaced just as blue-collar workers were by the advent of outsourcing. Still, it contained some takeaways that, I'd like to make everyone aware, ...

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Following announcement of what will become his state's largest wind farm, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) again called for extension of the federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC), which is scheduled to expire at the end of next year and which has propelled strong growth in the wind power industry over the past decade.

According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, Gov. Brownback repeated his endorsement of the wind tax incentive at his governor's economic development summit in Wichita, as part of a general statement of support for an "all of the above" approach to energy policy: ...

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A new book on the energy landscape by expert Daniel Yergin has some positive words about wind, calling it "one alternative that can deliver today."

The chapter on wind power in Mr. Yergin's "The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World" concludes as follows: "[I]t is still early days ... [wind's] share will certainly grow as governments and publics seek carbon-free electric generation.  It is one alternative that can clearly deliver today ... wind today is part of the landscape of the electric power industry.  Indeed, so much is already happening today that--though it might pain some of the pioneers and they might even regard it as the most backhanded of compliments--wind has reached a stage where it is no longer really an 'alternative.'  It is becoming ...

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Patrick Michaels, a contrarian climate scientist, posted an article at Forbes.com recently criticizing wind power.  The following response was posted as a comment.

Mr. Michaels uses a number of misleading arguments to attack clean energy and promote fossil fuels, which is not surprising considering that he has received a large amount of funding from the fossil fuel industry. Taking apart his misleading statements one by one:

Grid Reliability – Mr. Michaels misses the fact that renewables actually enhance grid reliability. For example, in February 2011, millions of homes and businesses in Texas suffered rolling blackouts because more ...

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Guest article by Lawrence H. Mott.  Mr. Mott is a board member of Renewable Energy Vermont and Principal Consultant at SgurrEnergy, Inc., a renewable energy consultancy firm.

Opinions on the merits of various generation sources are the sign of our struggle to change. A recent New York Times opinion article by Stephen Wright is exactly that: the words of an individual spurred on by a small and vocal group in the small state of Vermont. This description of “disaster” is a means for that group to attract attention after not getting its way during a long, detailed and very public process of determining the Public Good of this generation project under our permitting law, Section 248 ...

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We have good news for Investor's Business Daily, which expressed concern yesterday in an editorial about possible government favoritism in payments made under the wind energy production tax credit (PTC): it's a problem that doesn't exist.

Yes, the tax credit was taken by a campaign contributor, but no, no winner (or loser) was picked, and there was no favoritism or influence involved.

How do we know?  Because no government official has any choice in who receives the incentive.  As with all tax credits, the policy applies only to those who produce energy and anyone who does gets the exact same amount. The credit is not like loan guarantees or other programs that are only available to companies chosen through an application process. This has always been the case ...

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Cross-posted from National Journal's Energy & Environment Expert Blog.

Wind energy, as a proven commercial technology, utilizes the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit to incent over $7 billion of other private investment to keep growing a new U.S. manufacturing sector, and providing affordable, homegrown energy. It does not rely on other government supports.

Kansas Gov. (and former U.S. Senator) Sam Brownback (R) had some thoughtful words on this issue in a recent

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South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint (R) recently posted a YouTube video making erroneous and mistaken claims about a wind project in rural Illinois.

The Cayuga Ridge wind project built by Portland, Ore.-based Iberdrola Renewables, Inc., in rural Livingston County, Ill., used American-built turbines and created more than 1,500 American jobs. In total, 80 American companies (12 of them in Illinois) benefited from this homegrown clean energy project.

But don’t take our word for it--you can learn more about this project straight from its workers, neighbors and local community

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A recently released report from a group of venture capital investors attempts to give a clear picture of the playing field for federal support when it comes to different sources of energy. The report, “What Would Jefferson Do,” from DBL Investors, is among the first and best attempts to make an “apples to apples” comparison of federal incentives for fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable sources of energy.

The fact that oil and gas have received more than 75 times the total cumulative dollar amount of federal subsidies that renewables have may not be terribly surprising ($446.96 billion vs. $5.93 billion, ...

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In a new report, researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) find that electric vehicles — increasingly available to consumers in today's marketplace — could help operators more seamlessly add more renewable energy sources like wind into the Pacific Northwest's energy grid.  The Northwest increasingly is looking to add more wind power to meet growing energy demands and policy requirements to tap more renewable energy sources.

According to the report, the future Northwest power system would be able to better utilize ...

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