Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

We often run "Fact check" articles on this blog when fossil-fuel-funded "experts" exaggerate the cost of electricity generated with wind power (for a particularly bald-faced recent example, see Fact check: American Enterprise Institute epic FAIL on study of wind costs, Feb. 29), but perhaps this one should be titled "Reality check."

Reality: the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) recently issued a report that finds that electricity generated from renewable energy sources, at an average cost of $91 per megawatt-hour (9.1 cents/kilowatt-hour), is almost one-third cheaper than the cost of electricity from a new coal-fired power plant ($133 per MWh, or 13.3 cents/kWh).

Further, ...

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The following letter to the editor appeared in the Eau Claire, Wis., newspaper The Country Today and is reprinted here with permission of the author.

To the editor:

A letter to the editor on Feb. 8 commended the Brown County Board of Health for recent resolutions requesting compensation for families living near the wind energy project in the town of Glenmore.

Though many hours have been spent researching a “sickness” (coined “wind turbine syndrome”), the medical community has yet to discover any scientific basis for recognizing it as a valid illness. Epidemiological studies such as those from Ontario, Oregon and Massachusetts all say the same thing — wind turbines annoy people who don’t want them. Our state emergency ...

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This is cross-posted from the European Wind Energy Association's Blog

From the unusual to the beautiful, hundreds of photos have already been submitted for the Global Wind Day photo competition. Below we display just a small sample of captivating images. Take a look, feel inspired and grab your camera – the competition is open until 6 May. Click ...

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In comments following a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said he supports extending the federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC).

Politico Pro quoted Salazar as adding, "I think we need to move forward with financial certainty for the industry so they’re not having to go through the stop and start of the past," referring to past years when the PTC has been allowed to expire.

During the hearing, Salazar referred to wind power as "part of the race we cannot cede to the rest of the world," adding, "It is an opportunity we ought not let pass from us.”

A House bill seeking to extend the PTC has 72 cosponsors, including 18 Republicans, and has received the endorsement of a broad coalition of more than 370 ...

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U.S. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) have won praise from Walter Frick at the Boston tech blog BostInno for joining 10 other Senators from both parties in a letter supporting extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).

In a post entitled In Rare Show of Bipartisanship, Kerry & Brown Agree It’d Be Stupid to Raise Taxes on Wind ...

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We were recently alerted to a lengthy attack on wind energy that was released by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in its “Energy and Environment Outlook.” There are many serious errors in the paper, including two major mistakes that completely bring down the central argument of the paper. In a surprising turn, once those errors are corrected, the data presented in the paper actually make a compelling case for why America should be increasing its use of renewable energy.

Study overestimates cost of wind energy by 500 percent

The central argument of the paper, that wind is not cost effective compared to fossil-fired generation, rests upon what we will charitably call a major math error. Author Benjamin Zycher drastically inflates the cost ...

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With less than 100 days until WINDPOWER 2012 Conference & Exhibition registration is open, exhibitors are planning their booths, side meetings are being scheduled and speakers are being announced!

We are extremely pleased to announce the return of entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner to WINDPOWER this year, welcoming attendees to his hometown of Atlanta.  He will be delivering opening remarks at the WINDPOWER 2012 Opening Session on Monday, June 4th, at 8:30 AM.

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In a brief article posted Sunday, the Wichita (Kans.) Eagle's editorial blog joined a growing number of newspapers endorsing an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), praising U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kans.) for his leadership role in a bipartisan Senate initiative to extend the credit (see Bipartisan group of 12 Senators calls for PTC extension, Feb. 24; Moran visits Siemens factory, pushes PTC extension, Feb. 22).

Eagle editorial staff ...

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This Letter to the Editor is from Paul Masotti, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. It is reprinted here with permission of the author.

The Kingston Whig-Standard
February 09, 2012
Paul Masotti: Letter to the Editor

Conclusions of story not supported by public health agencies and medical community

I read the story "Wrecking our heaven" (Jan. 9) with interest and a feeling of being let down.

This article could leave readers with the conclusions that wind turbines cause ill health and are a health risk to the unborn. These conclusions are not supported by the available research and are ...

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The Heritage Foundation's blog recently carried an article questioning the value of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).  The following was posted as a comment:

The misinformation about tax credits and the wind industry continues. 

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