The AWEA Blog: Into the Wind


Public opinion watch: Vermont poll yet again finds strong support for wind power

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 Tom Gray, Consultant

After a great deal of contentious public debate and heavy media coverage, Vermonters continue to support the idea of building wind turbines along the state’s ridgelines by a wide margin, according to a recent poll of the general population conducted by the Castleton Polling Institute at Castleton Sate College.

The poll finds 66 percent of Vermonters supporting wind turbines along ridgelines. Castleton conducted a similar poll of registered voters in May 2012 for WCAX/WDEV/Vermont Business Magazine and found at that time that 69 percent of respondents expressed support for the development of wind energy turbines on the state’s ridgelines.

A news release from the Institute noted, "Unlike many ...


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Action alert: Stand up for Kansas wind power

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 Tom Gray, Consultant

Dear [Kansas Resident],


Legislation has recently been introduced in the Kansas state legislature that threatens the future of the state’s renewable energy development.  I urge you to write to your state officials today and encourage them to oppose all legislation that delays, reduces, or repeals efforts to expand Kansas’s renewable energy development.


Kansas currently has a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that calls on the state’s utility companies to secure a growing percentage of their electricity from renewable resources.  The specific target that they are working toward is 20% by 2020.


This target has driven tremendous wind power growth ...


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RFI: District of Columbia seeks information on wind, solar projects, RECs

Posted: 26 Feb 2013 Carl Levesque, Consultant

The Department of General Services (DGS) of the District of Columbia has released a Request for Information (RFI) for wind and/or solar projects that can deliver 150,000-250,000 MWh of electricity and associated Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) per year to its facilities located in the District of Columbia.  Purchase is expected to begin in early 2015 but could be earlier depending on when full commercial operation commences and the District’s retail power supply arrangements at that time.  DGS will consider an electricity contract of up to 20 years.  DGS is not asking for proposals at this stage—only what is requested in the RFI, which is not extensive. RFI responses are due March 5, 2013, at 12pm (midnight) ET.

DGS has engaged CustomerFirst Renewables (CFR) to help direct ...


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Fact check: Wind power reducing carbon emissions in E.U., Germany

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 Michael Goggin, AWEA Manager-Transmission Policy

A few press articles in recent weeks have discussed the fact that carbon emissions in Germany and the European Union have increased slightly over the last year or two because the country has shut down many of its nuclear power plants. It is important not to miss the forest for the trees, and to understand that this short-term increase is entirely caused by the shutdown of Germany’s nuclear plants and is only a temporary blip in the long-term, steady decline in emissions achieved by Germany’s transition to renewable energy.


Over the last decade, wind energy has allowed Germany to greatly reduce fossil fuel use and pollution, reductions that would have been even larger had the country not also greatly scaled down its use of nuclear power over that same ...


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Iowa Lakes wind technology teacher, 47, dies

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 Tom Gray, Consultant

Craig Evert, 47, an Assistant Professor in the Wind Energy and Turbine Technology program at Iowa Lakes Community College, died February 12 at a hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Rob Hach, an Iowa wind industry leader, described Mr. Evert as a "wind energy icon," and an obituary for him which appeared in the Spencer (Iowa) Daily Reporter included the following: "Coworkers say that he was a good role model to his students, always positive and truly enjoyed teaching. He was also a great mentor to his students, one of [whom] said, “Teachers of his quality and character are irreplaceable ...

"Since he was a small boy reading the encyclopedia, Craig has never stopped loving to read. It was nothing for ...


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Wind generation records fall in Texas, Colorado, Pacific Northwest

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 Tom Gray, Consultant

Three more wind electricity generation records were notched recently, in Texas, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest, as the increased generating capacity installed last year continues to make its presence felt.

 

On February 9, a strong weekend cold front that brought needed rain to much of Texas also propelled the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the utility system serving most of the state, to a new wind power record, with wind generation providing 9,481 MW of power at 7:08 p.m. Under typical conditions, one MW of electricity can power approximately 800 average American homes.

 

The wind generation provided nearly 28 percent of the ...


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Time to nominate top public power utility for wind

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 Carl Levesque, Consultant

The time is now to recognize public power—and a specific public power utility—for achievements in wind power.

The 2013 Public Power Wind Award, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America initiative in partnership with the American Public Power Association (APPA), will honor one public power utility (PPU) for its leadership in wind power. All PPUs that are APPA members and have not received the award in the past are eligible for nomination, and there is no cost to participate.

Anyone can nominate a PPU, and AWEA members are encouraged to submit nominations. Submit nominations by close of business on March 25, using the nomination form available ...


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Investor opinion: Colorado can lead in renewable energy

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 Tom Gray, Consultant

The following opinion article by Julie Gorte is reprinted from the Denver Post with the author's permission.  Ms. Gorte is senior vice president for sustainable investing at Pax World Investments and a member of the Investor Network on Climate Risk.

 

In 2004, Colorado became the first state in the nation to create a Renewable Energy Standard at the ballot box. That year, citizens called for the state to get 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources. Lawmakers took this mandate and raised the bar further, first to 20 percent--then again to 30 percent. ...


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Why is Fox Business saying those things about wind power?

Posted: 15 Feb 2013 David Ward, Consultant

Just because you’re on TV doesn’t mean you can make things up. The hosts of two TV talk shows on Fox Business News, "Money with Melissa Francis" and "Varney & Company," seemed to be competing this week to make the most inaccurate statements about wind power.

Let’s review:

1) Wind power is cheap and utilities want more wind. Wind power is actually one of the least expensive forms of energy. And, it offers 25-year fixed rate contracts. When the Midwest grid operator recently got a quarter of all its electricity from wind (Nov. 23, 2012) it noted, “Wind represents one of the fuel choices that helps us manage congestion on the system and ultimately helps keep prices low for our customers and the end-use consumer.”  [


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DOE official: Wind taking flight in Oregon

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 Tom Gray, Consultant

Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel E. Poneman recently visited the new Shepherds Flat wind farm in Oregon. He subsequently wrote the following article which is cross-posted from the U.S. Department of Energy blog.

Last week I had the privilege of visiting one of the largest wind farms in the world--a project at the forefront of America’s energy economy. Along with clean, renewable energy, Oregon’s Caithness Shepherds Flat wind farm is creating jobs and revenue for the region.

Turbines at Shepherds Flat officially began generating energy last fall, and the project is able to create up to 845 megawatts of emission-free wind power (enough ...


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