Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

California wind farms set a new record for instantaneous generation last week, churning out 2,432 megawatts (MW) to easily best the old record of 1,915 MW.

The new mark was announced by the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO), the company that manages California's utility system.  Cal-ISO said in an Earth Day news release that the record "symbolizes the beginning of an important shift in the state's power mix" as California moves steadily toward a new goal of obtaining 33% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020 (see "

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In a new statewide public opinion poll, residents of Wisconsin overwhelmingly endorsed wind power, despite recent action by the state's legislature that has caused the developers of two wind farms to shelve their projects in recent weeks.

The Spring 2011 Wisconsin Survey sampled the opinions of 400 Wisconsinites by telephone, and was conducted by St. Norbert College for Wisconsin Public Radio.

Results from the energy section of the survey were as follows:

Asked whether Wisconsin should "increase, decrease or continue with the same amount" of energy supply from ...

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A common fallacy promoted by anti-wind groups is that because wind cannot replace fueled power plants (they're needed when the wind doesn't blow), wind power has no value.

Setting aside for the moment the fact that no power plant runs 100% of the time, here's a simple way of looking at the question:

Suppose you drive to work, five days a week, and you decide to buy a bicycle and bike to work when the weather permits, which turns out to be 3-4 days a week much of the year.  But, you still need a car, because some days the weather is bad.  Does your bike have no value?

Well, of course not:

• Your gasoline payments have suddenly dropped by 50% or so (whoa, it's almost as if you're getting 50 miles a gallon, ...
  

  
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News Release from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - April 18, 2011 

Georgia Parham (USFWS) 812‐334‐4261 x 1203, Georgia_Parham@fws.gov 

Ellen Carey (AWEA), 202‐249‐7357

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, AWEA, Wind Developers Sign Agreement to Promote Endangered Species Conservation 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and wind energy industry companies, along with AWEA, have signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to work together to develop a wind energy habitat conservation plan for the Service’s Midwest Region. Such a plan would outline measures to conserve threatened and endangered species that may be affected by wind energy facilities in eight Midwestern states.

A multi‐species, ...

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On April 6, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) issued a press release strongly criticizing a lawsuit filed by the American Tradition Institute (ATI) challenging the constitutionality of Colorado's Renewable Energy Standard (RES). The Colorado RES was passed in 2004 by the voters in a statewide referendum.

In correspondence a few days earlier, an AWEA member had asked Ron Lehr, an AWEA consultant who is an attorney and former chair of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, for his opinion of the suit. This was his response.

I read this complaint last week.

Just about every ...

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A recent story from The Wall Street Journal ("Population Leaves Heartland Behind," April 11) highlights the problem: according to the 2010 census, many U.S. counties, particularly in the rural Plains states, suffered population declines during the past decade.

Notes the article, by WSJ's Conor Dougherty, "Such findings come as no surprise to Robert Knudson, city manager of Belleville, Kan. Over the decade, the county surrounding Belleville lost 855 people—15% of its population—and has been tearing down empty homes in recent years. Mr. Knudson is typical of many residents in his home ...

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The highly successful 64th annual Hannover Messe trade show drew to a close last Friday in Germany at the largest exhibition center in the world.

Colorado-based Molycorp will hold a groundbreaking celebration and barbecue April 20 at its rare-earth mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., to commemorate the launch of its effort to ramp up production from the facility.

As I mentioned here recently, "[Molycorp] is now executing plans to dramatically increase output from the mine, from a current level of 3,000-5,000 metric tons per year to 20,000 metric tons per year by the end of 2012 and ...

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We at the American Wind Energy Association support putting more electric and hybrid-electric vehicles into America's auto fleet and promoting a diverse electricity portfolio through a Clean Energy Standard.

But while the President can influence legislation, he and his Administration have far more control over the policies of executive agencies. For wind power, this regulatory role is more important now. We highlight below some concrete steps that could remove existing roadblocks for renewable energy development.

First, the administration could withdraw recently proposed avian guidelines for wind farms and instead

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A recent report being circulated in the United Kingdom casts some doubt on wind's ability to serve as a reliable source of electricity generation. Not surprisingly, its assertions seem largely questionable or off the mark. Stated in general terms, they are as follows:

Allegation: Wind turbines will generate on average 30% of their rated capacity over a year.

Fact: First, A conventional utility power plant uses fuel, so it will normally run much of the time unless it is idled by equipment problems or for maintenance.  An average capacity of 40% to 80% is typical for conventional plants.

A wind plant is "fueled" by the wind, which blows steadily at times and not at all at other times.  Although modern utility-scale wind turbines typically operate 65% ...

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