 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
newsroom
AWEA, WOW OPPOSE TRANSMISSION POLICY CHANGE IN UPPER MIDWEST THAT WOULD THREATEN WIND DEVELOPMENT, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS Groups file joint protest with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Wind on the Wires (WOW) filed a protest today with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) opposing a proposal by the utility transmission system operator in the Midwest that, if approved, will discourage the development of wind resources in a region that has been termed "the Saudi Arabia of wind." Slowing down wind energy development in the Midwest, the two groups said, harms states' ability to achieve their renewable energy requirements and create green jobs, and renders it virtually impossible to meet the President’s goal of doubling renewable energy in three years. The proposed change would nearly double the cost for a wind plant to connect to the power system in the Upper Midwest, potentially forcing many wind plant developers to pull the plug on tens of billions of dollars of investment they have planned for the region. Instead of broadly distributing the costs of transmission in a way that matches the broadly distributed benefits of building a stronger grid--such as improved reliability and reduced power prices--the proposal would assign virtually all those costs to the next generator attempting to connect to the grid. "The proposed policy change is like requiring the next car entering a congested highway to pay the full cost of adding a new lane,” said WOW Director Beth Soholt. "Obviously such a policy is unworkable, which in our case means that wind projects will not be able to connect to the grid." "At a time when the wind industry is one of the few bright spots of the U.S. economy, having created 35,000 new jobs last year, this policy is saying the Midwest is becoming less friendly for the wind business, and that will clearly have an impact on not only wind development but manufacturing and supply chain jobs throughout the region," said AWEA CEO Denise Bode. Please click here for a copy of the filing.
# # # AWEA is the national trade association of America’s wind industry, with more than 2,000 member companies, including global leaders in wind power and energy development, wind turbine manufacturing, component and service suppliers, and the world’s largest wind power trade show. AWEA is the voice of wind energy in the U.S., promoting renewable energy to power a cleaner, stronger America. Look up information on wind energy at the AWEA Web site. Find insight on industry issues at AWEA’s blog Into the Wind. Join AWEA on Facebook. Follow AWEA on Twitter. Wind on the Wires, launched in 2001, is a collaborative organization comprised of wind developers, environmental organizations, wind energy experts, tribal representatives, clean energy advocates, and businesses providing goods and services to the wind industry. WOW works with utilities, the Midwest Independent System Operator, and other stakeholders in the Midwest to provide wind energy with fair access to the electric transmission system that delivers power to market. |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|