Risingwind

2008-09-27T09:28:00.003-04:00

More on Wind & Natural Gas

The following is a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal about the article referred to in my previous post on this issue.

To the editor:

The recent article by Edgar Gaertner on how wind energy leads to more gas consumption in Europe draws an erroneous conclusion about U.S. wind power’s potential. Wind power is not meant to replace all natural gas (or any other fuel) in U.S. electric power generation. As a clean source of electricity that is also stable in price, wind can provide 20% of U.S. electric power needs by 2030, thereby displacing other energy sources that are not as clean, and whose prices are volatile. According to Department of Energy estimates, 20% wind power would cut natural gas use in half from what it would otherwise be. Still, other fuel sources would be needed to generate the remaining 80% of our electricity.

As for the need for backup power: Wind is variable, but so is customer demand for electricity, which varies throughout the day. Utility system operators already turn power plants on or off as needed to balance supply and demand. With today’s forecasting models, a grid operator can accurately predict how much wind power is available to meet demand, and can balance wind with other power sources as needed. Wind power can supply 20% or more of the total electricity on a system without adding significantly to normal variability.

The net impact of 20% wind would be good for U.S. consumers, good for the environment, good for energy security, and good for the U.S. economy because about half of wind power components are made in the United States.

Randall Swisher
Executive Director
American Wind Energy Association
(sent 09/17/08)

2008-09-18T09:25:00.000-04:00

New Mass. Administration, New Wind Farm

From the Berkshire Eagle comes a report that the Brodie Mountain wind farm in Western Massachusetts, stalled for many years by a variety of delaying tactics, is finally moving forward and expected to be operational by 2010.

The project was recently bought from a private developer by Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Group, a collaborative of 14 municipal utilities that are members of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. Observers credit the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick (D), elected on a pro-wind platform, with helping to break the logjam.

Regards,
Tom

2008-09-17T08:03:00.000-04:00

Times Magazine Looks at Bluewater Wind

Sunday's New York Times Magazine features an excellent article on Delaware's offshore Bluewater Wind project by Mark Svenvold. There are many useful passages here. Selecting a few:

[The Mid-Atlantic Bight, a] coastal region running from Massachusetts to North Carolina[,] contain[s] up to 330,000 megawatts of average electrical capacity.

That's enough, by itself, to generate roughly 70% of current U.S. electricity use.

Over time, comments to the Public Service Commission were nearly 10 to 1 in favor of the wind project. A survey conducted by the University of Delaware concluded that 91 percent of the state’s residents supported wind power offshore — even if it meant paying more per month for electricity.

This despite an anti-wind advertising campaign by the local utility.

“Wind power,” says Walt Musial of the N.R.E.L. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory], “is not a niche player. That’s something that the American public may not fully be aware of.”

Indeed.

Svenvold quotes two persistent critics of wind. One argues that the wind blows mostly at night "when you don't really need the electricity." Of course, you actually "really need the electricity" up until wind is meeting 100% of instantaneous electricity demand--something it is nowhere near doing in any part of the U.S. today. The second argues that natural gas is needed to "back up" wind, increasing its cost and carbon footprint. For a response to this, see my comment on Edgar Gaertner's recent article in the Wall Street Journal, which makes the same erroneous assertion.

Regards,
Tom

2008-09-16T09:28:00.000-04:00

New Pro-Renewable Energy Group in New York

From New York comes this welcome announcement that a new grassroots advocacy group, the Renewable Energy Advocacy Coalition (REAC), is being formed in the Empire State.

The letter to the editor concerning REAC notes that media reports seem to over-emphasize opposition to wind projects:

Despite the focus of the recent Associated Press article that profiled New York's Maple Ridge Wind Farm as locally controversial, findings of the "First Annual Lewis County Survey of the Community," released in October 2007, showed that by a 4-1 margin, Lewis County residents believe that the "development of the Maple Ridge Wind Farm has had a positive effect on Lewis County." Furthermore, 77 percent of respondents supported expansion.

Controversy is always interesting, but it's good to know that the real story of wind power continues to be one of overwhelming support--especially when that support comes from locations where wind farms are already operating. As the letter adds,

In Madison County, N.Y., the Fenner Wind Farm is an object of community pride. Local residents created the Fenner Renewable Energy Education (FREE) Center there to educate their many visitors about the benefits of renewable energy technologies, including wind.

Regards,
Tom

2008-09-13T21:59:00.003-04:00

Fact Check II: National Center for Policy Analysis

The National Center for Policy Analysis adds to a generally shoddy record of analysis on wind power by picking up the Gaertner article mentioned below.

Regards,
Tom

2008-09-13T19:13:00.003-04:00

Fact Check: Wind Power and Natural Gas

In an article published Thursday, Edgar Gaertner of the Wall Street Journal, regrettably, gets it wrong with respect to wind power and its ability to reduce the use of natural gas in Europe (which depends heavily on Russia for natural gas supplies). According to Gaertner:

Wind turbines generate electricity very irregularly, because the wind itself is inconsistent. Therefore wind turbines always need backup power from fossil fuels to keep the electricity grid in balance."

This is incorrect. Customer demand for electricity varies throughout the day, just as wind does, and wind adds little variability to a utility system. Other power sources are needed not to "back up" wind, but to meet peak demand.

Gaertner goes on to note that gas-fired power plants are ideally suited to match up with wind, because their output is very flexible (true) and ascribes increasing use of gas in Spain and Germany to those countries' growing use of wind (probably not true). Here's one reason gas consumption is increasing in Germany:

...Greens and even parts of the governing Christian and Social Democratic parties are fervently opposed to the construction of new coal plants.

The U.S. Department of Energy has found that wind can generate 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030. In the process, it would reduce the use of natural gas for electricity generation by 50%, even though an additional 90,000 megawatts (MW) of gas generating capacity would be needed. Why is this? It's because even though there would be more gas plants, they would run much less and use much less fuel. Mr. Gaertner's commentary, therefore, misses the mark.

Utilities are building wind today because it provides them with zero-cost energy. It is primarily an energy resource, not a capacity resource. Society today faces three major issues: rising electricity demand, high (and volatile) fuel prices and global warming. Fuel prices and global warming have nothing to do with capacity, but rather with fuel consumption.

Regards,
Tom

2008-09-01T20:05:00.000-04:00

Wind Power Chips in at Republican Convention

The Republican National Convention issue of Roll Call, the political newspaper covering Capitol Hill, features a cover with a cartoon of an ax-wielding logger whose ax reads "tax cuts," accompanying an elephant with a "Drill Here, Drill Now!" banner. Meanwhile, the back cover warns, "CAUTION: Stopping Wind Turbines Will Result in Loss of Jobs," in a full-page ad placed by the American Wind Energy Association. It's a strong reminder that energy issues will be front and center when Congress returns soon for a final brief session before the November election.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-28T00:58:00.000-04:00

Hats Off: Matt Wald on Transmission

Kudos to Matt Wald for today's excellent article in the New York Times on transmission and why it is needed for wind power to reach its full potential in the United States. This is a central electricity issue facing the next Administration.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-26T22:33:00.000-04:00

Wind Power Factory Watch: Colorado Cashes In

Well, I'm pretty much stupefied by lack of sleep, but ought to write something nonetheless about today's press event at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. It took place in front of a 131-foot-long, made-in-Colorado wind turbine blade, which provided a spectacular, if camera-angle-challenging, backdrop symbolizing the new manufacturing jobs that wind power is bringing across America.

Notables present included Roby Roberts, Senior Vice President of External Relations for turbine manufacturer Vestas; Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, U.S. Representatives Mark Udall and Ed Perlmutter, and American Wind Energy Association Executive Director Randall Swisher. You can read the Vestas press release here.

In recent days, Vestas has announced plans for two additional plants in Colorado, and now expects to have four plants operating by 2010 with more than 2,000 employees.

The positive ingredients in this success story? Colorado's strong Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), passed by the state's voters at the polls in November, 2004, and the federal wind energy production tax credit. With a national RES (more than half of the states have already passed one) and a long-term extension of the production tax credit, we could all be seeing the powerful wind job-creating machine at work.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-22T07:02:00.001-04:00

Wind Power Comes to Climate-Changed Forest

A wind farm or two has been built on abandoned strip-mine land, and there's one in Buffalo, Steel Winds, built on the grounds of a sprawling, shuttered steel mill, but a new wind project in British Columbia may be the first in the equally starkly symbolic location of a climate-changed forest.

The wind farm will be located on Dokie Ridge west of Chetwynd, B.C., in a forest that is currently being devastated by the pine beetle, whose range is thought to be changing due to a warming climate.

Too bad we all didn't get started on renewable energy years ago. Let's make up for lost time.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-21T14:57:00.002-04:00

Wind Powering New York City?

Big press day yesterday at AWEA, with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg calling for Gotham to be powered by renewable energy, including wind. (The best headline I saw was in the New York Daily News: "Big Green Apple.")

The mayor deserves a big hand for recognizing the need (making a transition to renewable energy) and spotlighting it at an important location--a Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas with a number of dignitaries in attendance. New York is one of the untold stories of the U.S. wind boom, with several sizable wind farms opening upstate over the past few years. Currently, the Empire state ranks 9th in the nation in installed wind generating capacity, with a number of hard-pressed rural counties reaping the benefits in new jobs and tax revenue, and it has the resources, both onshore and offshore, to do much more.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-20T10:01:00.000-04:00

U.S. Wind Seen Increasing 7-Fold by 2020

Earth2Tech notes a recent report from Emerging Energy Research (EER) that forecasts that installed U.S. wind power capacity could reach 150,000 megawatts by 2020 (up from approximately 20,000 today). That would be more wind power than is installed today in the entire world (94,000 MW as of the end of 2007, according to the Global Wind Energy Council). Such an increase would mean tens of thousands of new construction and manufacturing jobs across the U.S.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-19T09:22:00.000-04:00

Commentary: Denmark Takes a Backward Step

After two decades of success with wind, Svend Auken, vice president of the Danish Parliament, informs us in a letter to the New York Times that Denmark's greenhouse gas emissions are once more on the rise, due to government backsliding:

The current conservative government slammed on the brakes when it took over in December 2001. In a free-market, climate-skeptic spree, it canceled three offshore wind farms, abolished government schemes for energy conservation, slashed research in renewables and recently abolished Denmark’s historic freeze on coal-fired power stations.

What a shame.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-18T15:18:00.002-04:00

Commentary: EnergyBiz Insider on Natural Gas

A few reactions to comments from the August 13 issue of the electronic publication EnergyBiz Insider:

"Natural gas producers don't need special subsidies," says Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States.

Well, heck, no. On the other hand, the price of natural gas has roughly quadrupled over the past seven years. That money isn't coming from taxpayers--it's coming from utility customers, for heat and electricity.

"The good news is that these new state-of-the-art gas-fired plants are clean and efficient and they can be located in urban and suburban areas adjacent to the electric load," says David Manning, executive vice president for U.S. external affairs at the National Grid."

True. On the other hand, their fuel does not magically appear where it's burned--instead, it depends upon an extensive system of pipelines to transport the gas from remote areas where it is produced to the cities where it is used.

Proponents of additional drilling rights say that the two causes do not contradict one another. Advances in technology and safety mean that exploration is safer and less noticeable than ever before. They also say that natural gas does not compete with renewable energy, noting that two are destined to grow in tandem. Wind and solar power are intermittent and must therefore have a back-up energy source.

Agreed, wind/solar and natural gas are natural partners. Gas plants have flexible output that can be turned up and down as needed to follow the variable patterns of electricity demand during the day, or the variable patterns of wind generation.

Still, it's not quite right to say that wind "must have a back-up energy source." Every power plant, whether it's wind, nuclear, coal or gas, must have a backup source, because no power plant operates 100% of the time. What is true is that conventional fueled power plants are needed to meet "peak load"--periods of peak customer demand. Wind's great strengths are that it saves fuel (helping to moderate the impact of fuel price swings) and that it cuts greenhouse gas emissions.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

Wind Power Factory Watch: Colorado

Given the growing stagnation in the U.S. economy (inflation increasing, wages slipping, unemployment growing), it's great to see the wind power industry continuing to boom and add new manufacturing jobs. The latest announcement comes from Vestas, which said today that it will build two new factories in Colorado that will support 1,350 new jobs.

Folks, the writing is on the wall: wind power means new U.S. manufacturing jobs. With the dollar weak, transportation costs soaring due to high oil prices, and most of all, the fact that the U.S. is likely to be the world's premier market for wind, no company that aspires to be a player in the global wind energy business can afford not to be making products here.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-13T13:44:00.000-04:00

Wind Power Booms, Still Threatened

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 5, 2008 Contact:
Christine Real de Azua (202) 383-2508

LOOMING EXPIRATION OF FEDERAL INCENTIVE THREATENS WIND POWER’S NEW-FOUND GROWTH: AWEA SECOND QUARTER MARKET REPORT

U.S. now leads world in wind energy generation but delay in extending federal tax credit places 2009 project pipeline on hold, discourages manufacturing investment

U.S. wind farms now generate more electricity than any other nation in the world and are on track to expand by over 45% this year, but the expiration of the federal production tax credit (PTC) less than five months from now threatens this spectacular progress, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said today in its second quarter market report.

“The U.S. is now the world’s largest wind energy producer, with wind development sparking job creation and economic opportunity in a troubled economy,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “But the current figures hide a dire reality: the pipeline of investment for 2009 has been on hold for months, with escalating risks and costs for the industry, because of the uncertainty about the production tax credit. At a time when unemployment is at a 4-year high and the economy needs every stimulus it can get, a rapid extension of the credit should be on any economic priority list for Congress.”

The U.S. is now the world leader in wind electricity generation. While Germany still has more generating capacity installed (about 23,000 megawatts), the U.S. is producing more electricity from wind because of its much stronger winds.

Total U.S. installed wind power capacity now stands at 19,549 megawatts (MW). The industry installed 1,194 MW in the second quarter, down from 1,532 MW during the first. This brings the year’s new capacity to 2,725 MW, more than was installed in any year except 2007. More is under construction for completion either by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, depending on when the PTC is extended. Uncertainty regarding the PTC is causing a rush to complete projects by the end of the year, with increased risks and costs for the industry and eventually for customers. Under the best-case scenario for the industry, Congress will move quickly in September to extend the credit and the pressure will be eased for immediate project completion while reopening the pipeline for 2009. Under that scenario, AWEA projects at least 7,500 MW of new capacity to be added in 2008.

AWEA also reports a strong increase in domestic investment in wind turbine and wind turbine component manufacturing facilities over the past year and a half. At least 41 facilities have been announced, opened, or expanded over that period of time. These facilities will create over 9,000 jobs when they are at full capacity. Uncertainty about the PTC threatens that level of investment as well.

“It’s clear that wind power is not only a major technology with which to fight climate change, but also one of the most promising and dynamic economic engines we have today,” said Swisher. “The nation needs an ambitious plan to promote the deployment of wind and other renewable energy technologies—and the urgent first step it must take is to rapidly extend the expiring renewable energy credits, which are the primary incentive that the nation provides for these technologies today.”

The report is available on the AWEA Web site.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-13T13:07:00.001-04:00

Wind Turbines and Epilepsy ... Not

One of the stranger accusations sometimes leveled at wind projects is that the flickering shadows from wind turbines' rotating blades can trigger seizures in epileptic individuals. Here and here are useful resources that refute this myth.

More generally, shadow flicker is a very well-known phenomenon that occurs seasonally when the sun is very low in the sky (casting longer shadows). Determining the number of hours in a year that a property neighboring a wind farm will experience flicker, and exactly where, is a straightforward calculation. Noble Environmental Power, a wind developer, has developed an excellent fact sheet on shadow flicker. Here is what it says on epilepsy:

Is there a connection between shadow flicker and epilepsy?

No. Shadow flicker from wind turbines cannot trigger epileptic seizures in individuals suffering from photosensitivity, as some opponents have claimed. The frequency, or the number of times something happens per second, is measured in Hertz (Hz). Shadow flicker from wind turbines has a frequency between 0.5 Hz and 1.25 Hz, which is equivalent to between 1 to approximately 1.25 alternations per second. This is well below the range of frequencies that can trigger epileptic seizures, which is 5 to 30 Hz, according to the American Epilepsy Foundation. Thus, shadowing from wind turbines poses absolutely no threat to the health of people with epilepsy or other individuals who are photosensitive.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-12T17:39:00.000-04:00

Wind Power and Water Worries

This Scranton (Pa.) Times article underscores an important but little-mentioned advantage of wind power: it uses no water. Why is that important? Sample quotes:

Energy use already accounts for a majority of the water consumed in the Susquehanna River Basin, which drains a wide section of Pennsylvania and parts of New York and Maryland.

and

Experts forecast that water consumed by energy projects in the basin could double by 2025 as new uses emerge, including:

■ Upgrades to increase generating capacity at Susquehanna Units 1 and 2 by 13 percent each during 2008-2010.

■ The possible third nuclear reactor at the Susquehanna plant.

■ Proposed ethanol plants in Lackawanna, Lancaster and Schuylkill counties.

■ New air scrubbers and cooling towers installed at power plants to meet federal emissions rules.

■ The water-intensive drilling of wells as the Marcellus Shale becomes the new locus of exploration for natural gas companies.

You can get the full lowdown on this issue from a Wind Powering America fact sheet, The Wind-Water Nexus. Very impressive.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-12T13:10:00.002-04:00

Thoughtful Piece on Wind and Nuclear

Hats off to Jean Marbella of the Baltimore Sun for this thoughtful column on local resistance to the siting of wind power plants. A "think piece" in the best sense of the word. Sample excerpt:

Concerns remain over how the turbines would affect the vistas from Ocean City and other beaches - strange concerns, I think, given the neon-lit and Big Peckers-type of bars and amusements that already mar our coastline - but surely they would be a small price to pay for the state not going dark in the coming years from a predicted shortage of electricity.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-12T10:00:00.001-04:00

Dramatic Video Features Wind

Irish hurling causes a wind farm to over-produce in this imaginative sports drink video.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-11T12:37:00.001-04:00

When You Hear About Wind Subsidies ...

... Here is a useful factoid to keep in mind:

It took nuclear power 10 years to go from <0.1% to 1% of U.S. electricity generation, then an additional 23 years to go from 1% to 20% (23 years sounds a lot like 20% wind by 2030, and wind is at just over 1% today). This achievement by nuclear power occurred with essentially full government support, R&D (research & development) incentives of approximately $50-60 billion over that period (in 2003$), plus the government limiting the financial liability from a major accident through the Price-Anderson Act.

Today, nuclear power is a valuable and significant part of the U.S. electric power system, but it's important to understand that its development did not come about solely through free market forces. Substantial and persistent government assistance played a critical role.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-11T10:15:00.000-04:00

What Happens When the Atom Doesn't Split?

One of the favorite whipping boys of anti-wind commentators is wind's variability: "What happens when the wind doesn't blow?"

As this news item makes clear, no power plant runs all of the time. Utility system operators must be prepared to compensate for the loss of one or more generating plants to balance supply and demand and ensure that the lights stay on.

Important excerpt:

Aug. 9--The Tennessee Valley Authority shut down Browns Ferry Unit 1 on Friday after reducing it and the other two units to half power Thursday.

TVA also shut down Watts Bar Nuclear Plant on Thursday after dropping it to half power Wednesday.

Of six nuclear plants in the TVA system, only two -- both at Sequoyah -- are operating at full power. Systemwide, TVA's nuclear power generation is at half-mast.

TVA took Browns Ferry Unit 1 offline Friday at 5:30 a.m. because of a steam leak in the thermal well, one of the devices that tracks the temperature of steam in the main steam tunnel.

Given a situation like this, talk about wind's "unreliability" must be viewed with a grain of salt.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-08T11:43:00.001-04:00

Fact Check: Backup Power

From Eric Garretson of Lake Forest, Calif., comes a letter to the Orange County Register that includes this passage:

Wind power is a viable source to a point, but there is a problem with wind because sometimes it stops blowing. What do you do then? You need a 100 percent source of energy backup with coal, gas or nuclear source to make up the difference when the wind turbines are off-line.

This is true of every power plant. Sometimes it is out of service for repairs or maintenance, and other power plants are used to supply customer demand.

More broadly:

- Wind power is variable, but so is customer demand for electricity. It varies throughout the day, and utility system operators turn power plants on or off as needed to balance supply and demand. Wind power can supply 20% or more of the total electricity on a system without adding significantly to normal variability.

- Wind power is variable, and therefore is not an efficient way to meet peak electricity demand. The following very simplified example cases are designed to illustrate this:

Case 1: You have 1,000 MW of load and 1,000 MW of conventional generation. You add 200 MW of wind. You don’t need any additional conventional generation.

Case 2: You have 1,400 MW of load and 1,000 MW of conventional generation. You add 200 MW of wind. You still need 400 MW (roughly) of conventional generation. Since in Case 1, we know that wind can be added without the need for additional “backup,” the reason you need 400 MW of conventional generation is actually to meet peak loads.

In both cases, adding 200 MW of wind reduces fuel combustion and greenhouse gas emissions—addressing two of the most serious problems with our current electricity supply system (fuel price spikes and global warming). For example, adding 200 MW of wind to the average U.S. utility mix results in a reduction in emissions of 380,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 58,000 vehicles off the road. Looking through the other end of the telescope, we could say: "It's fine to add conventional generators to meet peak load, but you still need wind power to protect against fuel price spikes and reduce global warming pollution."

--------------
Caveats:

Case 1: Depending on the fuel mix of the system, additional conventional generation might be required. A system with heavy reliance on nuclear and, to a lesser extent, coal would not have much “flexibility” and might need more quick-response hydro or gas generators to deal with wind’s variability.

Case 2: Adding 200 MW of wind does make it slightly easier to meet peak load, so a few megawatts less than 400 (perhaps as little as 350) of conventional generation might be needed to balance the system.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-08T10:28:00.003-04:00

More on Texas Wind Farm

Yesterday, I noted the approval of a major wind project on the Texas Gulf Coast. Interested readers can learn much more about the tussle over this project from this excellent article at NewEnergyNews.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-08T09:47:00.001-04:00

Fact Check: Washington Post Plays Up Alleged Wind Flaws

A story by Anita Kumar for the Washington Post on wind power in Virginia plays up concerns, with this opening:

RICHMOND - Miles of mountain ridges hugging the state's western border could hold the key to Virginia's search for alternative energy sources.

That is where developers are looking to build more than 100 wind turbines taller than the Statue of Liberty, side by side, on 18 miles of the George Washington National Forest.

FreedomWorks, a company with projects in four states, wants to generate electricity for the power-hungry Washington area and beyond, despite concerns about disturbing wildlife, spoiling untouched lands, and creating noise and light pollution.

The story goes on to discuss environmental groups' worry about wind projects, while giving Virginia's current energy use this offhand mention:

More than half of Virginia's energy comes from coal, a third from nuclear and a small amount from gas, oil and other sources.

There is no mention of any environmental issues or concerns connected with coal or other energy sources--even though those issues dwarf the alleged problems with wind, and even though wind combats those problems, by reducing global warming pollution, air pollution, water pollution, water use for power generation, and more.

The Post is a great newspaper. It can do better.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-08T08:26:00.002-04:00

Fact Check: Misleading EIA Study of Energy Subsidies

Today's Watertown (N.Y.) Daily News contains a letter from John Droz, Jr., who describes himself as "a physicist and energy expert." In proceeding to attack wind power, Mr. Droz says in part:

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently concluded that: "Wind power is subsidized to the tune of $23 per megawatt-hour. By contrast, normal coal receives 44 cents per megawatt-hour, natural gas 25 cents, hydroelectric 67 cents, and nuclear power $1.59."

The EIA study is misleading, comparing current subsidies for wind with those for technologies that have been around for decades and are fully mature. It does not look at the subsidies those technologies received during the early years of their development. A further analysis of this report can be found here.

Mr. Droz also repeats the canard that wind power does not reduce carbon dioxide emissions:

Wind power is one of the absolute worst alternative sources of electrical energy. It is a trivial saver of carbon dioxide, uneconomic on its own and an environmental violator.

But it does reduce carbon dioxide emissions, enormously, as documented in the U.S. Department of Energy's 20% Wind by 2030 Technical Report. According to that report, if wind generates 20% of U.S. electricity in 2030, it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the electric sector by 25% in that year.

I'm not sure what sort of energy Mr. Droz is an expert in, but it isn't wind power.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-07T13:31:00.004-04:00

Good News Dept: Wind Farm Approved in Texas

HOUSTON, Aug. 7 /eMediaWorld/ -- Babcock & Brown, a leader in wind energy, today announced that a federal court in Texas dismissed a final lawsuit, clearing the path to bring wind energy to South Texas.

Babcock & Brown's wind farm on the Texas Gulf Coast, which will provide enough clean and renewable energy to power 80,000 Texas homes, will be completed and operational later this year. The wind farm is located on the property of the Kenedy Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization that will utilize the royalties to support charitable purposes in South Texas.

Read more here.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-07T13:05:00.004-04:00

Excellent Video on Wind

This very well done 9-minute video is from Puget Sound Energy, an investor-owned utility.

Regards,
Tom

2008-08-07T12:31:00.002-04:00

Fact Check: Minyanville Analysis of Wind Power

An article by Jill Delender on green energy sources (nuclear, wind and solar) from Minyanville, which appears to be an investing advice site, contains a number of factual errors about wind:

In 2007, the US added 5,243 megawatts of wind power to its electric grid, the largest amount ever added by a single country in a single year. Globally, wind power has increased almost fivefold from 2000 to 2007.

Despite this increase, wind only accounts for 1% of worldwide electricity use and 5% of US energy.

Actually, wind accounts for about 1% of both world and U.S. electricity use.

This may be due to the fact that modern turbines are massive and cost-prohibitive, making smaller facilities unviable.

This is incorrect. Larger turbines are more cost-effective. Industry is not making them just for fun, but because the amount of energy a turbine can capture from the wind is a function of the rotor's swept area, and a small increase in blade length leads to a large increase in swept area. Also, wind speeds increase with altitude, and large turbines stand higher off the ground.

All other things being equal, small wind facilities are less economical than large ones because "balance of plant" expenses (such as equipment to connect to the utility system) can be spread over a larger number of turbines.

Not having to pay fuel costs for wind is a perk, but the level of subsidies, the paucity of energy needs met and the uncertain financial return of wind projects make wind power inferior to other energy sources.

This is incorrect. First, all energy sources are subsidized. Second, nuclear power enjoyed enormous subsidies during its early years of development. Third, wind projects are having no problems obtaining financing.

Wind power doesn’t displace fossil fuel’s generating capacity on a one-to-one basis. And some say it doesn’t actually reduce carbon dioxide emissions, because its inconsistent output keeps it dependent on fossil fuel plants.

Some do indeed say that, but they are mistaken. The purpose of an article such as this one should be to distinguish between facts and misinformation. It is quite true that wind power doesn't displace fossil fuel generating capacity on a one-for-one basis. But it does reduce carbon dioxide emissions, enormously, as documented in the U.S. Department of Energy's 20% Wind by 2030 Technical Report. According to that report, if wind generates 20% of U.S. electricity in 2030, it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the electric sector by 25% in that year.

Many environmentalists, as well as politicians like Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, have raised objections to wind power on environmental grounds - particularly since wooded land may be cleared to accommodate wind farms, destroying trees and displacing wildlife.

This is a trivial issue compared with wind's benefits in reducing mining and drilling, global warming pollution, air pollution, water pollution, and water use for power generation.

Regards,
Tom

2008-07-21T07:49:00.002-04:00

Al Gore's Renewable Energy Proposal

Investment banker Jerome a Paris has written an excellent analysis of Al Gore's proposal that the U.S. obtain all of its electricity from renewable or zero-carbon sources within 10 years. Check it out.

Regards,
Tom

2008-07-19T20:39:00.002-04:00

End of the Walrus?

The polar bear makes a wonderful poster child, but the homely walrus is a remarkable and attractive creature also, writes Natalie Angier in the New York Times, and also apparently doomed by global warming. What a sad article.

2008-07-19T20:30:00.005-04:00

Driving a Toyota Prius? Get Better Mileage

My daughter is home from college now, and has been driving our cars more. From her, we've learned that a Prius will get 5-10% better mileage (which seems huge to me) through the application of some simple techniques.

First is very slow starts--really easing off the line at traffic lights, as gently as possible. Second is easy going up hills--trying to accelerate as little as possible and even accepting some slowing if necessary (and possible).

The last fillups on our two Priuses revealed the following mpg: 2003 Prius, 57.6 mpg; 2005 Prius, 58.7 mpg. In the past, I've been getting (during the summer) about 52 mpg on the 2003 and about 50 on the 2005, so the difference is substantial.

Regards,
Tom

2008-03-30T12:40:00.000-04:00

Concerned About the Decline of Songbirds?

Here's an excellent article about a major threat to migratory birds and what you can do about it (stop buying out-of-season imported produce). Bird collisions with wind turbines are a very minor source of mortality compared with this and many other human activities--go here for more info on wind and wildlife. (We're working on an update to this fact sheet that should be ready soon, but the basic facts are unchanged.)

Regards,
Tom

2008-03-28T20:26:00.003-04:00

Wind Power Tops 40% of Supply in Spain, Briefly

... according to Agence France Presse. It's symbolic of how far Spain has come--the country has been duking it out with the U.S. for several years for the #2 position in wind capacity installed, behind world leader Germany. Detailed statistics here.

Regards,
Tom

2008-03-28T17:08:00.001-04:00

Unplug Global Warming and Peak Oil with Plug-Ins

Today's issue of Salon has an excellent article by Joe Romm, former Assistant Secretary of Energy, on peak oil, global warming and how plug-in hybrid autos fueled by renewable energy sources like wind and solar can help us deal with both.

Regards,
Tom

2008-03-28T08:14:00.002-04:00

Darn Those Noisy Wind Turbines

Check out this video from the Fond du Lac (Wis.) Reporter.

Regards,
Tom

2008-03-24T11:02:00.002-04:00

Plug-In Hybrids Misrepresented?

For those of you who may have read or heard of a recent USAToday story about how plug-in hybrid automobiles may actually increase pollution, there is a well-documented response at the Plug-In Partners site. Check it out.

(Update 3/28/08: There's also a good discussion here.)

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-27T11:34:00.001-04:00

New York Sees Renewables Progress

The summary of a report on New York's Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) makes for some interesting reading. Some highlights:

Two solicitations for renewable energy have resulted in contracts for approximately 3 billion kilowatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy from 26 projects, totaling more than 800 megawatts (MW), or enough clean energy to supply approximately 400,000 average-size homes.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) estimates that more than $1.9 billion will be invested to build the New York-based renewable generation facilities awarded contracts under the RES. NYSERDA estimates that these investments have the potential to yield more than $720 million of in-state economic benefits over a 20-year period.

In addition to the significant economic benefits, the facilities awarded contracts under the RES could result in potential reductions of 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, 4,400 tons of sulfur oxides, and 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

NYSERDA is planning a third solicitation this fall, and says, "Considering the large number of wind projects under development, a significant number of potential bidders are expected, and consequently, reasonably priced bids are anticipated."

What is happening in New York is a good example of what can happen with strong leadership at the state level. Former Gov. George Pataki (R) and current Gov. Elliott Spitzer (D) deserve enormous credit for pushing this effort forward.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-21T18:56:00.000-04:00

Greenpeace: Time to Build Cape Wind

"It's time to build Cape Wind" is the tagline of a new 30-second TV spot from the environmental group Greenpeace. The ad calls on U.S. Rep. William Delahunt (D) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D), both opponents of the project, to support it.

Greenpeace has been a consistent Cape Wind supporter, as evidenced by this earlier video from the group.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-21T14:25:00.000-04:00

PennFuture Prize: Clean Wind Energy for Year

Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture), an environmental nonprofit, has launched a year-long contest for Pennsylvania residents in which it will give away six compact fluorescent bulbs each month to a monthly winner and a grand prize of one year's supply of clean wind energy. (Enter here.)

Perhaps more importantly, every entrant in the contest will receive a free copy of a PennFuture brochure, "Ten Quick Actions to Help Stop Global Warming."

Great idea, great to see.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

Burbank Mulls Wind Buy

The City of Burbank, Calif., is scheduled this evening to consider buying wind power from the Milford wind project in Utah. If the purchase goes through, it will move Burbank closer to an already-established goal of obtaining 33% of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-20T17:44:00.000-04:00

Kristof: Global Warming Outstrips Projections

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof looked at global warming science last week, and found it looking ominous:

“Over and over again, we’re finding that models correctly predict the patterns of change but understate their magnitude,” notes Jay Gulledge, a senior scientist at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

Kristof's column focused on four specific items leading to this conclusion:

Arctic sea ice thickness has reached a new low--and there is still more than a month of the normal melting season left to go. (More info on this available from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Sea ice extent at the moment is a whopping 16% below its level on the same day in 2005, when the previous record low was set.)

Annual ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica now is 125 billion tons, and growing.

Actual sea level rise is following the upper limits of previous projections, and is now forecast to be 0.5 to 1.4 meters by 2100.

Glaciers are melting more quickly than anticipated.

In other words (my words, not Kristof's), the imperative for reducing global warming pollution and for carbon-free energy technologies like wind and solar power continues to grow.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-17T16:57:00.000-04:00

Duke Energy Sees Wind Potential

Seeking Alpha, a financial analysis Web site, provides a transcript of a presentation by Keith Trent, Group Executive and Chief Strategy, Policy and Regulatory Officer of Duke Energy, one of America's leading utilities, before the Wall Street Analyst Forum August 16. Here are Mr. Trent's remarks on wind--interesting reading.

Regards,
Tom

Let me talk specifically about wind now. Wind energy is very much part of our strategy. We believe that the growing U.S. wind market presents an attractive opportunity for us. That market is projected to grow from approximately 12 gigawatts to approximately 50 gigawatts by 2015, as it continues to receive significant support from Federal and State regulatory bodies.

Our wind strategy is straightforward. We plan to develop a standalone portfolio within one of our commercial businesses Duke Energy generation services acquiring a foothold in developing expertise there. As they execute our strategy, our focus will be on projects with favorable and steady cash flows.

We took a major step in this regard in executing this strategy in late May, when we acquired the wind development assets of Tierra Energy, which was a leading wind power development company located in Austin, Texas. Three of the development projects, which totaled approximately 240 megawatts are located in Texas and Wyoming and are anticipated to be on-line in late 2008 or early 2009.

We expect to spend approximately $400 million in CapEx through 2009 to complete these projects. The projects will be underpinned by long-term contracts and favorable tax benefits. As a result, we expect to begin seeing earnings from these wind assets in 2009.

Also included in the purchase is the option to develop approximately 1000 megawatts of additional wind projects that are in the various stages of development in the western and southwestern United States. We will continue to review additional late-stage projects as part of our strategy for this growing business.

2007-08-17T14:09:00.000-04:00

Anti-Wind Site Uses Fuzzy Math

When will they get the basic math right?

From an anti-wind blog comes this excerpt:

Dominion and Shell WindEnergy Inc (owners of the company, NedPower Mount Storm LLC) have announced the first phase of their project - 82 turbines producing 164 megawatts, or enough electricity for 41,000 homes - is under construction at a site near Dominion's Mount Storm Power Station. It is scheduled to begin operation in the fourth quarter of 2007 (see - http://www.dom.com/news/elec2007/pr0731.jsp).

Notice this a [sic] "nameplate" capacity rating - and typically wind turbines produce only 25% of rating - so that means 10,000 homes in reality - at a cost of 82 turbines @ $2M each = $164M, which is $16,400 per home.

Well, oops, no, that's wrong. The company already allowed for the difference between nameplate rating and average production in calculating the number of homes.

The math goes like this: 164 MW = 164,000 kilowatts (kW). Reasonably expectable average production is actually more like 33%, not 25%. 164,000 kW x 8760 hours in a year X .33 = 474 million kWh (caveat: this is my estimate, not an official projection from Shell WindEnergy). The average household uses a little over 10,000 kWh annually, so a figure of 41,000 homes seems reasonable.

(I'm told that this sort of distortion has also been quite popular in the Palm Springs, Calif., area, where anti-wind groups insist that the statement by wind developers that one megawatt of wind generates electricity equivalent to that used by 250-300 homes should be further reduced by two-thirds. Wrong.)

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-17T11:17:00.000-04:00

Wind Power Factory Watch

August 16, 2007: DMI Industries announces that it is "looking for a few hundred good people" for its Tulsa, Okla., wind tower manufacturing plant.

July 18, 2007: Danish wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Glasfiber announces that it will open a manufacturing plant in Little Rock, Ark. that will employ more than 1,000 people.

May 2, 2007: U.S. wind turbine tower maker DMI Industries announces that it will open a tower manufacturing plant near Tulsa, Okla., that will have half a million square feet of production space and ultimately employ up to 450.

April 25, 2007: Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Acciona says it will open a turbine plant in West Branch, Iowa. The $23-million, 18,000-square-meter facility is expected to employ 109.

March 20, 2007: Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announces plans to locate a blade manufacturing plant in the northern Colorado community of Windsor. The plant is expected to begin production in early 2008, to be capable of producing 1,200 blades a year, and to employ 400 people.

Wind power is shaping up to be a major engine of economic development in the 21st century, as America turns to clean energy sources to meet the twin challenges of global warming and steadily increasing electricity demand.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-17T09:31:00.000-04:00

Wind Power Factory Watch: DMI Hires for Tulsa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DMI INDUSTRIES FINALIZES TULSA PLANT ACQUISITION
Wind Tower Manufacturer Begins Hiring, Plans to Take On Up To 450 People

West Fargo, N.D. (Aug. 16, 2007) – DMI Industries is looking for a few hundred good people.

The West Fargo, N.D.-based wind tower manufacturer is opening a plant at 15300 Tiger Switch Road in Tulsa, Okla. and expects to eventually employ up to 450 people there. The company needs at least 200 employees to get started, and is holding a job fair at the Renaissance Hotel on Tuesday, August 21 to begin filling positions.

“We’re extremely pleased to be in Tulsa, a community with a reputation for good, hard-working and dedicated people,” said DMI President Lars Møller. “We need a strong team to build state-of-the-art wind towers, to begin having a positive impact on the local and regional economies, and to continue improving service and lowering costs for our customers.”

DMI began modernizing its Tulsa facility immediately after acquisition, and it is expected to be operational in early 2008. In addition to the positive impacts of construction and trade jobs for the plant’s renovation, the plant will provide substantial ongoing direct and indirect economic impacts in the Tulsa region. When it is economically feasible, DMI also will engage local and regional suppliers to meet the plant’s day-to-day operational needs.

“DMI’s selection of Tulsa to expand its wind tower manufacturing is another great addition to our list of diverse industries,” said Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor. “DMI is well-positioned in its marketplace with a prominent customer base, especially as regions across the nation expand efforts to increase utilization of ‘green’ energy sources.”

DMI plans to hire the vast majority of employees locally, including welders, painters and steel plate rollers, as well as general management, supervisory, human resources and administrative personnel. Tulsa employees will be trained on site and in the company’s West Fargo and Fort Erie facilities.

In addition to the city, Møller credited the Tulsa Metro Chamber, the Rogers County Industrial Development Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce with convincing DMI to locate in the Tulsa area.

“Today’s announcement takes another prime property off of the available list in Tulsa,” said Mike Neal, Chamber president and CEO. “It also is another example of the Chamber’s efforts to recruit progressive, high-quality jobs to the metro region. The economic impact of approximately 450 jobs with DMI will support an additional 540 indirect jobs in the metro region and generate a total economic impact of $157 million in goods and services.”

The Tulsa plant will feature half a million square feet of production space. With it and the company’s two existing plants, in West Fargo and Fort Erie, Ontario, DMI’s annual combined tower production will support more than 3,000 MW of installed wind project capacity, based on today’s tower and turbine technologies and designs.

The Oklahoma facility is the second new plant acquisition for DMI in two years. The company acquired its Fort Erie facility in 2005 and it became fully operational in May 2006. It currently employs 540 people in Fort Erie and West Fargo.

DMI, an operating company of Otter Tail Corporation, is a heavy steel wind tower manufacturer. The company also has capabilities to produce equipment for a wide variety of industries, including agricultural processing; ethanol production; oil and gas extraction, processing and refining; and water and waste water processing. For more information, visit www.windtowers.com or www.dmiindustries.com.

Otter Tail Corporation has interests in diversified operations that include an electric utility, plastics, manufacturing, health services, food ingredient processing, transportation and construction. Otter Tail Corporation stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol OTTR. The latest investor and corporate information is available at www.ottertail.com. Corporate offices are located in Fergus Falls, Minn., and Fargo, N.D.

Forward-looking Statements

Except for historical information, all other information provided in this presentation consists of “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These “forward-looking statements” are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, or implied. The most significant of these risks and uncertainties are discussed or identified in Otter Tail Corporation’s public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Otter Tail Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

- 30 -

2007-08-16T17:12:00.000-04:00

N.Y. Agency Backs Wind Power

The New York Public Service Commission Aug. 15 gave its approval to a proposed 127.5-megawatt wind project in Steuben County.

It was a big win--there's been a lot of local opposition to the project, which will generate as much electricity from clean, renewable energy as 40,000 homes use. Thanks and a tip of the hat to Yes! Wind Power for Cohocton, which has been supporting the proposal.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-16T15:14:00.000-04:00

First Wind Turbine at Ski Area Spins

The Berkshire Mountains ski resort of Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts yesterday became the first ski area in the U.S. with an operating utility-scale wind turbine on site. The link includes a TV news station video clip. Jiminy Peak also provides background information on the project on its Web site. The 1.5-megawatt turbine cost about $3.9 million to install and is expected to pay for itself in seven years in reduced electricity costs. It will generate 4.8 million kilowatt-hours annually, which Jiminy Peak says "will permanently eliminate the need for 383,000 gallons of diesel-fuel-generated power."

I mentioned recently that many U.S. ski areas are taking a leadership role in supporting clean energy and fighting global warming, which presents a clear threat to their future business (not to mention the planet). Jiminy Peak's new turbine is an elegant symbol of that leadership.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-16T11:39:00.000-04:00

Nice TV Report on Small Wind

From Fox News in Detroit. The American Wind Energy Association's Web site has extensive background on small wind turbines for residential and small business use.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-16T08:31:00.000-04:00

Renewables, Efficiency Sweep Mass. Poll

I mentioned recently that a new poll of public sentiment on wind and clean energy in Massachusetts was to be released soon. Here are the results, quoted in full from the sponsoring organization's press release. Note in particular comments by Civil Society Institute President Pam Solo, who points out that despite the news media's insistent focus on controversy over Cape Wind, the public actually stands united in support of clean, renewable energy sources.

Regards,
Tom

Survey: Leadership on Cape Wind, Other Clean Energy Solutions to Global Warming Seen as Path to New 'Massachusetts Miracle'

Clear Majorities Statewide - Including Cape/Islands Residents - Support Cape Wind, Other Clean Energy; Rep. Markey Urged to Push for Even Higher Federal MPG Standard.

BOSTON, Aug. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Will creating and putting in place clean energy solutions to the global warming crisis and America's addiction to foreign oil spark a new "Massachusetts Miracle?" In a major new statewide survey, solid majorities of Massachusetts residents -- including Democrats, Republicans, Independents and those who live on the Cape and on the Islands -- said they want the Bay State to emerge as a national leader in alternative energy, including wind power projects such as Cape Wind. The new Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) poll for the Newton-based Civil Society Institute also looks at the attitudes of state residents about coal-fired power plants, nuclear power, and the federal vehicle fuel-efficiency standards that Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey is now shepherding through Congress.

The scientific survey by ORC of 600 state residents found that nine out of 10 Massachusetts residents (93 percent) -- including 78 percent of those who live on the Cape and on the Islands -- agree that the state should be "a national leader in using cleaner and renewable energy on a large scale by moving ahead with offshore wind power" and other clean energy initiatives. The statement is supported on a bipartisan basis by Republicans (94 percent), Democrats (93 percent), and Independents (93 percent).

More than four out of five Massachusetts residents (84 percent) -- including 58 percent of those who live on the Cape and on the Islands -- explicitly support "the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm that would involve wind turbines being placed in Nantucket Sound about five and a half miles from the Town of Hyannis." These numbers are virtually unchanged from a June 2006 Civil Society Institute (CSI) survey that posed the same question and found 81 percent support statewide and 61 percent in Cape Cod/the Islands (the latter of which is within the survey's margin of error). Republican support for Cape Wind is at 82 percent, Democrats at 86 percent and Independents at 81 percent.

Another key finding: Almost nine out of 10 Massachusetts residents (88 percent) think that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick should follow the lead of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger "when it comes to state government leadership on global warming solutions and the promotion of clean, renewable energy." About two out of three state residents (65 percent) expressed strong support for such an approach and only 9 percent said no. Support for this leadership role being taken by Governor Patrick was strongly supported across the political spectrum: Republicans (82 percent); Democrats (93 percent); and Independents (80 percent).

Civil Society Institute President and Founder Pam Solo said: "I would encourage Governor Patrick, Senator Kennedy, Senator Kerry, Representative Markey and the rest of the Massachusetts congressional delegation to look closely at these survey findings. The notion that wind power and the other clean energy sources are dividing lines in Massachusetts either in terms of politics or region ... or both ... is an entirely mistaken and counterproductive idea. Instead, what we see in this survey is a clear example of Massachusetts citizens 'leading the leaders.' State residents want action now on clean, safe renewable energy sources, including Cape Wind, and also higher federal fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles. They want the state to get out in front as a true national leader solving the threats posed by global warming and our addiction to foreign oil."

Opinion Research Corporation Senior Researcher Graham Hueber said: "One of the most striking aspects of this survey is the clear sense that state residents have of a potential 'Massachusetts Miracle' if their leaders decide to take a front-and-center role on clean energy solutions to global warming. It is very telling that a very strong 91 percent of state residents see a parallel to the Route 128 tech boom of the 1980s and now want the state to emulate California 'in seeking to create new jobs and industries by becoming a national hub for new energy technology development.'"

Commenting on the survey, Barbara Hill, executive director, Clean Power Now, Hyannis, MA, said: "This past spring Governor Patrick and his administration took an historic step forward by determining the Cape Wind Project's Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) as adequate, moving us closer to realizing significant public benefits such as improved air quality, energy reliability and economic growth. The development of this project as proposed will advance the Commonwealth's energy policy goals and help make Massachusetts a world leader in the development and production of clean energy."

KEY SURVEY FINDINGS

-- More than nine out of 10 state residents (91 percent) agreed with the following statement: "In the 1980s, Massachusetts' Route 128 was famous as the rival to California's Silicon Valley when it came to incubating new high-tech companies and emerging computer technologies. More than 20 years later, California is taking the lead with renewable energy. Should Massachusetts follow California in seeking to create new jobs and industries by becoming a national hub for new energy technology development?" There is strong bipartisan support for such leadership among Republicans (90 percent), Democrats (92 percent) and Independents (90 percent).

-- More than four out of five constituents (84 percent) of Rep. Ed Markey say "yes" when asked: "Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey will be a leader in the U.S. House of Representatives about what Congress decides to do on global warming in his role as chair of the special U.S. House committee on global warming. Do you think Congressman Markey should use his role to push for Congress to enact a higher 40 miles per gallon standard by 2010 in order to reduce dependence on Middle East oil and also cut global-warming pollution?" Over half (55 percent) said "definitely" yes and only 13 percent said "no." (Rep. Markey is currently proposing lower federal fuel-efficiency standards that would take considerably longer to go into effect than the 40-MPG-by-2010 standard outlined in the survey.)

-- Over three out of four state residents (78 percent) -- and 61 percent of those living on the Cape and on the Islands -- support wind as the best energy resource to provide electricity to Cape Cod and the Islands. Statewide, the support for other alternatives was as follows: nuclear (10 percent); coal (4 percent); and other (5 percent). Wind power is supported by 74 percent of Republicans, 81 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of Independents. These support levels are up slightly from 2006: 74 percent statewide and 57 percent for the Cape/Islands.

-- Clean renewable energy is widely supported over nuclear power in Massachusetts, including on the Cape and on the Islands. State residents would prefer to see solar (91 percent), more conservation (90 percent), and wind power (89 percent) used first before resorting to more nuclear power. On the Cape and on the Islands, the views were very similar, with strong support for wind power (75 percent); conservation (81 percent); and solar (84 percent).

-- More than three out of four Massachusetts residents (78 percent) favor a "five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants on the East Coast and the rest of the United States if there was stepped-up investment on clean, safe renewable energy -- such as wind and solar -- and improved home energy-efficiency standards." This statement was supported strongly by 50 percent of state residents and opposed by only 19 percent. 76 percent of Republicans, 83 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Independents support the notion of a moratorium on more coal-fired power plants.

-- A nearly unanimous 94 percent of state residents support efforts in Massachusetts such as that undertaken by Cambridge, which "has announced that it will be the first energy-efficient city in the U.S." Nearly three out of four state residents (73 percent) strongly support such steps and only 3 percent oppose them. Interestingly, likely 2008 voters are somewhat more supportive of such an approach in the state than are non-voters (95 percent v. 89 percent).

-- More than four out of five state residents (83 percent) agree that "President Bush and Congress should increase the federal fuel-efficiency standard NOW to 40 miles per gallon," rather than waiting to achieve a lower MPG standard over a longer period of time. Over half of state residents (56 percent) feel strongly about the need for quick action versus a total of 14 percent who oppose it. Quick action on federal fuel efficiency standards is supported across the political spectrum: Republicans (80 percent); Democrats (84 percent); and Independents (82 percent). When framed in this way, the shift to a higher MPG standard on a quick basis is supported by 84 percent of the constituents of Congressman Ed Markey.

-- More than three out of four state residents (84 percent) think that a "significant portion" of the gasoline tax funding the Federal Highway Trust Fund should be used "to accelerate research and development into alternative fuel and energy sources that could reduce dependence on Middle East oil and also cut global-warming pollution." More than three out of five state residents (63 percent) said that the federal gasoline tax should "definitely" be used for such purposes versus 15 percent who said "no." The earmarked gas tax concept is particularly popular with 18-24 year olds at 90 percent. The approach also is supported by 77 percent of Republicans, 90 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Independents.

-- Nearly nine out of 10 state residents (87 percent) "favor enhanced home energy-efficiency standards in Massachusetts and the rest of the United States in order to decrease heating and cooling energy consumption and related bills for consumers." Nearly three out of five state residents (59 percent) expressed strong support for such an approach.

-- Three out of four state residents said they are "aware of the public discussion about Cape Wind, the offshore wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound." About one quarter (24 percent) said they had no awareness. Among the Cape/Islands portion of the respondents, 93 percent are aware of Cape Wind versus 7 percent who are not.

-- The political party identification of the Massachusetts survey respondents breaks down as follows: Republican (12 percent); Independent/lean Republican (11 percent); Independent (17 percent); Independent/lean Democratic (25 percent); and Democratic (31 percent).

-- 92 percent of state residents said that they are likely to vote in 2008.

For full survey findings, go to http://www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org on the Web.

METHODOLOGY

Survey results are based on telephone interviews conducted among a sample of 600 adults aged 18 and over living in private households in the Massachusetts. Interviewing was completed by Opinion Research Corporation during the period of July 25 - August 2, 2007. Completed interviews of the survey adults were weighted by two variables: age and gender, to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total adult population, including a subset of residents of the Cape/Islands. About nine out of 10 respondents (89 percent) said that they live in Massachusetts somewhere other than the Cape and on the Islands versus 10 percent who said that they do live on the Cape/Islands. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points for the complete sample of 600 adults. Smaller sub-groups will have larger error margins.

ABOUT CSI

The nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute is a Newton, MA-based think tank that serves as a catalyst for change by creating problem-solving interactions among people, and between communities, government and business that can help to improve society. CSI has conducted more than 15 major national and state-level surveys since 2003 on energy and global warming issues. CSI is the parent organization of 40MPG.org and the Hybrid Owners of America.

SOURCE Civil Society Institute, Newton, MA

-0- 08/15/2007

/NOTE TO EDITORS: A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at http://www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org as of 6 p.m. EDT on August 15, 2007. Related newspaper and radio ads also are available at the same URL./

/CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, +1-703-276-3266, pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com, for the Civil Society Institute, Newton, MA/

2007-08-15T17:18:00.000-04:00

Caledonian-Record Blows It on Wind

The recent approval of a 40-megawatt (MW) wind project in Sheffield, Vt., occasioned this
outburst from the Newport, Vt., Caledonian-Record. Now, I have nothing against folks who dislike wind--well, OK, maybe I do have a little something against them--but everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no matter how misguided. But I do take exception when that opinion is published in print and is obviously based on falsehood, which is unfortunately the case here.

I'll set aside several questionable statements and quote just one outstanding passage:

Next, the wind towers will produce power for only about 11 percent of the time. The rest of the time, the wind isn't there, and the power that isn't produced by them will have to be replaced by current, allegedly inefficient, global-warming plants. Net benefit to energy efficiency? None.

First, 11% just ain't so, and any reporter or editor worth her or his salt would be able to find that out. A wind project at a Vermont site should be producing electricity 50-80% of the time, which is consistent with the wind developer's projected production for the Sheffield wind farm (115 million kilowatt-hours annually). (To be more specific, generating 115 million kWh would require the wind farm to operate a minimum of 33% of the time. Since it will often be operating at less than full power, it will have to run a higher percentage of the time to achieve that output.)

Second, when the wind turbines generate, fossil-fueled power plants will throttle back and use less fuel, emitting less global warming pollution. If the wind turbines were not there, the same plants would be running more and emitting more CO2. This is a straightforward concept that shouldn't be hard to grasp.

The Caledonian-Record, not surprisingly, declares its determination to stand behind a local anti-wind group in efforts to block the project. It's a good thing that the Vermont Public Service Board, which approved the Sheffield wind farm, is more open to the facts in this case.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-15T13:48:00.001-04:00

Wind Power's Place in Maine

A thoughtful editorial in the Bangor Daily News concludes that there is a place for wind power in Maine, a state which has seen some heavy-duty siting battles recently. Though the newspaper shies away from saying more, instead passing the responsibility on to a blue-ribbon siting panel appointed recently by Gov. John Baldacci (D), it does a public service by pointing out that many other energy projects (including even solar panels!!) have drawn flak in the state. Even more welcome, however, would have been an effort to draw a more direct comparison between wind's modest environmental impacts (and substantial benefits) and those of other energy alternatives.

Intones the Daily News,

The governor’s task force will be most helpful if it can produce a plan for siting wind turbines for the largest energy gains with the least environmental harm.

Who could disagree with that? I question, though, whether any wind plan will really involve net environmental harm once the reduction of global warming and other pollution is weighed in the balance--which would seem to be the real issue.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-15T10:45:00.000-04:00

Vail Daily Sees Growing Environmental Concern

Nice editorial in the Vail Daily about growing concern for the environment among local residents. It congratulates the Vail ski resort for buying wind power, Eagle County for buying hybrid vehicles, etc. Ski areas, which stand to see their business devastated by global warming, have been among the first companies nationwide to connect the dots between climate and renewable energy use. Vail ranks among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Top 25 green power buyers.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-14T16:50:00.001-04:00

Jobs in Renewable Energy

Ned Sullivan provides some basic, but strategic, thoughts on "green collar" careers in a recent commentary on The Daily Green. He's right--one of the great unreported news stories about renewable energy is the difficulty wind companies are having in finding qualified people. For more information on finding employment in this booming industry, try the American Wind Energy Association's Careers in Wind Job Board.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

Using Wind as a Fuel Price Hedge

Yesterday saw a very strong recognition of wind power's ability to protect against volatile natural gas prices, as European financial giant Fortis agreed to buy 1.1 billion kilowatt-hours of wind-generated electricity over the next 10 years from a 63-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Texas that is owned by Enel North America, a subsidiary of a major Italian utility. According to the Wall Street Journal blog, Fortis will sell portions of the hedge to power and financial companies.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-14T10:06:00.000-04:00

End Energy Subsidies: Wind Proponent

David Weiss of New York Farmers' Windpower, LLC, provides a thoughtful perspective on energy subsidies in a letter to the Albany Times-Union. Says Weiss, in part:

Renewable energy needs no subsidies at all. What it does need is a level playing field -- government policies that remove all subsidies from nuclear power and fossil fuels, forcing them to compete fairly and openly with wind, solar, biomass, increased efficiency and all the other renewable energy that can carry its weight in this country.

It's time we had a level playing field in energy, so we can watch the economy turn green.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. The most important subsidy for fossil fuels is an invisible one: allowing fossil fuel mines, wells and power plants to emit air, water and global warming pollution into our common environment at less than the full cost of cleanup. Until that changes, as Weiss suggests, renewable energy sources will continue to face an uphill battle.

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-13T21:30:00.000-04:00

Poll to Probe Wind's Popularity

Results of a statewide poll of Massachusetts residents on energy issues will be released Wednesday, according to Cape Cod Today. Should make for interesting reading, especially in light of the Daily Show's recent toasting of the opposition to the Cape Wind offshore project (see below).

Regards,
Tom

2007-08-11T12:06:00.000-04:00

Jason Jones Reviews Wind Power

Well, the big event of the past week has to be the Daily Show's investigation of the opposition to the Cape Wind project, conducted by the redoubtable, inimitable Jason Jones. Stick around for the ending, which is truly priceless in its symbolism.

Regards,
Tom

2007-07-18T14:09:00.000-04:00

Wind Power Factory Watch

July 18, 2007: Danish wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Glasfiber announces that it will open a manufacturing plant in Little Rock, Ark. that will employ more than 1,000 people.

May 2, 2007: U.S. wind turbine tower maker DMI Industries announces that it will open a tower manufacturing plant near Tulsa, Okla., that will have half a million square feet of production space and ultimately employ up to 450.

April 25, 2007: Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Acciona says it will open a turbine plant in West Branch, Iowa. The $23-million, 18,000-square-meter facility is expected to employ 109.

March 20, 2007: Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announces plans to locate a blade manufacturing plant in the northern Colorado community of Windsor. The plant is expected to begin production in early 2008, to be capable of producing 1,200 blades a year, and to employ 400 people.

Wind power is shaping up to be a major engine of economic development in the 21st century, as America turns to clean energy sources to meet the twin challenges of global warming and steadily increasing electricity demand.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-27T13:14:00.000-04:00

Senate Energy Bill Running on Empty

From Newsday, this accurate and insightful editorial on the energy bill passed last week by the U.S. Senate. Glaciers may be melting around the world, but not swiftly enough to affect the glacial pace of legislation dealing with our country's energy policies.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-19T22:49:00.000-04:00

Renewable Energy: The Regional Debate, Part 2

We've spent some time at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) researching the issues raised in my recent post on the question of whether using more wind would unfairly disadvantage less windy states. Here are results from a fact sheet we are sending up to Capitol Hill, where the U.S. Senate will vote tomorrow on the Bingaman Renewable Energy Standard amendment:

WIND ENERGY:
THE MOST HOME-GROWN AMERICAN ENERGY SOURCE

Wind energy is currently produced in more states than any conventional electric power fuel source.

All states currently import and export energy sources such as coal and natural gas, to meet each state’s energy needs.

Nearly 40 states currently import natural gas and coal from other states. Under a National 15% [Renewable Energy Standard], some states may have to import renewable energy from other states. However, most states have some indigenous renewable energy sources including wind, solar, biomass and geothermal. States that do not produce sufficient renewable energy have the option of securing market credits to meet renewable energy goals.

Wind and other renewable resources are domestically produced energy sources. The U.S. currently imports 3% of our coal, 19% of our natural gas, and 80% of our uranium from foreign nations.

Four states produce uranium, 28 import it;
25 states produce coal, 39 import it;
32 states produce natural gas, 38 import it;
35 states produce wind power, 10-20 import it.

(In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy found in a 1991 study of wind resources nationwide that 9 additional states, besides the 35 currently producing some wind power, have sufficient wind resources for commercial production, making the total number of potential and actual wind producers 44 of 50 states.)

The Senate will vote tomorrow on the Bingaman amendment. If you support this first meaningful step to fight global warming, contact your Senator's office through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and let him/her know you support the Bingaman Renewable Energy Standard. Or go to powerofwind.com.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-16T23:18:00.000-04:00

The Wind Power Storage Myth

It seems so intuitive, so right: everyone knows from direct experience that the wind is variable, and so it really can't be a serious energy source without some form of storage, can it?

Of all of the myths about wind power (of which anti-wind folks, with their covert allies and backers in competing energy industries, are inventing new, creative additions daily), this one is probably the oldest and most difficult to stamp out. Only today, many news sources carried a summary by Reuters energy reporter Timothy Gardner of a new book, Lights Out, by Jason Makansi. The summary includes the following quote:

Wind power won't take off unless there's more investment in how to store the energy, according to Makansi.

I suppose it all depends on what you mean by "take off." Wind power generates a bit less than 1% of U.S. electricity today (it should cross the 1% line by the end of this year), so for me, "taking off" would mean getting to 10% or 20%, in the general range that natural gas (17%) and nuclear power (20%) generate today. Maybe Makansi has something higher in mind--setting an unrealistic bar is one of the easiest ways to belittle a new technology. But anyway . . .

Storage is not, repeat not, required for a significant expansion of wind power from its current level to a level 10 or 20 times as great, at which point it will be a major contributor to U.S. electricity supply. Variability of wind is best addressed by utilities in the same way they address variability in current generation and load, which is to control certain resources to match aggregate load. All existing resources occasionally shut down with no notice, and these forced outages require backup and reserves. Wind is only different in that its output changes are more gradual and can be greater in magnitude, and that is not necessarily more difficult to manage. Storage might be cost-effective for power system operators some day in the future, but is generally not cost-effective today, and is not required, either for conventional resources or for wind. As the U.S. Department of Energy puts it in an excellent short publication, Wind Energy Myths:

The utility system is . . . designed to accommodate load fluctuations, which occur continuously. This feature also facilitates accommodation of wind plant output fluctuations. In Denmark, Northern Germany, and parts of Spain, wind supplies 20% to 40% of electric loads without sacrificing reliability. When wind is added to a utility system, no new backup is required to maintain system reliability.

Ironically, Makansi's main theme is to flog something that is perfectly true: the fact that America's electricity transmission system is aging and inadequate and in desperate need of an overhaul. This is ironic because more transmission is exactly what is needed for the power system to handle more wind--the wind is always blowing somewhere, so shipping the wind-generated electricity from where it is being produced to where it can be used is key to using it as cheaply and effectively as possible.

Those who wish to dig more deeply into this topic will find an excellent collection of resources at the Utility Wind Integration Group site.

This is not to say that more storage would be bad: one of the truly exciting possibilities on the horizon is plug-in hybrid autos, which would allow wind power not just to supply electricity, but to replace a sizable chunk of the oil our nation uses for transportation. But we don't need more storage to use much more wind for electricity generation. Period.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-16T15:38:00.000-04:00

Renewable Energy: The Regional Debate

The U.S. Senate is currently debating a National Renewable Energy Standard. Under an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, electric utilities would be required to obtain a growing percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources (biomass, geothermal, new hydro, solar, wind), with the percentage reaching 15% by 2020.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Bingaman amendment would be Congress's first major action to address the growing issue of global warming, Senate Republicans are blocking it by threatening a filibuster (meaning that 60 votes would be needed to pass it rather than a majority.) During the debate, much was made of the argument that some states are not windy, and would therefore be disadvantaged by the Bingaman amendment, and that it would "shift wealth" from one region to another. For example, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said, "We cannot ignore the reality that some regions of the country cannot meet the [standard]. Since they cannot produce it, they’ll have to pay a fine, a pretty whopping penalty."

It's an interesting and compelling point, if true. Would a Renewable Energy Standard really introduce a sweeping change into the way that energy is currently produced and distributed in the U.S.? Consider:

Most if not all states import fuel--coal from other states; natural gas from other states, Canada and overseas; uranium, ditto; oil from overseas (yes, some imported oil is indeed used to generate electricity, mostly in New England and Hawaii).

"Importing" wind--a domestic "fuel"--from state to state (via transmission lines) will benefit the whole country (due to reduced imports of natural gas and oil from overseas), and is not a departure from current practice on behalf of other fuels.

A very preliminary (all we have had time for so far) look at state-by-state distribution of commercial energy production reveals the following:

32 states have commercial wind installations (and at least one more will soon)
32 states have natural gas production
28 states have petroleum production
25 states have coal
3 states have uranium

Thus, wind is actually one of the most widely distributed natural resources. Also, it appears that huge transfers of wealth are no problem for opponents of the Bingaman amendment, as long as they are already happening--only modest future transfers that might run in some different direction need to be stamped out.

We’ve made investments to move natural gas, coal and uranium across state lines and, in some cases (e.g., building transmission lines to so-called "mine-mouth" electric power plants that are built next to coal mines), to use the fuel on location. Likewise, wind is a resource we should encourage all states to use.

(In addition, all of the Southeastern states that have poor wind resources have excellent biomass energy potential, according to the U.S. Department of Energy--but that's another story.)

The Bingaman amendment may come up soon for a vote in the Senate. If you support this first meaningful step to fight global warming, contact your Senator's office through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and let him/her know you support the Bingaman Renewable Energy Standard. Or go to powerofwind.com.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

Senate Republicans Block Renewable Energy

Senate Republicans have threatened to filibuster against the Bingaman Renewable Energy Standard amendment. With the polls showing very strong, indeed overwhelming, support for clean alternative energy sources and for action against global warming, it's hard to understand this position. Nearly half of all states (24) have similar renewable energy standards already, and some have even passed new laws increasing the percentages of renewable energy required.

The Bingaman Renewable Energy Standard would:

Reduce global warming pollution from electric power plants;

Create brand new manufacturing industries with thousands of new jobs;

Revitalize rural communities through the increased tax base and payments to landowners that wind and other renewable energy projects bring;

Help meet America's steadily growing electricity demand;

Save consumers more than $100 billion through 2026.

If you support this first meaningful step to fight global warming, contact your Senator's office through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and let him/her know you support the Bingaman Renewable Energy Standard. Or go to powerofwind.com.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-13T20:15:00.000-04:00

Costs of a Renewable Portfolio Standard?

Marlo Lewis of the Competitive Enterprise Institute complains that the Energy Information Administration has found that the Bingaman Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) would cost consumers a net of $18 billion through the year 2030.

It should be noted that a similar analysis in March by Wood Mackenzie, a respected oil & gas research firm, found that the same RPS provision would save consumers more than $100 billion through 2026. From the Wood Mackenzie press release:

According to the report, the adoption of a 15% Federal RPS will require a flood of new wind and other renewable projects well beyond current proposed projects, leading to a 500-percent increase in renewable capacity from current levels by 2026. This increase translates into an incremental construction cost of $134 billion (2006 dollars) between 2006 and 2026. The report also shows the switch to renewable energy will drive down demand and price of natural gas. "The lower fuel costs and fossil fuel consumption will lead to lower electricity costs," continued Sannicandro. "Over the next 20 years, the Federal RPS case leads to a savings of $240 billion (2006 dollars) in wholesale power costs, outweighing the higher capital investment to build the additional capacity."

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-13T18:50:00.000-04:00

Close Vote Likely on Bingaman Renewable Energy Standard

Inside word on the Bingaman Renewable Portfolio Standard is that the vote will be very tight. If you support this concept, the time to weigh in is right now. You can reach any Senator's office through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. Further information here.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

Maple Ridge Wind Farm Bird Collisions Few

The latest of many avian studies at wind farms has been released, a heavy-duty look at bird and bat kills at the new Maple Ridge wind project in upstate New York. The results?

Bird collisions were very few in number, which is typical of U.S. wind farms. Regular searches around 50 wind turbines found 125 birds (not all necessarily killed by the turbines).

Only one raptor (bird of prey) was found, an American kestrel (a common species).

Bat mortality was higher and remains an issue. 326 bats were found, equating to roughly 10-15 per megawatt of generating capacity. This is fewer than at Appalachian sites in Pennsylvania and West Virginia where the bat problem appears to be centered, but definitely not negligible. (The wind energy industry, Bat Conservation International, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are partners in a multi-year research effort to understand the bat collision problem and find ways to reduce mortality. Currently, that program is aimed at testing a sonic deterrent to warn bats away from wind farms.)

No threatened or endangered bats found. This continues the pattern at U.S. wind sites.

The detailed language from the Maple Ridge report provides some very interesting insights:

People/agencies who reviewed the proposed scope of work [for the study] included staffers from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), Environmental Design and Research (EDR), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, developers (PPM and Horizon), and others. Representatives from some or all of these groups have been included in a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which has the responsibility of reviewing and commenting on progress reports, annual reports, and other updates from this project.

This is typical of wildlife studies at wind farm sites. Studies are often attacked by anti-wind groups on grounds that they are carried out by consulting firms that are supposedly pro-industry. However, a Technical Advisory Committee with government agency experts who have no vested interest is a common practice.

The methods used include searches under turbines in concert with studies of carcass removal rates (scavenging) and searcher efficiency rates.

Again typical: the firm conducting the study runs tests to determine how quickly birds and bats are removed from the site by predators and how good the individuals doing the ground searches are at finding dead animals.

The Maple Ridge project currently consists of 195 1.65-MW turbines, for a total of 322 MW of nameplate generating capacity. Each turbine is approximately 400 feet (122 meters) in height.

As with most turbine facilities across the United States, the numbers of fatalities of night migrants was fairly low at the Maple Ridge facility. Determining the exact number of night migrants is difficult, however, as the birds involved may be resident breeders. The numbers were especially small in comparison with fatality rates of these birds at tall, guyed communication towers in the Midwestern and eastern United States where fatalities sometimes involve hundreds or even thousands of birds in a single night or migration season.

Why are the numbers so low? We don't know for sure, but one major reason appears to be that turbines are lighted differently than communications towers: turbines have red flashing (strobe) lights, while communication towers also have steady-burning red lights. The steady-burning lights appear to attract migrating birds on foggy nights. Also, communications towers have miles of guy wire, a major hazard for disoriented birds circling a light, and are greater in height.

Those towers have two types of Federal Aviation Administration lighting (steady burning red L-810 and flashing red incandescent beacons – L-864), multiple sets of guy wires, and are almost always in excess of 500 feet (152 m). We conducted tests of night migrant incidents found at lit and unlit towers for both the 30 7-day search sites and the 10 1-day search sites . . . If the red flashing beacons attracted birds to turbines, a disproportionately greater number of these fatalities would have been found at turbines with lights and, or large-scale, multiple fatality events would have been observed. We did not see a clear relationship between the numbers of night migrant fatalities and the presence of L-864 red flashing beacons on turbines.

.

The Maple Ridge report also comments briefly on the question of whether bird collisions with wind turbines affect overall populations (total numbers) of bird species:

The eastern population of the Golden-crowned Kinglet, which was found most often during searches, is estimated to be decreasing across the US but stable or increasing in the Eastern US. (Table 21). Given the overall population level of this species (estimated 34 million birds), it is difficult to presume that collision mortality at the Maple Ridge [wind farm] has a significant adverse effect on population levels, even with respect to cumulative impacts of fatalities from many wind plants.

The population of the second most common find (Red-eyed vireo) is listed as increasing, with an estimated overall population level of 140 million. The only two species listed as significantly decreasing are the Red-winged Blackbird and the Common Grackle, both very common and wide ranging species.

Wind turbines remain the single most thoroughly studied of all sources of human-related bird mortality--see, for example, the WEST, Inc., wind/avian studies collection. Thousands of birds do die in collisions (with thousands of wind turbines) at wind farms across the U.S., but it is clear that wind farms remain an insignificant threat to birds, and that birds and wind power--even large amounts of wind power--can coexist. A recent National Academy of Sciences report found that in 2003, wind turbine kills amounted to less than .003% (three of every one hundred thousand) human-related bird deaths. At the same time:

A 2004 international scientific study concluded that one million species might be driven to extinction by global warming by the year 2050.

Wind energy is one of the technology "wedges" that other scientists have identified as being necessary to avoid this nightmare scenario.

Wind power also reduces air pollution, water pollution, mining and drilling--all of which have negative effects on wildlife.

Wind power challenges our ability to be numerate, to maintain perspective, to be rational and not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the very, very good. I believe how we deal with it will determine whether we are indeed up to the task of ending global warming.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-12T18:42:00.000-04:00

Wind Group Asks Support for RPS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 12, 2007 Contact:
Christine Real de Azua (202) 383-2508

STATEMENT BY THE AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION
ON A NATIONAL RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD (RPS)

AWEA urges Congress to enact strong Bingaman RPS,
oppose weakening Domenici Amendment

As the U.S. Congress takes up wide-ranging energy legislation, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) issued the following statement in support of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) proposed by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. Sen. Bingaman’s RPS would require that 15% of the country’s electricity come from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020.

“A strong RPS is an essential element of an effective national energy strategy: it can address the simultaneous challenges of growing electricity demand and climate change,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher.

Strike a real blow against global warming! Register your support for a strong RPS today!

“Wind energy technology is the single most cost-effective, zero-carbon energy option that we have available today. Our nation is also blessed with an abundance of solar and other renewable, zero-carbon energy sources. The Bingaman RPS provides the crucial long-term policy support that is needed for wind and all renewable energy technologies to become major contributors to electricity supply and solve the double challenge of global warming and growing electricity demand. Any attempts to weaken it should be opposed.”

There is broad support for a strong national RPS. A coalition including Fortune 500 companies, the United Steelworkers, and major environmental groups has sent a letter to Members of Congress urging adoption of a strong RPS.

AWEA opposes a proposal by Senator Pete Domenici, Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, that would undermine the RPS and introduce several serious loopholes. AWEA has sent a letter to Senate leaders respectfully urging a vote against it. The Domenici standard would weaken the RPS and:

* Authorize the Secretary of Energy to certify any form of energy as “clean;”
* Allow states to opt out of the bill’s requirements;
* Would continue a long history of playing politics with the climate issue.

AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. The association's membership includes turbine manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested individuals. More information on wind energy is available at the AWEA web site: www.awea.org.

# # #

2007-06-09T14:32:00.000-04:00

Wind Power and Land Use

Quick factoid: for wind power to provide 20% of U.S. electricity, roughly 33,000 square miles of land would be required. This is an amount of land equal to approximately one-third of Colorado, one-third of Wyoming, or one-fifth of Montana. Further, 95% to 98% of that 33,000 square miles would continue to be available for farming or ranching--the actual footprint of the wind turbines and supporting equipment (including service roads) is 2% to 5% of the land within a wind farm's boundary. Conclusion: availability of land, in gross terms, is not a constraint to onshore development of large amounts of wind power in the U.S.

2007-06-06T13:29:00.000-04:00

Natural Gas Prices Drift Higher; More Wind Needed

USA Today reports today that natural gas prices are edging higher:

The cost at the pump isn't the only high gas price nowadays.

Sparked by worries about hot weather and a busy hurricane season, natural gas prices have jumped in the last week to the highest since December. Tuesday, the price for natural gas trading in New York for delivery in July closed at $8.064 per million British thermal units. Although that was slightly lower than the previous day's close, it was 25% above the price seen a year ago.

For consumers, the higher natural gas prices mean heating costs could be elevated this winter for the most popular heating source in the USA if the gains hold. Increased natural gas prices also could lead to higher electricity costs later this summer to power air conditioners, because a large amount of electricity is generated with natural gas.

Generating electricity with wind power helps to conserve natural gas and also exerts some downward pressure on natural gas prices, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Natural gas generators can be "turned up and down" rapidly, one of the primary way utilities cope with varying customer electricity demand throughout the day, and so they are also the easiest to adjust when clean wind power is being delivered to the utility system. Also, the oldest and dirtiest gas generators are usually the most expensive to run, and the first to be turned down or off when wind power is being produced.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-06T12:41:00.000-04:00

Department of Interior Opposes Anti-Wind Provision of Rahall Bill

The U.S. Department of the Interior weighed in yesterday on the anti-wind-power section of legislation sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall II and currently pending before the committee.

Said the Department's letter in part,

Subtitle D. Ensuring Safety of Wildlife With Respect to Wind Energy.

We recommend subtitle D be deleted.

Sections 231 through 235 would require the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Fish and Wildlife Service, to promultate regulations that establish minimum standards for siting, construction, monitoring, and adaptive management that must be satisfied by all wind projects to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts on migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife. The regulations would need to be promulgated within 180 days after enactment of H.R. 2337. We agree it is important that wind power facilities seek to minimize and mitigate adverse impacts on migratory birds, bats and other wildlife. In fact, the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and other federal statutes must be complied with. However, the Department of the Interior opposes this subtitle as its enactment would be premature.

On March 13, 2007, the Secretary of the Interior announced the Formation of a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Committee, the Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee, to look at the very issues raised under Section 231. The FACA Committee consists of a broad group of representatives, including those from State and Federal agencies, environmental groups, and industry organizations. They will be carefully considering all of the issues related to wind energy facilities and making recommendations whether the guidelines can be voluntary, mandatory, or may require regulations. Therefore, we believe it is premature for Congress to legislate this process and instead we would like Congress to allow the FACA process to move forward.

If you would like to learn more about Subtitle D, which would basically stop the wind industry dead in its tracks for 6 months to as long as three years by making it a federal crime to generate clean wind energy without a permit from the federal government, go here. To take action to oppose this ill-advised legislation, go here.

Regards,
Tom

2007-06-06T11:54:00.000-04:00

Utilities Talk More Wind

Airtricity Chairman Pat Wood, moderator of the "Utility Leadership in Wind Energy Development" session at the WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition

Utilities are turning to wind—even as the “centerpiece of their portfolio” in some cases—because customers want it and policy calls for it, said utility and industry officials at the WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition on Tuesday.

The opening session at WINDPOWER 2007, “Utility Leadership in Wind Energy Development,” brought together officials from both investor-owned and municipal utilities, in addition to the Bonneville Power Administration. Rounding out the panel was California Independent System Operator President and CEO Yakout Mansour.

“Across the country, the utility embrace of wind power is now a national phenomenon,” said Airtricity Chairman Pat Wood, a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the panel’s moderator. Wood set the stage for the discussion by pointing out that utilities, the entities that ultimately deliver the power to the end user, are a crucial piece of the wind equation. “If the utility industry . . . is not engaged in this effort, we can’t go anywhere,” he said.

Thankfully, many utilities are engaged—for one, Xcel Energy, the No. 1 provider of wind energy to customers in the U.S. The utility will have 2,800 MW in wind capacity for its customers by the end of 2007, said Paul Bonavia, president of Xcel Energy’s utilities group. That number will rise to 6,000 MW by 2020, he said. “We listen to our customers, and they’re telling us this is something that they want and value,” he said. “We would rather take our bet on technologies of the future than on technologies of the past.”

That commitment to the customers is what drives utilities, who are primarily concerned with such issues as reliability and the rates they must charge customers. Bonneville Power Administration Administrator Stephen Wright, who referenced a recent study in which the organization was involved concluding that 6,000 MW of wind is “technically feasible,” expressed concern over the large amount of load growth taking place in several regions of the country at a time when resource constraints are increasing. “We need the wind industry to work with us to make sure we don’t have a reliability crisis and we don’t have a rate crisis,” he said.

The need for new generation resources was echoed by Yakout Mansour, who as the president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator is involved in the state’s quest to achieve its recently enacted ambitious renewable portfolio standard goals. In a mere five years, he said, the state will need to add over 7,000 MW of renewable energy capacity. “I need your help, I need it badly, and I need it now,” he told the audience.

Utility officials were eager to use the forum as an opportunity to communicate such perspectives and needs. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which owns its own wind, is looking for ways to add more wind onto its system through diversifying geographically (its turbines are primarily in one area) and other means. A “wish list” from Sacramento Municipal Utility District General Manager Jan Schori included improved forecasting, a sentiment echoed by Wright. Day-ahead forecasting, Schori said, is “not that good right now.” She also said she would like to see longer warranty and service agreements on turbines and equipment, which she said are more common in Europe. “We need you to think more like a utility,” she said.

Schori also expressed a common theme at WINDPOWER 2007: “We all need to cooperate on the transmission problem.”

As participants acknowledged the needs and challenges ahead, one theme that emerged was how several utilities—namely, those represented on the panel—now consider wind a key piece of their generation mix. Bonavia called wind “the centerpiece of our portfolio.” Asked how more utilities might become more comfortable with adding wind onto their systems, Bonavia said, “We need to have success stories.”

--from the American Wind Energy Association's Wind Energy Weekly, special WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition Daily Edition.

2007-06-05T15:41:00.000-04:00

Daschle, Industry Leaders: Global Warming Will Increasingly Push Wind Power Industry

The wind power industry can become a key contributor to the electricity resource mix, but it’s going to take stable and long-term policy to get there, said a lineup of WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition panelists that included top industry executives along with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Speaking at a general session on expanding the wind industry, the panel—verbalizing the overall buzz at WINDPOWER 2007, which surpassed 6,500 attendees on its first full day—said that wind and renewables stand poised for major breakthroughs in terms of growth and penetration. Daschle said the renewables industry has the potential to have the “same economic impact as the dot-com revolution.” He called for a long-term extension of the production tax credit and a federal renewable portfolio standard—two specific policies that will likely be taken up in Congress in the coming weeks and months.

The panel consensus was that, as Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, said, “Climate change will increasingly be the determining factor” in terms of policy affecting wind energy. The public, panelists said, is coming to understand the necessity of addressing global warming and the importance of renewables; however, members of the panel said, the industry needs to do even more in communicating this message. “I think one of our priorities has to be to make this case to the public,” said Robert Lukefahr, president, Power Americas at BP Alternative Energy.

As an executive with BP, Lukefahr offered a perspective of the broader energy industry, saying that achieving 20% wind penetration seems “nearly impossible” but that it actually is achievable, especially when considering the energy industry’s history of reaching large-scale goals. One example: in the mid 1970s, the oil industry was limited to drilling in water depths of 500 feet; now it drills approximately five miles down.

Regarding global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, Steven Chalk, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency at the U.S. Department of Energy, said it is imperative that the nation scale up in wind power and other renewables. “Energy efficiency is not going to get us to our goals,” he said. Agreeing with Chalk, Lukefahr illustrated the point by saying that if all the automobiles in the world ran on hydrogen, greenhouse gas emissions would still rise because of the huge role power plants play in contributing to the problem.

On the technology side, GE Energy Vice President of Renewable Energy Vic Abate said that ramping up to 20% wind will involve a “multi-generational product plan.” He projects a 15% increase in capacity factor on new turbines, although the overall fleet of turbines in use in the U.S. naturally will vary in technology because of their varying ages. That’s a natural evolution, he said, likening it to advances in fossil-fuel plants between the 1950s and now.

2007-06-05T11:12:00.000-04:00

Governors, Mayor Help Kick Off WINDPOWER 2007 with Bold Vision for Wind

Two governors, a former Senate majority leader, the mayor of Los Angeles, and a host of top industry leaders on Monday kicked off the WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition by saying wind energy—with the right governmental policies—is one of the key solutions to global warming.

AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher set the stage for the morning’s dialogue, sharing the industry’s vision for 20% of the nation’s electricity needs to come from wind by 2030—an initiative that the industry, AWEA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other stakeholders spent the last year working on after first unveiling it at WINDPOWER 2006 in Pittsburgh, Pa. “That’s a bold vision. It’s not a forecast, but it’s a plausible scenario,” said Swisher. “It requires a transformation of the industry.”

Swisher, along with panelists at the general session that followed (see related story below), underscored the challenges of achieving such a vision. In order to reach the 20% benchmark, policy support, such as the federal production tax credit (PTC) and a federal renewable portfolio standard, would need to be long-term and stable, enabling the industry’s value chain to be augmented and made more efficient. A 20% level of wind penetration, which would mean installing over 300 gigawatts in capacity, also requires building the necessary transmission infrastructure to carry wind power from wind-rich areas to load centers.

As part of the 20% initiative, American Electric Power developed a map of what a transmission system might look like with 20% wind penetration. The cost to build such an infrastructure would be $60 billion, AEP concluded. (Regardless of the role wind plays, the nation’s transmission infrastructure is in need of major upgrade.)

Swisher also said that for wind to realize its potential, geographically large electricity markets and regional transmission organizations such as the PJM Interconnection would need to be the norm, thus maximizing wind’s strengths while minimizing its variable nature. Other challenges, said Swisher, include the need to streamline the siting and permitting processes.

“We realize that it’s not going to be easy, but I think the industry is ready to play,” he said.

Governors Brian Schweitzer (D-Mont.) and Chet Culver (D-Iowa) both extolled the economic benefits of wind power and spoke of the renewable resource in terms of the energy security that it fosters. “It’s good business, it’s big business, and it’s good for Montana’s economy,” said Schweitzer.

The Montana governor showed his understanding of the integral part transmission plays in wind’s growth, referencing the proposed Montana-Alberta Tie Line project as well as the Northern Lights line, which would link Montana wind power with the major load centers of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nev., and Phoenix, Ariz.

Culver was equally enthusiastic and knowledgeable, speaking of the three wind industry manufacturers that have planted roots in his state, the most recent one being Acciona, which just broke ground on its facility in Iowa. “I believe the key to this new 21 st century expedition begins with renewable energy, and especially wind power, and that’s why I’m here today,” said Culver.

U.S. Representative Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) was an appropriate and noteworthy part of the lineup because of his background in the wind energy industry and commitment to renewables in Congress. In addition to underscoring the importance of such policies as the PTC, McNerney reminisced on how the industry has grown since his early days in the business. He said the turnout at WINDPOWER 2007, expected to approach 7,000 attendees, “shows not only the enthusiasm but the energy of this industry.”

The Los Angeles setting for WINDPOWER 2007 is particularly appropriate because of the city’s commitment to green power and the environment under the leadership of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D). The city will get 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2010, the mayor said, and also has a goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35% below 1990 levels by 2030. “Very few issues have greater meaning for the future of the city of Los Angeles,” said the mayor.

--from the American Wind Energy Association's Wind Energy Weekly, special WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition Daily Edition.

2007-06-04T20:27:00.000-04:00

AWEA Announces Careers in Wind Job Board

AWEA is pleased to announce the Careers in Wind Job Board, the first online career destination dedicated exclusively to the wind energy industry.

The Careers in Wind Job Board allows employers to:

Post and manage job opportunities

Reach qualified candidates

Search resumes

Use templates for multiple postings

Job Seekers can:

Post resumes

Search/browse job listings

Create job alerts to find matching opportunities

To celebrate the release of the Careers in Wind Job Board, AWEA is offering employers a 50% discount on job listings, now through June 8th. Place your listing(s) today, to take advantage of this special introductory offer.

Visit the Careers in Wind Job Board at: www.awea.org/resources/career_center .

2007-06-04T17:42:00.000-04:00

Awards at WINDPOWER 2007 Highlight Wind Energy's Emergence into Mainstream

The American Wind Energy Association will recognize corporate and industry leaders, national policymakers, experts, and renewable energy advocates at the WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition, in Los Angeles, Calif., June 4-6.

WINDPOWER is now the world’s largest annual wind energy conference and trade show.

“The wind energy industry is delighted to honor business and industry leaders, lawmakers, advocates, and many others for their dedication and leadership in the development of wind power,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “By advancing wind power, these leaders are advancing an essential element of the solution to global warming and helping power a cleaner, stronger America.”

The following honorees will be recognized:

Corporate Leadership: Starbucks. For leadership in using as much as 20% renewable energy to power the company’s operations. Starbucks shows by example that good environmental practices and good business aren’t mutually exclusive.

Technical Achievement: Dick Piwko, Nick Miller, Gary Jordan, and Kara Clark, GE Energy, wind integration study team. For significant contributions to understanding the technical and economic aspects of utility wind integration through their analytical work on wind integration in New York, California and Canada.

Achievement in Operations: Jamie Thompson, Horizon Wind Energy ( Blue Canyon I & II). For developing successful, effective working relationships with landowners, customer utilities and service contractors, and for maximizing plant performance through highly sophisticated use of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, high voltage system, and knowledge of the plants’ wind turbines.

Industry Person of the Year: Jim Walker, enXco. For his vision and efforts to help the wind industry move forward in two areas of significance: (1) getting ahead of the wind/wildlife siting challenges curve, and (2) establishing a wind industry road map.

Wind Energy Advocacy: Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT). For playing an important leadership role in victories for renewable energy over the last 15 years, including a California Renewables Portfolio Standard, resolution of avian siting issues in Altamont (California), acquisition of renewable energy by the city of Los Angeles, breakthrough on transmission issues, and progressive climate change initiatives.

Special Achievement: Andy Linehan, PPM Energy. For gifted advocacy and leadership in responsibly permitting and siting wind projects, and actively contributing to the development of new voluntary guidelines and siting policies across the U.S.

Commercial Achievement: AWEA member companies Gamesa Energia, Clipper Windpower, Suzlon Wind Energy, DMI Industries, LM Glasfiber and TPI Composites. For their efforts to increase the manufacturing of wind turbines in the U.S. The new facilities these companies have opened and are planning demonstrate that wind power development is a vital and fast-growing source of new jobs here in the U.S.

Congressional Leadership:

Senator Charles Grassley: For outstanding leadership in support of wind energy and the wind energy production tax credit (PTC). Senator Grassley (R-Iowa) is recognized as the “father” of this effective and popular credit.

Senator Harry Reid: For excellence in leadership in support of wind and other renewable technologies. Senator Reid (D-Nev.) has been a strong and consistent champion of renewable energy and helped ensure passage of a renewables portfolio standard in the Senate in 2005.

Senator Max Baucus: For steadfast leadership in support of windand other renewable technologies. Senator Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is advocating a long-term extension of the PTC.

Lifetime Achievement - Dr. Forrest (Woody) Stoddard: (Already awarded.) To a visionary leader, teacher, and pioneer, in recognition of years of outstanding industry leadership and support.

2007-06-04T12:12:00.000-04:00

AWEA Executive Director Welcomes WINDPOWER 2007 Attendees

Welcome to Los Angeles and the WINDPOWER 2007 Conference & Exhibition!

On behalf of the AWEA Board of Directors and staff, I hope you find this week an invaluable ‘window’ on the state of the wind industry. We are excited about the industry’s future and believe that this week’s events can help build a foundation for sustained growth for decades to come.

We are gathered in Los Angeles around a theme of compelling interest to AWEA members – “Growing the Wind Business” – and many of the presentations will be focused on exploring that theme. What are the challenges we must confront if we are to sustain the industry’s record growth? What are the steps we must take today to ensure that the industry has steady growth for decades to come? What are the public benefits that would accrue from a wind industry that is 20 times larger than today’s industry?

Last year, President Bush recognized that this industry has the potential to provide as much as 20% of the nation’s electricity. We’ve taken the President’s statement as an invitation to look closely at just how much potential this industry has as well as the steps we would need to take to achieve that potential.

We are experiencing another record year in 2007, and the size of this event reflects the substantial growth of the industry. The U.S. was the largest single market for wind in the world in 2005 and 2006, and, with continued policy support, we expect strong demand in this country for years to come. Not surprisingly, given the industry growth, WINDPOWER 2007 will be our largest conference in history, with more than 6,500 attendees gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The exhibition is especially impressive, with 419 exhibitors expected—a 40% increase in the size of the exhibition compared to last year’s record event! For those of you that are veterans of the industry, think back a decade or so to earlier AWEA trade shows and be amazed at how far the wind industry has come in such a short time. I want to thank our exhibitors for making such a significant investment of their time and resources, and pledge to you our commitment to work to ensure that this week is worth every minute of your time.

As the scope of this event has grown, it has become an increasingly complex management challenge. On the program side, we were faced with an enormous stack of thoughtfully constructed abstracts from many expert presenters, and the great majority of the abstracts would have been a positive contribution to the agenda. Unfortunately, there was no way to make room for them all, but the strong interest in participating is a major contribution to the quality of the event.

The Conference Program Committee was led by two very strong and capable Co-Chairs – Adam Umanoff of Chadbourne & Parke, LLP, on the business side, and Bob Zavadil of Enernex Corp., on the technical side. Adam and Bob assembled a well-qualified Program Committee representing a wide range of expertise and spent an entire day with the Committee reviewing abstracts and building the strongest possible program. As you will be able to tell, the process worked. Thanks to Adam and Bob for doing an amazing job as Program Chairs for this impressive event.

I would also like to single out AWEA’s Conference and Education Department—directed by Stephen Miner, and including Stefanie Brown, Sakura Emerine, Lori Rugh, Marissa Bundy, Monica Wolfe, and Michael Swinburne—for the countless hours they have invested in making this the best possible conference it can be. They have succeeded in staying on top of a growing number of details and have really taken this conference to the next level of professionalism. I want to express my appreciation to them and to every member of the AWEA staff for the huge effort that was required to bring this event together.

Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to our sponsors for this event, who are listed in this program. Special thanks go to our Giga-Watt level sponsors: NRG Systems, GE Energy, and Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP. The support from these companies and all of our other sponsors has allowed us to enhance the conference in a variety of ways for your benefit.

Thanks to all of you for joining us here in Los Angeles and welcome to WINDPOWER 2007!

Randall Swisher
Executive Director
American Wind Energy Association

2007-06-01T21:55:00.000-04:00

Deep Information on U.S. Wind Market

Ryan Wiser and Mark Bolinger of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have released their first annual report on the U.S. wind power market (with a summary PowerPoint). Great stuff, full of insightful statistics and observations. I'll mention just a few to whet your appetite:

Wind power amounted to 19% of the new nameplate electric generating capacity added in the U.S. in 2006, second only to natural gas as a new power source.

The U.S. ranked first in the world in new wind capacity installed in 2006 at 2,454 MW. In total cumulative wind capacity, however, the U.S. (11,575 MW) still trails well behind Germany (20,652 MW) and a hair behind Spain (11,614 MW). (My guess is that we will pass Spain, at least temporarily, by the end of this year.)

India ranked third in the world in new wind capacity last year with 1,840 MW.

The U.S. share of new installations in the world has hovered between 10% and 20% for the past two years, up nicely from the miserable days of the 1990s, but far below the early 1980s, when our market share was 100% in some years. (My opinion: We really had the chance to dominate this emerging industry, and systematically blew it due to the failed federal energy policies of the 1980s.)

The percentage of electricity consumption that Denmark generates from wind (21.4%) is more than 20 times as high as the U.S. (0.9%).

All this and much, much more in a first-rate piece of work that is an indispensable tool for anyone wanting to learn more about this industry. For previous market reports from the American Wind Energy Association and Global Wind Energy Council see "Global Market Reports" here.

2007-05-30T21:10:00.000-04:00

Religious Activist's Agenda Includes Wind

See Grist magazine for an interview with green religious leader Rabbi Warren G. Stone of Temple Emanuel in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Rabbi Stone notes in part:

I am tremendously proud of the work that my congregation has done. To describe only some of what has been accomplished: Temple Emanuel has had many years of energy audits, we developed environmental policies passed by our board, added solar panels for our "Eternal Light," use wind power, and recycle. We have built with sustainable building materials, created energy-efficient zones, added a biblical garden, and built a symbolic and beautiful sanctuary based on the banyan tree. We have developed interfaith programs in the D.C. community, taken our students on trips to the Chesapeake, and involved them in numerous cleanups and other environmental projects. We have become a "zero carbon footprint" community as well.

Not a bad checklist for any religious community that wants to focus on stewardship of God's creation.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-30T08:42:00.000-04:00

Wind-Powered Pizza Leads Green Business Wave

Yesterday's Baltimore Sun includes an AP wire story on Galactic Pizza, a Minnesota pizza delivery firm that features electric cars and buys wind power.

Galactic Pizza emphasizes environmental sustainability and protection in its business practices, uses organic and locally grown ingredients when possible, and donates a small portion of its profit to hunger relief and other charities.

"I wanted to do good for people, I wanted to not, at the very least, be a burden on society and try to even contribute to it," said Pete Bonahoom, Galactic Pizza's 29-year-old owner.

Excellent short article, check it out. Additional resource: the Center for Small Business and the Environment.

Readers who wish to buy wind power to cover their own energy needs can do so. If you don't feel that you can afford to go 100% wind, a very inexpensive option is to buy 10% or 20%. For the average household, the cost will be 5-10 cents a day . . .

For info on green power suppliers, see "Your Electric Choices" at www.green-e.org.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-29T17:40:00.000-04:00

Designing for the World's Poor

This post is not about wind power--so sue me. About the only tangential connection I can think of is that, as with wind power, it involves doing the right thing as opposed to following the herd.

Today's New York Times has an excellent short article on a museum with an exhibit showing examples of products that have been designed to meet the needs of the world's hundreds of millions of poor people, rather than the fashion desires of a wealthy few. Favorable reference is made to KickStart, whose Web site says in part:

KickStart is a non-profit organization that develops and markets new technologies in Africa. These low-cost technologies are bought by local entrepreneurs and used to establish highly profitable new small businesses. They create new jobs and wealth, enabling the poor to climb out of their poverty forever.

Another innovative approach with similar goals is offered by Kiva.org, which uses Web technology to enhance and personalize micro-lending to entrepreneurs in developing countries.

I've added both of these groups to this site's list of links and encourage you to check them out.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-29T12:19:00.001-04:00

Coal Is the Answer?

U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) writes thoughtfully about U.S. dependence on foreign oil at Ocala.com, coming to the conclusion that coal-to-liquids technologies are the answer:

There are many other steps that must be taken: hydrogen cells, solar and wind power, geothermal energy, conservation and clean fuel technologies.

However, given our massive reserves of coal, we need to put this abundance toward reducing our dependency on imported oil. This will greatly enhance our national and economic security.

Stearns bases this view on the assessment that U.S. coal reserves total some 275 billion tons, calling for a Manhattan or Apollo project to take advantage of this huge resource.

Interestingly, a reasonable guesstimate for U.S. wind resources is that they are sufficient to generate 15-20 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. How much coal would be needed to generate that much electricity for one year? Roughly 10 billion tons. Clearly, our wind resources are also massive and deserve equal attention, rather than to be dismissed as a relatively trivial footnote to coal.

Also, missing from Stearns' analysis: any mention of global warming. Probably good thinking on his part--my guess is that the carbon dioxide emissions from the production and then combustion of coal-based liquids would be quite high.

If it were not for global warming concerns, certainly, the idea of any domestic substitute for imported oil would be attractive. For a totally different big-picture approach, see V2G, or Vehicle-to-Grid, Power. I think of it as plug-in hybrids on steroids.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-29T07:56:00.000-04:00

Oregon's RPS Termed 'Historic'

The Eugene (Ore.) Register-Guard for May 27 has a strongly positive article on the state's newly approved renewable portfolio standard, saying in part:

By a surprisingly lopsided 41-19 vote, the House approved a bill that requires Oregon's biggest utilities, including the Eugene Water & Electric Board, to generate 25 percent of their power by 2025 from renewable energy sources. The Senate passed a similar version of the bill last month, and is expected to quickly endorse the House changes and send the measure to Gov. Ted Kulongoski to be signed into law.

Oregonians should be proud of this historic legislation, which should help limit carbon emissions while at the same time promoting alternative energy and boosting the state's economy. The proposal's scope and complexity, along with the initial wariness of powerful utility and business interests, made its passage anything but a foregone conclusion.

As I have commented elsewhere, hopefully "business interests" will come to see that this type of legislation is in their best interest, because (1) it helps to stabilize energy prices (wind power, which likely will provide a major chunk of the electricity from renewable sources, uses no fuel and is therefore immune to fuel price spikes on world markets); and (2) it reduces the risk of future carbon emissions regulation and/or taxation.

Congratulations to Oregon! That's a standard of 25% of electricity supply from renewable energy sources by 2025.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-28T11:00:00.000-04:00

How to Fix Wind Power?

Nick Aster at TriplePundit offers a useful quick summary of an article in Popular Mechanics on "How to Fix Wind Power." I enjoyed the article, which I think is a definite cut above average.

With respect to the obstacles, a few comments (quoting Nick here):

1) Cost of transmission lines from relatively remote locations where wind is best. Solution: Small, local turbines, including personal sized ones that augment the grid with diffuse power generation and negligible transmission costs.

Transmission certainly is a major issue that has to be sorted out in the U.S., not only for wind, but for other electricity sources and to strengthen reliability of the entire utility system. This is a long-standing problem for the electricity industry that is gradually making its way higher on the U.S. energy policy agenda. "Small local turbines" sounds appealing, but while small wind turbines definitely have an important role to play in energy supply, they don't really work when one is talking about, say, providing a sizable chunk of New York City's electricity with wind.

2) The inevitable windless day. Solution: Hook up generators to batteries that store electricity for peak demand and low wind conditions.

Storage is tempting as a panacea. However, most utility systems in the U.S. have little need for specific storage dedicated to wind, and such dedication would dramatically increase the cost of wind. On windless days, utilities use other power sources, just as they do when, for example, a nuclear power plant is producing zero electricity due to scheduled maintenance. With regard to wind's variable output, a simpler answer is already provided above--more transmission lines and linkages. This boosts overall reliability while making balancing problems easier all round.

3) Difficulty of offshore construction. Solution: This is a tricky one, involving technology that's not yet here at as-yet unknown costs.

Offshore construction is definitely something that needs to be addressed. America's onshore wind resource is huge and we can do a lot with it, but to take clean energy to the maximum, offshore wind must be a component. Here's more info on a great recent study on offshore wind in the mid-Atlantic states.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-28T09:05:00.000-04:00

Broad Alliance Backs Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)

A wide-ranging coalition of more than 180 organizations, including wind companies (the obvious usual suspects) but also powerhouse corporations (Google and GE), labor (United Steelworkers), environmental groups (Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, U.S. PIRG, Sierra Club), faith groups (Union for Reform Judaism, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA), farm groups (Rocky Mountain Farmers Union) and more, lined up last week in support of a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) (also sometimes referred to as Renewable Electricity Standard, or RES). The groups sent a joint letter to U.S. Senate leaders urging adoption of strong RPS legislation as part of an energy bill that will soon come up for debate on the Senate floor.

You can express your support for the RPS through a new action Web site that includes a link to the full text of the letter and its signers.

In other related news, the American Wind Energy Association has kicked off a radio ad campaign that will focus on several states whose Senators have not yet declared their support for an RPS. You can hear a sample ad here.

For even further reference, many RPS resources are available at Endangered Spaces.

2007-05-27T16:41:00.000-04:00

Wind Turbines and Air Pollution

(Sorry for backing up here: this is something that deserves lengthy treatment, and the long holiday weekend in the U.S. finally provides the time I needed.)

Christopher Mitchell at the blog Energista does a good job of commenting on a Matt Wald story in the May 4 New York Times entitled "Wind Farms May Not Lower Air Pollution, Study Suggests." You can view the entire Wald story here.

Some additional comments:

Wind Farms May Not Lower Air Pollution, Study Suggests
By MATTHEW L. WALD

WASHINGTON, May 3 - Building thousands of wind turbines would probably not reduce the pollutants that cause smog and acid rain, but it would slow the growth in emissions of heat-trapping gases, according to a study released Thursday by the National Academy of Sciences.

This headline and lead are very strange, because neither of these findings appears to be news. The reason wind power, in theory, won't reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides is that nationwide emissions of these pollutants is limited by law--no matter how many wind turbines are installed, the limit doesn't change. As Christopher Mitchell points out, though, since wind generators emit no pollutants, more wind should mean that the cost of complying with the limits is reduced. The limits on sulfur dioxide were part of the Clean Air Act of 1990, so this is a 17-year-old story.

With respect to carbon dioxide, the primary "heat-trapping gas," there are no limits, and so more wind generation does indeed reduce CO2 emissions.

So why the peculiar lead and headline?

Even the scale of local damage from wind farms is unclear. Bats and raptors are thought to be the animals most threatened by wind turbines because they reproduce more slowly. But scientists base estimates on fairly primitive methods, like counting animal carcasses nearby and hoping that few have been carried off by animals, said Paul G. Risser, chairman of the academy's study.

I'm not sure I'd call this "primitive." It's the standard method that is used by wildlife biologists to study and report on bird (or bat) mortality caused by collisions with structures of all types, such as communications towers, buildings, and even automobiles. Typically, estimates of "predation" (carcasses being carried off by animals) are developed at each site by leaving carcasses on the ground and seeing how swiftly they are removed. These estimates (for example, 25% removed within a week) are then included when the scientists conducting the study extrapolate a range of total mortality from the dead bodies that are found.

"If 100 bats are killed, we don't know whether that's 100 out of 10 million or 100 out of 100 million," Dr. Risser said.

Excellent point. More federal research dollars invested in getting a handle on bird and bat (especially bat) populations would be a very good thing. At present, almost nothing is known about bat populations. Also, though, it is quite interesting that neither the New York Times nor the National Academy of Sciences study mentions a currently ongoing bat research program that is jointly funded by Bat Conservation International, several wind power companies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. More info about this here.

At the moment, the research is focused on testing a sonic deterrent that would warn bats away from wind farms. Much more testing and engineering work needed before it can be declared a solution.

And researchers do not know whether newer windmills, which have huge blades that rotate slowly, are any safer for birds and bats than older models, which spin more like airplane propellers.

True:

1) Some studies of raptor vision suggest that slower-rotating blades should be easier to see. But it's almost impossible to test this in the field. The only way to do it would be to install one type of machine, then remove it and install the other, measuring mortality at each for the same period of time. You'd also have to hope that nothing else changed in the meantime.

2) The numbers of birds that are killed at most wind sites are so low that studies of this question are unlikely to be fruitful.

Wind power could also reduce coal-plant carbon dioxide, which is thought to cause climate change, but the impact may be small, the report said. By 2025, wind turbines could cut carbon dioxide output by 4.5 percent compared with what it would otherwise have been, but this "would only slow the increase," said Dr. Risser. "It wouldn't result in a decrease in the amount of CO2."

The study relied on an Energy Department projection that in the next 15 years, onshore wind capacity would range from 19 to 72 gigawatts, or 2 percent to 7 percent of the nation's generating capacity. The actual impact would be smaller, however, because wind machines run fewer hours than coal or nuclear plants.

As a matter of fact, they run about the same number of hours (65% to 80% of the time), but unlike coal or nuclear plants, wind turbines usually generate at well below their peak capacity. As I've indicated elsewhere in this blog, this is one way of looking through the telescope. Looking through the other end, we find that using essentially the same data and statistics, wind turbines would cut new CO2 emissions between now and 2020 by 30%.

Wind output quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, but wind turbines still produce less than 1 percent of the electricity used in the United States. And the amount of wind energy that can be integrated into the electricity grid is limited, the researchers said. The maximum that could be accommodated, Dr. Policansky said, is probably 20 percent of the nation's electricity use.

These last two sentences that I have bolded are probably the clearest example of minimizing wind's contribution, otherwise known as damning with faint praise. First, we know little about what the upper limit on wind is, and it will be many years before we have solid knowledge. But second and more important, 20% is huge. It's as much as nuclear power generates today, and more than any other source except coal. The fact that we could get that much electricity from a new clean alternative energy source is the real news contained in this story. It would be great to see a story in the Times someday with the headline, "Wind Farms Could Provide 20% of U.S. Electricity, Study Says."

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-27T07:25:00.000-04:00

The Alternative Energy Boom: Subsidy Driven?

Daniel Gross of the New York Times revisits the question of subsidies for clean alternative energy sources in an article on the hot market for financing ethanol and other renewable energy projects.

“There’s a huge boom going on in alternative renewable and new technologies, and it wouldn’t be happening without the bouillabaisse of incentives, mandates, subsidies and the related group of ingredients,” said Daniel Yergin, the chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

True. On the other hand, many of those subsidies have been in place for years. What is different now is that most of the world (and most Americans) realize that global warming is neither a hoax nor a topic of real debate in the scientific community. Smart companies and smart financiers can see the writing on the wall.

“We think a reliance on market forces is the best way to satisfy any growing fuel requirements, and that any policies should provide a level playing field for all options,” said Rayola Dougher, senior economic analyst at the American Petroleum Institute in Washington, who adds that many of the trade association’s members are responding to government incentives by investing in projects to harness solar, wind and other forms of alternative energy. “We just don’t think at this point that the government should pick winners and losers.”

Well, that's easy to say, when you are representing a fossil fuel industry that enjoys much of its prosperity due to the fact that the environmental costs of global warming, drilling for fuel, oil spills, etc., are not monetized in market prices. In addition to this substantial hidden subsidy, there is another: the U.S. spends billions each year to ensure that the sea lanes to the Persian Gulf are kept open. In other words, we are picking winners every day, and the winners are the large and influential fossil fuels industries that emit global warming pollutants.

The main criticism of alternative energy is that, even with government assistance, it is still more expensive than many traditional sources of energy.

This is lumping many energy sources with different costs and economics together. Wind power, for example, is generally competitive with other options for new electricity generation when its federal incentive is included, and would be still more competitive if environmental costs were reflected in market prices.

Increasingly, however, businesses and consumers are finding that alternative energy and new energy-efficiency technologies can pay real economic dividends.

True. And this holds not just for electricity bills (where, e.g., compact fluorescent bulbs pay for themselves rapidly), but with respect to the new manufacturing jobs that alternative energy industries create.

Finally, anyone who is interested in learning more about the billions of dollars we spend each year on subsidies, not just to new energy sources, but to energy industries that are well established and should have no need of them, should check out the detailed analyses available from EarthTrack.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-26T22:01:00.000-04:00

Cape Wind Book Termed 'Piling On'

Cape Wind, the new book by science writer Wendy Williams and Providence Journal editorial page editor Robert Whitcomb, is unfortunately the subject of a rather negative New York Times book review by William Grimes. Williams and Whitcomb, writes Grimes, "pile on" in their attacks on the Cape Wind project's wealthy opponents and "make no pretense of laying out the facts evenhandedly." If that is true (I admit to not having read the book yet myself), it's a shame. As Grimes also notes, "The facts are damning enough. The wind farm, consisting of 130 propellered turbines installed over an area of about 26 square miles, would generate up to 500 megawatts of clean energy. It would also reduce Cape Cod’s dependence on two fossil-fuel plants that help make its air among the most polluted in New England," and "Opposition boiled down to four words: not in my backyard."

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-26T21:14:00.000-04:00

Global Warming: Bring It On?

Given the threat of global warming and the obvious, urgent need to develop more clean alternative energy sources like wind and solar as quickly as possible, it is bizarre to see legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress that would essentially outlaw wind power. Not surprisingly, the bill that would do this comes from a Congressman representing one of the leading fossil fuel-producing districts in the country. Let's hope this embarrassing, paleolithic, pathetic piece of legislation is escorted away soon to the merciful death it merits.

Regards,
Tom

PS This legislation, Subtitle D of H.R. 2337, is getting some heavy attention at Digg.com. Good to see.

2007-05-17T08:20:00.000-04:00

Today's roundup:

Nice story from Denver's Channel 9 on the benefits that a single large wind farm is bringing to a rural Colorado county:

- Up to 350 people hired for construction;
- 20 full-time permanent jobs;
- $70 million in property taxes over 30 years;
- $65 million in land rental payments to landowners over the same period;
- As much electricity as 120,000 Colorado households consume.

It isn't mentioned in the press release from FPL Energy, the project developer, but I'll add my rough guesstimate of water savings: 30 billion gallons (~94,000 acre-feet) of water annually. Not too shabby.

Peak oil and the effects of globalization get a brief but thoughtful post at Candleblog. I'm with Candleboy in being optimistic about alternative energy sources: the global energy potential of wind power is enormous, and schemes like plug-in hybrids and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) could allow it and other renewable energy sources to displace a big chunk of our fossil fuel consumption. If we get moving. Now.

Treehugger.com features Nature Air, which bills itself as the "world's first zero-emissions airline," having used carbon offsets to, um, offset its fuel emissions. Easy to poke holes in, as a few commenters have already done, but if everyone does the same and if the carbon offsets are properly quantified, then global warming ends. It's the ifs we should be focusing on.

Oregon publication Willamette Week provides a fascinating look into the role of a major utility in shaping alternative energy legislation in the state. One item that caught my eye: a lobbyist for Intel claims that his company will have to pay an extra $2 million annually in electricity costs. This is a little surprising, because it implies God-like knowledge of where energy prices are going, when in fact they have been extremely volatile since 2001 and remain so today. One of wind energy's big pluses is that once it is installed, the cost of electricity generated is predictable and stable, because no fuel is used and there are no fuel price gyrations to contend with. By contrast, the market price of natural gas today hovers at 3-4 times what it was in 2001.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-16T20:04:00.001-04:00

Noteworthy items from today's blogging:

Cape Cod Today features an excellent, if somewhat chilling, opinion article on the proposed Cape Wind project by Wendy Williams from the Christian Science Monitor. Comments Ms. Williams, "I have watched this drama unfold for nearly six years. The desperation, indignation, exaggeration, and imagination of the critics is astounding." Amen. Williams, a science writer, is co-author, with Robert Whitcomb, of Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound.

Swamp Fox reports that Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University and state-owned utility Santee Cooper are partnering to establish a project to determine feasibility of wind power on an undeveloped South Carolina barrier island. It'll be interesting to see the results, as South Carolina is not among the states reported to be leaders in wind energy resources. Still, more recent studies have identified a huge offshore resource in the mid-Atlantic between North Carolina and Massachusetts (enough to supply all of the energy used in the region's coastal states), so it's good to keep an open mind.

Domestic Fuel has a brief description of an innovative project in Iowa that would combine wind power with underground compressed-air storage. While combining storage and wind would certainly increase wind energy's market, it's important to note that storage is not a critical need in today's utility system. See Myth #4 in the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Myths fact sheet.

TTC News Archives reports on efforts to improve rail and highway transportation and electric transmission in support of economic development in Texas, noting that one of the purposes of new transmission will be to ship wind-generated electricity to market. As I've mentioned elsewhere, the nation's transmission infrastructure needs an upgrade, not just for wind, but to increase overall system reliability--it's been suffering for too many years from NIMBYs (Not-In-My-Back-Yarders), who turn out to oppose new lines but seem to have no problem using electricity.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-15T17:40:00.000-04:00

WWF: Global Warming Demands Response

In a stark warning, the Geneva, Switzerland-based World Wildlife Fund said the worst effects of global warming could be avoided by beginning a "wholesale shift from fossil fuels" within five years, according to a Reuters story by Laura MacInnis distributed by the Environmental News Network (via Sustainability in Hawai'i). The group called for a coordinated effort by governments to set national targets for increasing clean alternative energy sources like wind and solar (more info on such a U.S. proposal here).

Elsewhere:

Wind developer Airtricity signed an agreement with TXU Wholesale to provide the output from a $300-million, 209-megawatt (MW) wind farm on 30,000 acres near Roscoe, Tex. Comments Airtricity North America CEO Declan Flanagan. “Airtricity is playing a leading role in helping Texas and America meet its fast-growing energy needs. As electricity demand and natural gas prices continue to rise policymakers and businesses like TXU are seeing the benefit of tapping into Texas’s vast wind energy resource.”

South Dakota Sen. John Thune (R) convened a group of experts to find out how to harness the world-class winds of that state. Ben Shouse's article in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader provides an excellent summary of the discussion and some of the major obstacles. At the top of the list? A lack of high-voltage transmission lines, a long-standing problem not just for wind, but for the electricity industry as a whole, that is gradually making its way higher on the U.S. energy policy agenda. Dirk Lammers' AP story on the meeting, by contrast, quoted Brad Barton of the U.S. Department of Energy as focusing on the need for more stable tax incentives for wind development. The Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental group, has a nice chart showing how on-off availability of incentives has caused boom-and-bust cycles in the industry.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman spoke favorably about alternative energy before a ministerial meeting of the International Energy Agency. Key quote: "We must diversify our energy portfolios to include more alternative and renewable energy sources including biofuels, solar, wind and even nuclear. This will relieve pressure on energy markets and yield positive environmental benefits."

Nebraska lawmakers approved a bill to encourage wind projects in the state.

Wind developer PPM Energy will dedicate the 200-MW Big Horn project May 21 in Bickleton, Wash. Here's the full text of a media advisory we received today on this event, except for directions included in the invitation link above. Of special interest: the dedication will include live raptors (birds of prey) that are used in wildlife training for wind farm employees.

Klickitat County Bickleton Carousel Museum
PPM Energy MSR Public Power Agency BPA

Contact:
Jan Johnson, PPM Energy, (503) 796-7070, jan.johnson@ppmenergy.com
Julie Yamamoto, CMD for PPM Energy, (503) 488-4289, jyamamoto@cmdagency.com

May 15, 2007

Big Horn Wind Power Project Celebrates Partners for a Powerful Future
Energy industry leaders, community members and schoolchildren dedicate new wind farm on May 21

Big Horn Wind Power Project

WHAT:
Energy leaders, schoolchildren and the community will gather in the rolling wheat fields and ranch lands of Bickleton, Wash., to dedicate the Northwest's newest wind farm. The Big Horn Wind Power Project is one of the region's largest wind farms and a model for sensitive land use and conservation. Along with more than 500 community members, a live golden eagle, red-tailed hawk and other rehabilitated raptors used in educational programs at wind farms will join in the celebration.

WHEN:
Monday, May 21, 2007
10:30 a.m.: Speaker program begins
11:30 a.m.: Picnic lunch, wind turbine tours for the public and a special encounter with several live raptors

WHERE:
Bickleton, Wash., a three-hour drive east of Portland, Ore.
See directions in Logistics section below.

WHY:
With 133 turbines and a 200-megawatt (MW) capacity, the Big Horn Wind Power Project is one of the largest wind power developments in the state of Washington and the Columbia River Gorge region. Big Horn produces enough clean wind electricity to power about 60,000 homes each year. In addition, economic and environmental benefits include the following:

An infusion of jobs and economic activity to a rural town of 90 people
Wheat farmers and ranchers get a boost through land lease payments, while 98 percent of the leased land remains available for traditional uses.

PPM Energy sponsored the local high school shop class to build and place 250 bluebird boxes in the region. Bickleton is known as the "Bluebird Capital of the World," and the birds are a source of local pride and tourism.

455 scenic acres are set aside as a long-term wildlife habitat conservation area

WHO:
Speakers include:

Rachel Shimshak, Renewable Northwest Project
Ty Daul, PPM Energy
Allen Short, MSR Public Power Agency
Brian Silverstein, Bonneville Power Administration
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington by special video message
Local and state representatives

VISUALS:

Huge American flag mounted on an 80-meter-tall white wind turbine

Live raptors with Blue Mountain Wildlife and PPM staff. Birds that have been rehabilitated at the center play a major role in wildlife training for wind farm employees. Experts will be available to interview on this topic.

Bluebird boxes for two species of bluebirds thriving in and around the site through a joint effort by PPM Energy and the community of Bickleton. Interview community leaders and schoolchildren who built the bluebird boxes.

Learn about 455 scenic acres set aside to conserve wildlife habitat.

Attendance is expected to top 500 people as the surrounding community and all school children in the county will be present.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE:
Print-quality images of the Big Horn Wind Power Project and b-roll of the local school's bluebird box program are available in advance from Julie Yamamoto, CMD for PPM Energy, (503) 223-6794, jyamamoto@cmdagency.com.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-14T22:33:00.000-04:00

Delaware 'Sinking' About Wind?

Slacktivist points out that concern about global warming may be a factor in Delaware citizens' enthusiasm for a proposed offshore wind power plant. Why? Well, you can check his map yourself, but it looks as though about 1/3 of the state would be submerged by a 14-meter sea level rise (admittedly still a fairly remote scenario).

Slacktivist also discusses the wind development situation in Vermont, a state where I live and in which, in my opinion, the public debate has been dominated by a relatively well-to-do group of anti-wind folks who have done an excellent job of sowing confusion and mistrust. There are still a couple of proposed wind projects making their way through the permitting pipeline and we may yet see them built. Wind remains a good idea for New England, despite all of the misinformation, because of its ability to save natural gas. For more on why, see A Night to Remember, a case study with some zing from Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture).

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-14T08:06:00.000-04:00

The Wind World Is Flat, Too . . . and Active

Andrew Leonard has an intriguing post at Salon.com about the bidding war between Indian wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon and French nuclear giant Areva over German wind turbine maker REPower. While the globalization implications are important to note, a quick look at recent history reveals that this is but the latest in a series of major business deals involving multinational firms in the wind space. See, for example:

The purchase by investment banker Goldman Sachs of U.S. developer Horizon Wind Energy in 2005 and its subsequent sale to Energias de Portugal for a cool $2.15 bilion.

The purchase by Spanish utility Iberdrola of U.S. wind developer and green power marketer Community Energy.

The purchase by Iberdrola of ScottishPower, complete with its U.S. wind development subsidiary PPM Energy.

Decisions by Suzlon, Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas and Spanish turbine makers Gamesa and Acciona to build manufacturing plants in the U.S.

A "Strategic Turbine Supply and Joint Development Agreement" between U.S. manufacturer Clipper Windpower and BP and BP Alternative Energy's purchase of wind developers Orion Energy and Greenlight Energy.

Clearly, many companies are awakening to the enormous global potential of this energy source.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-13T19:44:00.000-04:00

What Can Wind Do About Global Warming?

The following information is from a fact sheet we will be releasing soon.

The United States has one of the most abundant wind energy resources in the world. If the U.S. takes advantage of this clean, renewable, domestic, available, and vastly deployable energy source, it can take one large step closer to addressing global warming and achieving emission reductions...today.

Adding clean generation from wind energy means we need less generation from other types of energy, including natural gas, coal and sometimes oil.

On average, every additional megawatt-hour produced by wind energy means 1,220 pounds of CO2 are not emitted into our environment.

How much can wind really do to fight global warming?

A recent study from the National Academies of Science (NAS) reports that adding another 60 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy by 2020, in addition to the 11 GW that we have today, could avoid approximately 130 million tons of CO2 in 2020. This is nearly 30% of expected emission increases by 2020 in the electric sector.

A National Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) of 20% renewable generation by 2020 could avoid almost 100% of expected emission increases in the electric sector with 180 GW of renewable energy, including 130 GW of wind.

Wind Can Reduce CO2, Says Who?

Three transmission and system integration studies estimate how much CO2 wind energy can avoid.

Where and How Much?

New York:
1,256 lbs of CO2/MWh
(New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, NYSERDA)

Midwest:
1,277 lbs of CO2/MWh
(Midwest Independent System Operator, MISO)

Texas:
962 lbs of CO2/MWh
(Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ERCOT)

Copyright 2007 - American Wind Energy Association. May be freely re-transmitted electronically, for non-commercial purposes only, provided this notice is included. All other rights reserved.

2007-05-12T19:06:00.000-04:00

455,000 MW of Wind Power by 2016?

The Danish wind power market analysis firm BTM Consult ApS (BTM) released its latest annual market report in late March. Although the press release on the report notes considerable uncertainty in projections beyond 2011, it also states that its projection would lead to total global cumulative installed wind generating capacity of 455,000 MW by 2016. If that amount of wind capacity were installed in the U.S., it could be expected to generate roughly 1.3 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year (my estimate), or 25% or more of total U.S. electricity supply.

Other information from the release:

BTM's forecast through 2011 predicts an annual average growth rate for the global wind industry of 17.4% annually.

"2006 recorded the highest installation of wind power ever - 15,016 MW of new capacity, 30% above 2005!" (15,016 MW of wind in the U.S. is enough to supply as much electricity as 4 million homes, with 11 million people, consume [my estimate--I say "in the U.S." because wind turbine performance is lower on average in Europe because of lower average wind speeds there]).

Global wind capacity at the end of 2006 totaled some 74,300 MW.

"The market value of the industry over the next five years will total some US$186.4 billion."

Wind power's strong global growth is being driven by concerns about 1) energy supply and 2) global warming.

Regards,
Tom

Update 13 May 2007: This compares with a World Energy Council estimate in the late 1990s that wind capacity could grow to 180,000 MW to 474,000 MW worldwide by 2020. BTM Consult's latest numbers, while tentative, are somewhat more expansive.

2007-05-11T17:55:00.000-04:00

Graffito of the Times

Spotted by one of our staffers in Milan, Italy, site of the recent 2007 European Wind Energy Conference earlier this week.

At the conference, the 3,000-plus delegates in attendance heard European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) President Arthouros Zervos say that 180,000 megawatts (MW) of wind generating capacity could be installed in Europe by 2020, generating 16% of the continent's electricity.

Let's hope the U.S. can find its way to a similarly bold vision soon.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-10T14:48:00.000-04:00

Over 3,000 MW of New U.S. Wind Seen in 2007

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today released its First Quarter Wind Power Market Report, announcing that the U.S. wind energy industry is on track to install over 3,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power generating capacity nationwide in 2007, with Texas likely to account for about two thirds of the new installations. Over 100 MW have newly come online in the U.S. so far this year, and over 1,000 more are under construction in Texas alone, according to AWEA. (One megawatt of wind, on average, generates as much electricity as 250 to 300 homes use.)

In addition to providing details about the new projects, the release emphasizes the role of the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) in spurring wind energy development. The full release is available online.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-10T13:19:00.000-04:00

Renewables Portfolio Standard Awaits Senate Consideration

At this writing, it appears that a Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) proposal will be offered as a stand-alone amendment to the energy bill now making its way through the U.S. Senate. What is the RPS? It's a provision that would require utilities throughout the United States to obtain a certain minimum percentage of the electricity they sell from clean alternative energy resources like wind and solar power.

The passage into law of an RPS would mark a clear step away from our traditional energy policies (or rather, lack of energy policies) and toward a long-term approach aimed at dealing with the increasingly urgent problem of global warming. Twenty-two states have already adopted an RPS in some form and more are currently considering it.

The American Wind Energy Association's Legislative Priorities page contains:

1) A brief description of the benefits of a national RPS;
2) A link to a fact sheet on a national RPS; and
3) A link to a legislative action Web page where you can let your representatives in Congress know your opinion on the RPS.

Please help support this vital legislation.

Regards,
Tom

2007-05-09T19:25:00.000-04:00

One Step at a Time

More positive developments today (great to see them happening on a daily basis):

Delaware

In Delaware, the state Public Service Commission voted unanimously to give preliminary approval to an offshore wind farm. As previously noted below, this decision follows an outpouring of public support for wind energy in a matchup against two fossil-fueled competitors.

Illinois

Meanwhile, in Illinois, the State Senate unanimously passed the Affordable, Clean Energy Standards Act, a bill that calls for 10% of the state's electricity to come from clean alternative energy sources by 2015, rising to 25% by 2025. Here's the text of a news release from Environment Illinois, which strongly supported the bill:

"For more information: Contact Becky Stanfield at Environment Illinois 773-454-0155 or 312-291-0696.

"The Affordable, Clean Energy Standards Act (Senate Bill 1184) passed the Illinois Senate unanimously today. This legislation would also catch Illinois up to other states on renewable energy. 10% by 2015 with a goal of 25% by 2025.

"Today, while enough wind blows across our state to power more than 2 million homes, less than 5 percent of this potential has been developed. Twenty-three states have renewable energy standards, and many of them have been so successful in spurring local economic development that the states are increasing their standards. For example, Colorado just doubled its renewable energy standard. Adopting these clean energy standards for Illinois would spur private investment in Illinois wind power by ensuring a market for the power, diversifying our electricity mix, creating millions in revenues for rural Illinois and creating jobs in our state.

"Perhaps, even more noteworthy, the bill requires Illinois utilities to use energy efficiency to meet 1 percent of their demand by 2012 and 2 percent by 2015. If this policy had been adopted in 1990, Illinois consumers' electric costs would be 11 percent lower. For a Chicago two-flat, that would mean a savings of more than $200 this year. If we adopt these standards today, we can save Illinoisans nearly $2 billion annually by 2020.

"The bill now goes to the House; which, last month overwhelmingly passed a renewable energy bill with nearly identical targets as Senate Bill 1184. Proponents are hopeful that the House will now approve this more comprehensive bill."

Regards,
Tom