Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

Another regional utility system operator has shattered a wind power penetration record.

At one point during the evening of December 2, 30.2 percent of the Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) power generation came from wind—a record for the grid operator and most likely a record for any grid operator in the nation. At that time, 5,900 MW of wind power capacity was pumping electrons onto the SPP system. Then on December 5, the utility hit another wind power megawatt record, at 6,296 MW. (The percentage penetration at that time did not surpass the 30.2 percent record.)

Appropriately, the Dec. 2 news coming out of the region was referenced a few days later in a session at AWEA’s Regional Wind Energy Summit – Southwest, which took place December 5-6 in Houston.

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Guest blog by Remy Pangle, Associate Director/Curriculum Coordinator, Virginia Center for Wind Energy, James Madison University

On November 19th and 20th, two SkyStream 3.7 small wind turbines were installed at Central High School in Woodstock, Va., and Thomas Harrison Middle School in Harrisonburg, Va., respectively.  These turbines were installed as part of the Virginia Wind for Schools Program and are intended to act as an educational tool to teach students about wind energy.  Additionally, the turbines will expand the awareness and hopefully the acceptance of wind energy in their local communities.

The Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America program sponsors the Wind for Schools project to ...

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A recent LA Times article misunderstands how renewables are integrated onto the electric grid. While the topic is admittedly complicated, this article gets almost everything incorrect. Here is a point-by-point correction of the errors in the LA Times piece along with an overview of recent analysis from the grid operator in California (the California Independent System Operator, or CAISO).

The article makes several incorrect and unsupported assertions, addressed below:

Fact #1: It is unlikely that the state will experience a shortage of flexible power by 2017.

Last year, the California Public Utilities Commission ...

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This is cross-posted from The Hill's Congress Blog.

Benjamin Zycher’s Congress Blog post gets several facts wrong about wind power. Let’s set the record straight.

While Zycher, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, invokes Ronald Reagan, it’s worth noting that support for extending the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) crosses party lines at every level of leadership. A bipartisan coalition of the nation’s governors formed the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition to work for extension of ...

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One of the leading bipartisan political groups in America on Friday asked the leaders of Congress to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) to continue the benefits of wind energy in the American West.

And, the Western Governors' Association made the critically important decision to argue for the only version of a one-year PTC extension that would actually work to restart the stalled U.S wind industry.

"Given the late date in the year, it is important for Congress to make the PTC extension effective, particularly given the typical 18-month project development timeline," said the governors' letter to Congressional leaders, representing 13 ...

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A report, prepared for Mid-Atlantic grid operator PJM Interconnection LLC, that examines best practices from around the country for integrating wind and solar power—and in the process underscores the field’s growth—is now available.

The report, titled “Review of Industry Practice and Experience in the Integration of Wind and Solar Generation,” was prepared by Columbia, Md.-based Exeter Associates as part of a broader large-wind and solar integration study that GE is behind. That study, due out in 2013, is examining a number of scenarios for various levels and combinations of penetrations of various technologies including solar and land-based and offshore wind.

The Exeter report, meanwhile, provides PJM with a comprehensive look at the best approaches for ...

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New ad says spurring clean energy requires certainty in tax policy

Congress should extend critical tax incentives that encourage renewable energy production and energy efficiency, 118 sportsmen’s, business and conservation groups from all over the U.S. urged in a letter to Congress yesterday. The letter, with a list of sponsors, also appeared as an ad in Politico.

“Investment and growth in properly-sited, wildlife-friendly clean energy and conservation are the best ways to combat climate change, sustain communities, create American jobs, ...

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"We urge Iowans to make their opinion known loud and clear [on extending the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit.]"

That's the Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette, editorializing Monday on the benefits of wind power to the Hawkeye State and the importance of extending the PTC.

Added the Globe Gazette, "[W]hen it comes to finding places to cut spending, we hope it’s mitts off the production tax credit that wind energy advocates say is critical to the industry’s future. Around North Iowa, the wind industry’s impact is obvious, with the giant turbines cranking out electricity ...

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A recently released report from Australia’s Senate Committee on Environment and Communications helps to set the record straight on wind energy and sound.

Senators John Madigan and Nick Xenophon introduced a bill called the ‘Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment – (Excessive Noise from Wind Farms) Bill 2012′ intended to limit wind energy development because of claims of health effects from wind turbines. However, the Senate committee that considered it ultimately rejected it.

Why?   Because ...

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The Heritage Foundation’s blog recently carried a post concerning so-called wind myths. Unfortunately, as might be expected from a bitterly anti-wind (and, of course, fossil-fuel-funded) group, the result was more myths and falsehoods.

With the Production Tax Credit (PTC) set to expire at the end of the month unless renewed by Congress, it is important to be clear on how the PTC has encouraged wind power development and why the job isn’t done yet.

The following facts illustrate just a few of the reasons why the PTC is still needed.

Fact #1: Wind energy has been one of the fastest developing energy sources in America.

Wind added 35% of all new U.S. electric generating capacity between 2007 and 2010, neck and neck with ...

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