Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

While the authors of a recent study on wind power's economic impacts at the county level didn't promote it as a basis for extending the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), "it's hard not to see the results as [an] argument to keep the PTC alive," writes blogger Pete Danko in an article published in yesterday's edition of Greentechmedia.

As we reported here, the study, conducted by researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, found that wind farms in 130 ...

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On Saturday, the San Angelo (Tex.) Standard Times became the latest of many newspapers to endorse an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), saying, "In earlier times, this would be an issue where Republicans and Democrats in Texas and other states where the industry has a big impact could come together on legislation that would benefit their constituents."

The Standard Times editorial noted that wind power provided 8.5 percent of the Lone Star State's electricity last year, and many additional benefits: 'The [Congressional] impasse should alarm people in many West Texas counties that have reaped great financial rewards from the giant wind turbines ...

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U.S. Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) issued statements yesterday renewing their calls for an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) after wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced that it would cut some 200 jobs at its rotor blade manufacturing plant in Windsor, Colo.

Mr. Udall commented, “The wind Production Tax Credit supports middle-class families across Colorado and the country. Those jobs — and our long-term economic and energy security — depend on American manufacturing and Made-in-America energy. Congress’s failure to ...

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As AWEA has been predicting for months, layoffs are mounting in the U.S. wind energy and related industries due to Congress's delay in extending the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).

The PTC is an incentive that reduces taxes on the operators of wind farms and leaves more of the money they earn from electricity sales in private hands, helping to attract private investment not only in wind projects, but in component manufacturers, suppliers, trucking companies and more.  As an article on wind in Texas in Monday's San Angelo (Tex.) Standard-Times puts it, "Many other businesses benefit, too, including truckers, hotels, restaurants and hardware stores."
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A number of fossil fuel-funded groups recently set out to attack wind energy by paying for a new report (http://reason.org/news/show/the-limits-of-wind-power) claiming wind energy is difficult to integrate onto the utility system and doesn’t provide the expected benefits. The only problem? The Reason Foundation’s analysis ended up producing results that contradict those claims and actually support the opposite conclusions.

Despite using a seriously flawed methodology that understates the benefits of wind and overstates the challenge of integrating wind onto the grid, the analysis found that adding wind to the grid greatly reduces emissions of harmful pollutants and that wind energy can ...

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Congressional inaction on an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) is likely to cost more than 200 Nebraskans their jobs next month, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebr.) said in an op-ed in yesterday's edition of the McCook (Nebr.) Daily Gazette.

Mr. Nelson explained that uncertainty caused by Congress's delay "has resulted in wind power developers drastically decreasing their orders for wind turbines and towers. This dropoff in demand has forced wind tower producers like Katana Summit, employing 214 Nebraskans at its Columbus (Nebr.) plant, to lay off their employees." He pledged to continue working for an extension of the PTC when Congress returns to Washington, D.C., following the November ...

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A first-of-its kind government economic-impact study showed that wind power installations in 130 U.S. counties accounted for an aggregate increase in county-level personal income of $11,000 and employment of 0.5 jobs per megawatt.

The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), considered the sample period of 2000-2008 and examined economic impacts in nearly 130 individual counties in 12 generally wind-rich states. The study, “The Impact of Wind Development on County-Level Income and Employment: A Review of Methods and an Empirical Analysis,” is published in the journal

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The Olympia (Wash.) Olympian newspaper yesterday became the latest of dozens across the country to endorse an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), pointing to the enormous economic benefits wind power has brought: "Wind farms have created an economic boom for Eastern Washington, along the Columbia River and parts of northern Oregon. They are creating thousands of jobs, and in some cases providing income for farmers, ranchers and other landowners in rural communities in danger of losing their property during the recession."

The PTC is an incentive that reduces taxes on the operators of wind farms and leaves more of the money they earn from electricity sales in ...

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New agreement bumps company into lead for renewable purchases among Southeast utilities

Alabama Power Co. said recently that it has received approval from the Alabama Public Service Commission to purchase more electricity from Midwestern wind projects. A new purchase of electricity from Buffalo Dunes Wind Project, LLC, the firm said, mirrors one previously approved with Chisholm View Wind Project, LLC. Combined, the deals add up to 404 megawatts of electricity, and each project is under contract for 20 years.

Chisholm View Wind Project, located in Grant and Garfield ...

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A manufacturer of wind turbine bearings said yesterday that it will close one of three plants in Sumter, S.C., that make parts for the wind energy and military ground vehicle markets. In doing so, Kaydon Corp. cited "continued regulatory uncertainty in the United States, including the impending expiration of the [federal wind energy] Production Tax Credit [PTC] ... "

The announcement is part of a steady contraction over the past few months of what has been a booming new manufacturing sector in the U.S., as uncertainty ...

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