The AWEA Blog: Into the Wind


Nailed: The Onion reveals wind industry plot to change Earth's orbit

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

With characteristic bravado, America's foremost news source, The Onion, blew the whistle yesterday on a nefarious wind industry plot to destabilize the Earth's orbit by building "thousands of propellers" that "make things move."

Relying on a group of impeccable sources including the "American Coal Lobby," "some leading scientists at Coal University," "the environmental activist group Americans for Mining-Based Energy," "a recent Center for Coal Policy conference in the Bahamas" (do I detect a theme here?) and even an upcoming documentary film, "Terminal Gust," a panel of experts unanimously agreed the danger is real and requires immediate action. As one panelist noted, "Wind slips through your fingers--it's dishonest!"

(One wind industry insider, speaking on ...


Read more

Think tank: Water needs may limit shale gas, some renewables

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

A study from the World Policy Institute (WPI), presented recently before the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., finds that droughts may hamper the development of natural gas from shale (shale gas) and some renewable energy technologies, notably hydropower, biofuels and solar thermal electric generation.

An article in the British newspaper


Read more

Wind power: A quiet solution to climate change

Posted: 27 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

That's the word from Adam Scott, Green Energy Program Manager for the Canadian group Environmental Defence, who penned an article on the topic in yesterday's Huffington Post.

Comments Scott, "Tires on a road, two-stroke whines from snowmobiles, motorcycles and jet-skis, diesel trucks, barking dogs, neighbours, airplanes, trains, music, construction, air conditioners, refrigerators, dishwashers, power tools -- the list of human-created sounds is endless. It's a bit confusing then that one of [the] quieter things we build -- windmills -- are said to be the subject of great handwringing and upset."


Read more

Mythbusting fact: Wind power is not expensive

Posted: 27 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

At a time when people who should (and do) know better continue to spread myths about wind power's cost, it's refreshing to hear from someone with the facts, namely, former Glenwood Springs, Colo., Councilman Russ Arensman.

In a letter to the Glenwood Springs Post Independent newspaper, Arensman points out that Glenwood Springs' municipal utility recently contracted with the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) to raise the share of the city's energy coming from wind from 12 percent to 28 percent. He writes: "Our energy consultant (JK Energy) estimates that more than doubling our wind ...


Read more

Wind energy integration: Some fundamental facts

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

The online publications Climate Progress and Grist recently featured an article by Stephen Lacey on innovative ways in which utility system operators are working to integrate wind, a variable source of electricity generation, with other parts of their systems.

While the article examines some interesting and cutting-edge approaches, AWEA Manager of Transmission Policy Michael Goggin, in a comment posted on both publications, reminds us of some basic facts that should always be kept in mind when wind integration is discussed:

...


Read more

The growing wind industry in South Carolina

Posted: 23 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

This blog article was co-authored by Simon Mahan and Katie Stokes and is cross-posted from the blog of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

palmettowindlogo

This is the third of five blogs in a series in which the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy will be highlighting states throughout our ...


Read more

Ideological wars spill over to renewable energy

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

 Yes, the pitchforks and torches are out again, and it looks as though renewable energy may have to head for the hills.
 
The flashpoint? A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—ambitious, but definitely realistic—that finds that renewable energy sources could supply 77 percent of global energy by the year 2050.
 
The problem? Three-fold:
 
1) The report is from the IPCC, an entity that has become a favorite target of the ...


Read more

Wisconsin 'clean energy job export program' continues

Posted: 21 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

Wisconsin legislators are moving ahead, probably unwittingly, with an additional measure that will export jobs to Canada, says AWEA Director of Business Development Jeff Anthony in an opinion article for the Milwaukee Biz Blog at BizTimes.com.

The latest bill passed by the state Assembly, which would allow utilities to import Manitoba hydropower to meet Wisconsin's renewable electricity standard, follows the blocking of a state siting standard for wind farms, which was to take effect earlier this year and provide "rules of the road" for ...


Read more

Water anxiety? Wind power can help

Posted: 16 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

The key issue causing electric utility executive heartburn these days, reports Fast Company's Ariel Schwartz, is water.

From a strategic standpoint, that's good news for wind power, which uses virtually no water, while all types of thermal generation (coal, gas and nuclear) use a LOT. According to the U.S. Department of Energy 20% Wind Energy by 2030 Technical Report, released in 2008 under the Bush Administration, the


Read more

WindMade™ label standard presented to U.S. market

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 Tom Gray

(Updated 1:17 p.m. June 15: This update contains information provided by AWEA VP for Public Affairs Peter Kelley, who attended the New York City launch event.)

New York City, 15 June 2011: WindMade™, the first global consumer label for companies using wind energy, was presented to the public today, on Global Wind Day (15 June).The WindMade™ initiative took shape as the proposed WindMade™ technical standard enters a two-month public consultation period.


The proposed standard requires participating companies to source a minimum of 25 per cent of their electricity demand from wind power. This level is set to strike a balance between an ambitious target and an achievable goal for progressive companies striving to make ...


Read more