Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

Washington, D.C., June 27 -- AWEA CEO Denise Bode issued the following statement today as 18 House freshmen, including 16 Republicans, sent a letter to House leadership requesting immediate extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for American wind energy:

"I want to thank Rep. Kristi Noem [R-S.D.] and her 17 colleagues in the House freshman class for fighting for USA wind jobs. They understand that affordable, homegrown wind power is creating one of our best new sources of clean American electricity and tens of thousands of American manufacturing jobs in the process. The PTC ...

Read more

"Republicans and Democrats rarely agree on anything these days. But there's one proposal that both commands bipartisan support and can generate new American jobs during this tough economy," says the Sierra Club's Dave Hamilton of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).

In an opinion article in the Star Democrat (Easton, Md.) newspaper, Hamilton runs the numbers: "The wind power industry has already created 75,000 good American jobs, making it a critical part of the clean energy economy. More than 400 American manufacturing plants build wind components. Wind-powered electricity grew by 25 percent in the past year. Iowa and South Dakota already generate 20 percent of their electricity from wind power, and the industry is on track to power a fifth of ...

Read more

Innovation and industry advances were in strong supply this year at the sixth annual Small Wind Conference, a gathering of approximately 200 small wind installers, manufacturers, and advocates, in Stevens Point, Wis.

The conference, held June 11-13, focused on topics of interest to the installer community including

• Product updates from 14 small wind manufacturers;
• Activities of the Small Wind Certification Council, North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, Interstate Turbine Advisory Council, and Distributed Wind Energy Association; and
...

Read more

U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), honored recently with a USA Wind Jobs Champion award from AWEA, called for an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and said the partisan atmosphere in Congress has made it tough to get action on the measure, according to the West Branch (Iowa) Times newspaper.

Added Loebsack, “I’m not afraid to say how bad things are in D.C. If I were not in Congress, I would be writing letters to Congress. But I’m part of it, and I see what’s happening. … It’s leadership on either side. It’s very frustrating.”  Loebsack praised Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for fathering the PTC 20 years ago, and noted that

Read more

This article by Jeff L. Fox originally appeared in the Bozeman (Mont.) Daily Chronicle June 23, and is reprinted with permission of the author.

Guest column: Transmission line project you haven’t heard about may matter more than you know

While great strides have been made in recent years to facilitate the responsible development of new high voltage electrical transmission in the state, Montana has one transmission opportunity you probably haven’t heard about that should take priority ahead of all the rest.

Officially known as the Montana-to-Washington Transmission System Upgrade, the proposed ...

Read more

The following op-ed by John Anderson, AWEA's Director of Siting Policy, appeared in Saturday's edition of the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald.

I am writing in response to the column in which the wind industry’s impacts on eagle populations were misrepresented (“Ill wind blows for America’s eagles,” Page A4, June 16.)

The wind industry’s impacts on eagles are minor compared to other human-related causes of mortality. Based on publicly available data, modern wind energy facilities are responsible for less than 1 percent of human-related eagle fatalities, ranking well below lead poisoning (eagles eat prey that has been shot by hunters), poisoning in general, illegal shooting, collisions with power lines (specifically smaller distribution lines ...

Read more

This article was submitted to the National Journal's Energy Experts blog in response to a discussion question on changes Congress should consider in the tax code relating to energy policy.

One of the most urgent items on Congress's tax agenda should ...

Read more

Establishing renewable energy in Wisconsin has had a negligible short-term rate impact of 1 percent, while creating jobs and generating economic development for the state, according to a recent Public Service Commission report to the governor.

The report, which considered the years 2008-2010, found that in 2010, 7.37 percent of the electricity sold by the state’s utilities and cooperatives was generated from renewable resources eligible for the state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), up from 6.29 percent in 2009 and 4.90 percent in 2008.

Utilities around the country are locking in wind contracts to save consumers money over the long term. Meanwhile, Wisconsin is enjoying multiple ...

Read more

The agencies that oversee the Arizona Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) have awarded eight Native American organizations a total of $1.3 million to build renewable energy systems in their communities.

The projects include wind and solar facilities for schools in Leupp and Kayenta, solar power for an assisted living facility in Moenkopi and solar panels for a housing project in Peach Springs.

REIF is managed by Salt River Project, Tucson Electric Power and the Grand Canyon Trust. After the expansion of the Springerville Generating Station in 2009, REIF was provided with $5 million in funds to support projects that reduce pollution and ...

Read more

Wind energy is a cost competitive and clean choice to supply the significant amounts of new electricity the Canadian province of British Columbia will require due to increased industrial development, according to a new analysis commissioned by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) and carried out by wind consulting firm GL Garrad Hassan.

The cost of developing clean wind energy has dropped significantly in the past three years while technology improvements have increased productivity, the report found. The report updates older cost and productivity estimates for 121 potential onshore wind development sites across the province that are used by BC Hydro for electricity system analysis. CanWEA said in a news release that it "hopes this new data can make a useful ...

Read more