Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

AWEA filed detailed comments with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) today on two sets of proposed avian guidelines for wind power development, calling the draft regulations "unworkable."  The full story is available in the AWEA website pressroom.

On the first proposal, the "Draft Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines," AWEA urged a return to a set of consensus guidelines worked out during a two-and-a-half-year Federal Advisory Committee process by representatives of the wind industry, wildlife conservation groups, and other stakeholders.

Worth noting:

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Alliant Energy Corp. announced recently that it has dropped plans to develop a 100-MW wind farm in Wisconsin's Green Lake and Fond du Lac counties.  The project, which would have generated enough electricity to power the equivalent of 30,000 homes, was the second proposed wind farm to be scrapped since Gov. Scott Walker took office and unveiled plans to sharply restrict wind development in the state.  In addition, construction of a third wind project has been deferred indefinitely.

The trend of wind developers throwing in the towel in the Badger State contrasts strikingly with the results of an

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Public Utilities Fortnightly's GreenUtility website recently carried an interview with Kurt Yeager, a former President of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) on the topic of a "smart grid" and Mr. Yeager's contention that it is necessary for substantial use of renewable energy sources to generate electricity.
 
While Mr. Yeager does get many points right, like the urgent need to invest in our grid to make it more reliable, more efficient, and provide consumers with access to larger quantities of lower cost energy resources like wind energy, several points need to be made to correct misconceptions presented in the interview.

Mr. Yeager says, "I served on a National Academy renewable energy study a couple of years ago. We concluded that getting more than ...

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Robert Bryce’s latest volley[1] in his fossil fuel industry-funded misinformation campaign against clean energy, an article in National Review, has all of the hallmarks of his previous attacks: an intentionally misleading cherry-picking of statistics that is thoroughly discredited by dozens of credible data sources.[2]

Mr. Bryce’s data on the costs of various energy sources is embarrassingly obsolete. I guess being behind the times should be expected for someone whose employer receives a large amount of funding from Exxon Mobil and other companies that make their livelihood digging up the remains of organisms that died millions of years ago.[3] A few years ago, one might have argued that using wind energy would increase costs for consumers, but things have changed ...

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Spurred on by California’s new 33-percent clean energy target, 20,000 wind industry members and supporters will head to Anaheim, Calif., in just a few days for the WINDPOWER 2011 Conference & Exhibition, May 22-25.

“The renaissance of California’s wind power market will be a hot topic at WINDPOWER this year, and many of the speakers will focus on the business opportunities there, as well as benefits to ratepayers and communities,” said AWEA CEO Denise Bode.

Companies of all sizes, joined by government officials, utilities, investors, and economic development promoters, will be making deals to build and develop more wind
power.

Hosted by ...

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Construction continues to go forward on the Texas CREZ (Competitive Renewable Energy Zone) transmission buildout, a $5-6 billion expansion of power lines across the state.

The CREZ effort aims to make it possible to deliver 18,500 megawatts (MW) of wind-generated electricity--enough to power the equivalent of some 4.5 million Texas homes--to population centers.  That would be a substantial 83 percent boost to the Lone Star State's current (end of 2010) total of 10,085 MW of wind capacity installed, a level that already leads the nation by a country mile (Iowa ranks #2 with 3,675 MW).

Some portions of the work--upgrades to existing equipment and power lines in particular--have already been completed, and the current projected target date for completion of the ...

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Chris Varrone, Founder and President of Riverview Consulting and former Chief Strategist, Technology R&D, for Vestas Wind Systems, did a nice takedown over at Cleantechnica yesterday of various wind naysayers, including Fox Business News' Stuart Varney and the Manhattan Institute's Robert Bryce.  His focus? 

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Whether it’s for networking, learning, or just pure fun, many attendees will take advantage of the diverse range of special events at the WINDPOWER 2011 Conference & Exhibition. Of course, there’s the annual WINDPOWER Conference Dinner, where this year Jay Leno will serve up his unique brand of comedy. But a slew of other events will be happening throughout WINDPOWER’s exciting week. Here are a few more. (Note that separate tickets are required for many of these events.)

Disney California Adventure Park Event, Monday, May 23

What would a trip to Anaheim be without a little Disney? Better still, with the event that WINDPOWER organizers designed, ...

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As the Anaheim Convention Center prepares for the arrival of the wind industry in just two weeks, for the first time AWEA is teaming up with a local nonprofit organization to give back to the local community hosting the WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition. This year AWEA and WINDPOWER 2011 attendees will support the southern California community by working with the Orange County Food Bank.

According to the Orange County Food Bank, nearly half a million people are at risk for hunger every month in the O.C. alone. To help combat hunger and its associated health effects in the region, the Food Bank ...

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U.S. wind power turned in a solid first quarter, AWEA reported April 28, installing enough new generating capacity (1,100 megawatts, MW) to power the equivalent of a quarter of a million average American homes.

What was slightly surprising, though, is the amount of new wind capacity reported to be under construction as of the quarter's end--5,600 MW, enough to power another 1.4 million homes. More importantly, that 5,600 MW is more than twice the amount under construction at the comparable point in 2009 or 2010.

According to AWEA, "[M]oreover, two-thirds of those megawatts are already locked in under ...

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