http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.windaction.org/articles/38309 Mon, 06 May 2013 14:25:11 GMT AWEA is trying to secure more stable policy to give stronger signals to investors. Those options include a phase out for the credit and making the incentive permanent ...But Republicans have told The Hill they believe a phase out is AWEA's stance. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38309 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38245 Wed, 01 May 2013 18:58:07 GMT As the $0.023/kWh production tax credit (PTC) is back on a countdown to expiration just months after US Congress passed a short-term extension of the incentive, some in the US wind sector are weighing whether negotiating its eventual demise may be the only way to put the industry on a stable footing for the long term. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38245 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38233 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:52:15 GMT PTC eligibility for 2013 also requires that project developers demonstrate that projects be under "continuous construction" from 1 January 2014 until completion. This marks a change from the cash grant system - which gave renewable energy project developers the option to receive 30% of project costs up front in lieu of a tax credit - for which projects were eligible using the Safe Harbor Rule or by being under continuous construction. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38233 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38146 Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:04:59 GMT Sixteen of the 29 states with renewable portfolio standards are considering legislation that would reduce the need for wind and solar power, according to researchers backed by the U.S. Energy Department. North Carolina lawmakers may be among the first to move, followed by Colorado and Connecticut. ...Repealing the state's RPS policy "would help increase disposable income, attract more business investment and make energy more affordable for consumers." http://www.windaction.org/articles/38146 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38081 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:29:50 GMT Under the IRS notice for PTCs, Burton explains, the tax-equity investor will need to consider not only whether 5% of a project's costs have been incurred, but also whether continuous construction was undertaken starting Jan. 1, 2014. "Continuous construction introduces an additional subjective element that requires an incremental layer of analysis for tax-equity investors and their counsel to grapple with," he says. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38081 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38072 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:16:38 GMT The Internal Revenue Service explained today what developers must do this year to be considered to have started construction of new renewable energy projects. The IRS adopted roughly the same definition for start of construction as under the Treasury cash grant program. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38072 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38068 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:56:22 GMT The Internal Revenue Service completed rules today that define how wind-farm developers can qualify for tax breaks. Under a law signed by President Barack Obama in January, wind projects must begin construction by Dec. 31 to qualify for the production tax credit. That's looser than the standard from previous years, which required energy production to qualify. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38068 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8798 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:27:29 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/8798 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38046 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:25:34 GMT Congress is slowly but steadily drilling into energy policy tax issues, but anyone hoping to see detailed plans soon may be disappointed. "Like any good play, you have to set the scenes, and we'll see what happens in the final act," said Steve Nadel, executive director for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38046 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38051 Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:58:53 GMT The PTC's fate could be decided within the broader negotiations in Congress over how to overhaul the tax code for the first time since 1986. Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee have been meeting privately for months on the topic, and additional details are expected to be rolled out over the course of this year. But it remains an open question whether tax reform will become a reality. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38051 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38036 Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:12:46 GMT Republicans who control the House of Representatives have criticized Obama's clean-energy initiatives as wasteful boondoggles, pointing to the high-profile bankruptcies of companies like solar-panel maker Solyndra that benefited from federal backing. But the budget proposal signals that clean energy will remain a priority for Obama in his second term in office. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38036 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38006 Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:57:15 GMT "This labyrinth of overlapping programs has spawned a system in which a single wind project could have siphoned public funds from numerous federal and state programs," Daniel Simmons, director of state affairs at the Institute for Energy Research, wrote in U.S. News & World Report. "These include a Section 1603 grant, accelerated depreciation, a DOE loan guarantee, state tax incentives, and indirect subsidies from a state Renewable Portfolio Standard. Adding to the waste, GAO reports that states often design their initiatives to skirt double-dipping laws." http://www.windaction.org/articles/38006 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37989 Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:16:44 GMT No one is exactly sure what it means to begin construction. There are some obvious assumptions that can be made, but at the edges, such as where a developer is contracting for facility components, the final vision or location of a project is not completely fixed, or instances where an adequate financial commitment is made to begin construction, the rules for qualification will be vital. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37989 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37933 Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:35:21 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/37933 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37920 Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:00:46 GMT "I will continue my efforts to get rid of the 20-year-old, multi-billion-dollar subsidy for unreliable, expensive wind energy that stands no chance of powering our nation's 21st century economy." ...Perhaps just as important, Alexander said, wind turbines would scar the mountaintops of Tennessee, the only place in the state where they can work. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37920 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37897 Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:07:58 GMT Mr. Sanford said he wrote the bill because he is opposed to government mandates, not because he favors any particular energy source-a sentiment echoed by legislators in other states. "Texas is blessed with a lot of incredible resources for energy, wind and solar amongst them. But they need to be developed with free-market principles, not with the heavy hand of government directing us to an inefficient process," he said in an interview. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37897 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37917 Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:43:55 GMT The US government has not justified its financial support of wind energy and that failure could lead to unnecessary federal spending to boost the wind industry ..."Federal support in excess of what is needed to induce projects to be built could instead be used to induce other projects or simply withheld, thereby reducing federal expenditures," http://www.windaction.org/articles/37917 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37825 Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:54:37 GMT Indeed, the flurry of activity may represent more of a shuffle than an expansion. Developers are mainly dusting off projects they already had in the works, rather than seeking out new business, while others are trying to sell off unfinished projects, experts and executives said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37825 http://www.windaction.org/articles/9699 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:11:43 GMT Hurdles to securitizing renewable-power deals remain, both for government and private contracts. The idea of securitization is to spread risk across hundreds of contracts and ensure a steady return for investors. That is much easier to do with home mortgages than it is with solar- or wind-power contracts, due largely to the relative immaturity and small size of renewable-energy markets. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9699 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37698 Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:48:29 GMT An interview with Royer for The Courier-News about the meeting that had been set for Monday afternoon was cancelled Monday morning. Carol Gieske, president of the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, said, "It was a closed meeting, so he is unable to discuss what transpired." http://www.windaction.org/articles/37698