Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens is on a mission, and wants you to support his energy plan away from imported oil and towards natural gas and wind power. But commentator Will Wilkinson says to be wary of what you hear.

Energy expert, Glenn Schleede, explains how federal subsidies make wind power an easy choice for T. Boone Pickens but a losing proposition for American taxpayers.

Federal electricity subsidies and support per unit of production (dollars per megawatt hour) varied widely by fuel in FY2007, according to EIA. Coal-based synfuels (refined coal) that are eligible for the alternative fuels tax credit, solar power and wind power received the highest subsidies per unit of generation, ranging from more than $23 to nearly $30 per megawatt hour of generation. The smallest subsidies on a per unit basis were for coal, natural gas and petroleum liquids, and municipal solid waste, all at less than $0.45 per megawatthour of generation.

Pace Global Energy Services, LLC (“Pace”) was commissioned by Delmarva Power and Light (“Delmarva”) to independently assess the economic impacts of the proposed Bluewater Wind off-shore wind farm (the “BWW Project”) on Delmarva’s Standard Offer Service (“SOS”) customers. The review undertaken by Pace was based solely on publicly-available information and data sources. The report can be downloaded by clicking on the below link.

The Independent Energy Producers of Maine (IEPM) commissioned the Brattle Group to prepare an analysis on retail rate trends and on the economics of utility cost-based generation in Maine. Brattle Group’s white paper was submitted to Maine Public Utilities Commission in regard to Docket 2007-317, an inquiry on reentry of electric utilities into the energy supply business. Appendix A of the paper details the "Economics of wind power in Maine".

This report details transmission and operating issues and recommendations for integrating renewable resources on the CAISO Control Grid. The CAISO discusses the gross variations in electric production from wind energy due to the intermittent nature of the resource. During periods of highest demand, the winds drop off.

This important peer-reviewed paper written by bat expert Dr. Thomas H. Kunz et al identifies the significant risk wind turbines pose for migratory and local bat populations in the mid-Atlantic Highlands region of the United States. The projected number of annual fatalities of bats at wind energy facilities in the Highlands in the year 2020 can reach up to 111,000 bats.

The November passage of Initiative 937 adds Washington to the states with renewable portfolio standards. Wind-powered generation is a resource of choice in meeting renewable standards, and it has been highly touted for its environmental benefits. Considered in isolation, the environmental benefits of a wind resource are undoubtedly warranted. However, it is misleading to consider wind on an isolated basis—that is, outside of the context of the full power-supply portfolio that is necessary to serve load. In the context of an integrated portfolio, much of the environmental benefit disappears and may even be non-existent as compared with other resource portfolio choices. In particular, a full assessment of the impact of wind resources on the environment necessitates a look at the energy consequences of adding wind-generation to an integrated portfolio in the context of meeting load. Accounting for energy, it is likely that there is no significant environmental difference between a resource portfolio adding wind generation and one adding high-efficiency combined-cycle gas turbines. It is also likely that the wind-based portfolio results in little reduction, if any, in the need for fossil fuels and therefore little reduction in the exposure to their price swings and environmental consequences. That is, the emissions and fossil-fuel impacts of a wind-based portfolio appear little better than a non-wind-based portfolio.

Editor's Note: This paper makes a critically important point re. wind's purported environmental benefits, i.e. "...it is misleading to consider wind on an isolated basis—that is, outside of the context of the full power-supply portfolio that is necessary to serve load. In the context of an integrated portfolio, much of the environmental benefit disappears and may even be non-existent as compared with other resource portfolio choices." In short, wind's environmental benefits (if any) will be grid-specific depending on the emissions generated (if any) of the reliable generating source(s) required to back it up.