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 brief paper reviews and evaluates key aspects of energy policies and plans announced by New York State officials, and contrasts their electricity plans with those of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) which is responsible for the reliability of New York's electricity grid. Both sets of plans have major implications for the people of New York.

On Jun 12, MA DOER granted Hydro Quebec approval for 108MW of wind to be eligible for the MA Rec market. There is an additional 212MW of wind that is already operating and may soon follow. DOER's decision is attached. A number of folks familiar with the New England REC market believe this decision, to be followed by others, will seriously depress REC values.