This presentation indicates that for New England the increasing demand for summer-time electricity is greater and increasing faster than winter-time demand. The fast-rising need for power in summer will likely result in construction of new power plants to keep ahead of demand - although inland industrial wind plants will not be able to contribute much to this demand period due to their very low capacity factor during summer months.

Promotional brochure for conference on financing wind power projects held at the Metropolitan Hotel, NYC, December 3-5,2003

"The biggest blackout in history on August 14, 2003 brought all economic activity in the northeastern United States to a halt. At 4:11pm EST, the sudden plunge into darkness was a reminder of just how much we depend on energy for much of our activities.

Thirty years earlier, another energy shock – the 1973 OPEC oil embargo – provided a more protracted lesson in the importance of energy to our overall well-being. The recommendations in this Plan all stem from the fundamental importance of energy to the State’s economy and the well-being of its citizens. Because energy – especially electricity – remains a fundamental driver of the VT economy, competitively priced energy continues to be vital, since differentials in energy costs can be a determinant in relative competitiveness of one region over another.

The disparity between the average electric rates Vermont’s residential and business customers pay, and the average rates paid by customers in the U.S. as a whole, has steadily increased. In 1990, Vermont’s residential electric rates were about 15 percent higher than the U.S. average, commercial rates were about 20 percent higher, and industrial rates were some 35 percent higher than the U.S. average. Today, that disparity has grown to about 50 percent for all three classes"....

Eric Rosenbloom's comments on a report written by Eleanor Tillinghast on the poor performance of Vermont's Searsburg wind project. An environmental advocate in southwest Massachusetts, Ms. Tillinghast's report was published in The Caledonian-Record of St. Johnsbury (Vt) on December 17, 2003 but, unfortunately, is not available on line.

This letter, written by Tom Hewson, responds to a New York State resident who had inquired about the impact of industrial wind turbines on property values. The letter specifically critiques the REPP study. It provides as well an overview of other studies that existed as of Fall 2003.

"The issue simply comes down to nuisance and aesthetics. If the project creates a nuisance (noise, shadow flicker, TV/cell phone interference, radar interference), it can cause lower property values to adversely affected areas. People can simply apply their own personal evaluation criteria to determine the extent of the property change. What would it be worth to you? Generally, the bigger the nuisance, the larger the devaluation. Localities can minimize nuisances from wind projects by setting minimum setbacks, proper location siting and noise limits. My concern with the REPP study is that it doesn't try to examine the nuisance effect by selecting a large 5 mile area."

Energy losses in the U.S. T&D system were 7.2% in 1995, accounting for 2.5 quads of primary energy and 36.5 MtC. Losses are divided such that about 60% are from lines and 40% are from transformers (most of which are for distribution).

More than 25 national and regional conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, National Audubon Society, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Endangered Species Coalition, today called on Interior Secretary Gale Norton and other federal officials to assess the impacts of planned extensive wind power development on Appalachian mountain ridges on migratory birds, before these projects are constructed. In a letter to Secretary Norton and others, the groups cited documented bird kills by existing wind turbines in the region, and urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to develop appropriate criteria for siting and construction of these facilities under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to kill migratory birds.

Several detailed technical investigations of grid ancillary service impacts of wind power plants in the United States have recently been performed. These studies were applied to Xcel Energy (in Minnesota) and PacifiCorp and the Bonneville Power Administration (both in the northwestern United States). Although the approaches vary, three utility time frames appear to be most at issue: regulation, load following, and unit commitment. This paper describes and compares the analytic frameworks from recent analysis and discusses the implications and cost estimates of wind integration. The findings of these studies indicate that relatively large-scale wind generation will have an impact on power system operation and costs, but these impacts and costs are relatively low at penetration rates that are expected over the next several years.

"In a number of European nations, offshore wind farms are well established. However, in the United States, the concept is relatively new and an established approval process for offshore wind farm permitting does not yet exist. This document identifies the approval process one would need to take in order to site an offshore wind farm in coastal waters of the U.S., particularly North Carolina."

Editor's Note: The U.S. Minerals Management Service, a branch of the Interior Department, has review responsibility for offshore projects per the 2005 Energy Policy Act passed in May 2005.