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Tilting at windmills; Germany's Energiewende bodes ill for the country's European leadership
June 15, 2013 in The Economist
June 15, 2013 in The Economist
Because producers of renewables are paid a fixed price, their subsidy rises as the spot price of electricity falls. On cloudy days Germany relies ever more on brown coal. ...The cost of this mess is passed on to electricity users. Household fuel bills have gone up by a quarter over the past three years ...because the contracts guaranteeing renewables prices are set for 20 years, the problem will get worse as more supplies come on stream.
CA wind facilities want permits that will allow them to harm eagles
June 13, 2013 by Chris Clarke in ReWire
June 13, 2013 by Chris Clarke in ReWire
The existence of the permit applications was revealed by FOIA requests by Oklahoma journalist Louise Red Corn, and shared Thursday in a web-based seminar held by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). The 102.5-megawatt Shiloh IV Wind project applied for its take permit in March 2012, and the other three projects have applied in the last six months.
Haldimand realtors say home values will drop; Realtors recall industrial hog farm scare
June 13, 2013 by Pieter Van Hiel in Grimsby Lincoln News
June 13, 2013 by Pieter Van Hiel in Grimsby Lincoln News
About a decade ago, large industrial pork operations were moving into the area, and residents and politicians were concerned about the environmental and fiscal impact of the farms. ...This pattern of events is unfolding all over again, say local realtors, as Haldimand becomes home to one of Canada’s largest wind energy projects.
Speaking at an energy conference in Berlin, Ms. Merkel said she still supports further expansion of renewable energy such as wind and solar power to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. But she said the costs need to be contained as global rivals are benefiting from lower energy prices.
Utility executives welcomed her recognition, but criticized her for remaining vague on specifics.
A ruling by a federal court in the Midwest may force California to buy renewable energy from out of state whether it wants to or not, potentially spurring energy development in the desert areas east of the California state line. The decision found that Michigan laws favoring in-state renewable energy generation are unconstitutional.
The White House last week set firm deadlines for fast-tracking the construction of new power lines needed to thwart cyberattacks and meet President Obama's goal of doubling renewable electricity generation by 2020.
Also filed under [
Transmission|
USA]
A federal appeals court found last week that it's unconstitutional for Michigan to discriminate against out-of-state renewable electricity - a decision being described as giving a major edge to clean power in the legal fight over the future of the U.S. grid.
U.S. to lease federal waters for commercial offshore wind energy
June 5, 2013 by John M. Broder in The New York Times
June 5, 2013 by John M. Broder in The New York Times
The federal government will hold the first lease sale for commercial offshore wind energy projects at the end of July, the Interior Department announced on Tuesday. ...In 2010, federal officials approved the fiercely contested offshore wind farm known as Cape Wind after nine years of battles with Massachusetts residents.
Also filed under [
Offshore Wind|
USA]
US to Auction Wind Energy Leases off RI, Mass.
June 4, 2013 by Michelle R. Smith in Associated Press
June 4, 2013 by Michelle R. Smith in Associated Press
The Department of Interior and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management first announced plans for the auction in November but did not set a date. They said at the time the federal government would also auction a lease off the coast of Virginia, though plans have not yet been announced for that sale.
Also filed under [
Offshore Wind|
USA]
Long awaited guidance on the Production Tax Credit
June 3, 2013 by Susan Kraemer in Wind Energy Update
June 3, 2013 by Susan Kraemer in Wind Energy Update
"I think that is the most difficult thing for the wind industry, that you have the lack of predictability for the regime that basically helps incentivise the industry," says Pugh. "This kind of start and stop of the PTC, and this kind of unpredictability of it, is very difficult."
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
Lamar Alexander urges doubling research and development
May 31, 2013 by Dave Flessner in Times Free Press
May 31, 2013 by Dave Flessner in Times Free Press
Alexander criticized proposals for nationwide renewable portfolio standards and repeated his opposition to continued federal subsidies for wind power, which he said has already received $16 billion in subsidies since 2009. Congress just granted another year of production tax credits for wind energy that is projected to cost the treasury another $12 billion.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
USA]
U.S. sued over policy on killing endangered wildlife
May 29, 2013 by Julie Cart in Los Angeles Times
May 29, 2013 by Julie Cart in Los Angeles Times
This story does not involve wind energy development, but the concerns raised are applicable.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
USA]
The quality concerns have emerged just after a surge in solar construction. In the United States, the Solar Energy Industries Association said that solar panel generating capacity exploded from 83 megawatts in 2003 to 7,266 megawatts in 2012. "We need to face up to the fact that corners are being cut," said Conrad Burke, general manager for DuPont's billion-dollar photovoltaic division, which supplies materials to solar manufacturers.
Study costs will increase electrical bills
May 28, 2013 by Alan Yonan Jr. in Honolulu Star Advertiser
May 28, 2013 by Alan Yonan Jr. in Honolulu Star Advertiser
Hawaiian Electric Co. residential customers on Oahu will pay an average of 13 cents more a month over the next three years to cover the cost of preliminary studies HECO completed as part of its plan to generate wind energy on the neighbor islands and transmit it to Oahu via an undersea cable.
Also filed under [
Impact on Economy|
Hawaii]
Recurring GOP bill updated to include wind tax credit phaseout
May 27, 2013 by Nick Juliano in E&E News
May 27, 2013 by Nick Juliano in E&E News
A House Republican has updated his recurring energy bill this year to include a phaseout of a key renewable energy tax credit, marking the first inclusion in formal legislation of an idea the wind industry floated last year.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
The California condor's slow 20-year climb back from the brink of extinction has long been a fragile not-quite-success story in the conservation world. So when the news came on Friday that developers of a wind-energy project near the Mojave Desert would not face criminal charges if the blades killed a single condor, environmental groups expressed grave concern.
"This blindsided folks," Kelly Fuller of the American Bird Conservancy said in an interview.
IEA warns Germany on soaring green dream costs
May 25, 2013 by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Telegraph
May 25, 2013 by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Telegraph
Germany's push for wind and solar and its retreat from nuclear power is driving electricity costs to untenable levels and destroying support for the green agenda, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.
Realtor Susan Whitehead said she has been trying to sell a property on Weeden Road for two years. That property was put on the market for reasons unrelated to the turbines, but Whitehead said buyers ask about the machines, which are visible across Little Bay, "100 percent of the time."
"They ask about the noise, they ask about the flicker, and then they don't put in an offer," she said.
Germany must shield its consumers from paying too much of the cost of its ambitious switch from nuclear power and fossil fuels towards renewable energy, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.
The IEA also said that Germany, with Europe's biggest economy, should make greater use of natural gas to smoothe the transition.
Feds give wind farm a pass if turbine blades kill endangered condors
May 24, 2013 by Louis Sahagun in Los Angeles Times
May 24, 2013 by Louis Sahagun in Los Angeles Times
In granting a right-of-way, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, with approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will shield Alta Windpower Development from prosecution if a condor is fatally injured at its 2,300-acre site near the high-desert town of Mojave during the projected 30-year lifetime of the project.