www.windaction.org | Impact on Economy

£1m for wind farms to shut turbines for one day
May 5, 2013 by Tom Peterkin in The Scotsman

Power companies operating wind farms in Scotland were paid more than £1 million to shut down their turbines for a single day last month, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. ...The so-called "constraint payments" are paid by the National Grid to energy companies when energy supply outstrips demand - turbines are switched off so they stop producing electricity to rebalance the system.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| UK]

Origin CEO Grant King says carbon tax, renewables targets hurt industry
May 1, 2013 by Michael Bennet in The Australian

The boss of Origin Energy, one of the nation's largest energy providers, has called for a review of Australias renewables targets along with the carbon tax, which he said put the nation at an increasing competitive disadvantage .

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies| Australia / New Zealand]

Siemens says German energy switch on track for failure on costs
April 30, 2013 by Stefan Nicola in Bloomberg News

Germany is burning more coal because gas plants are not economical, subsidies for renewables are pushing up power prices, and a greater share of fluctuating renewables threaten the stability of electrical grids, Michael Suess, chief executive officer of Siemens Energy, said.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| Germany]

Inquiry to probe wind farm property price impacts
April 16, 2013 in AU News

A Federal Court decision has triggered a South Australian parliamentary investigation into whether wind farms can devalue neighbouring properties. The terms of reference have been expanded for a select committee looking into wind farm developments.

Also filed under [ Property Values| Australia / New Zealand]

Energy tax reform a heavy lift for lawmakers
April 12, 2013 by Darren Goode in The Politico

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.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies| USA]

Merkel's no-nuke stumble may erode re-election support
April 11, 2013 by Stefan Nicola in Bloomberg News

Merkel's main opponent in the election, Peer Steinbrueck of the Social Democratic Party, is capitalizing on discontent with the energy switch. In December, he said at an SPD summit that Germans now live in fear of power outages because of government missteps. One month later, the SPD beat Merkel's CDU in a vote in Lower Saxony -- the third straight regional defeat for the incumbent party and a sign that its lead in the national election may be eroding.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies| Germany]

EU Energy Chief Wants to Prioritize Affordability
April 10, 2013 by Jan Hromadko in Wall Street Journal

"Today we are looking at climate protection in its entirety, taking into account that energy has to remain affordable for industries and private households," Günther Oettinger, the European commissioner for energy, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Any new carbon or clean-energy targets should be more "modest and pragmatic" in light of the continent's economic woes, he said.

Also filed under [ Europe]

New York renewable power plan would cost $382 billion by 2030
April 8, 2013 by Louise Downing in Bloomberg News

"It's too ambitious by 2030 to replace all the state's power with renewables," Angus McCrone, a senior analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London, said today. The projections, he said, look "unrealistic" for individual technologies. ...offshore wind turbines would cover an area of about 4,903 square miles, and onshore machines would cover a further 1,000 square miles.

Also filed under [ Impact on Landscape| Energy Policy| New York]

Merkel Losing Allies in $700 Billion Shift to Renewables
April 5, 2013 by Stefan Nicola & Tino Andresen in Bloomberg News

With consumer power bills increasing and Merkel facing elections in September, Germany's energy policy is rising on the political agenda. The cost of developing wind farms in the North Sea has surged following construction glitches and delays in linking turbines to the grid. "The entire energy switch has derailed," Marc Nettelbeck, an analyst at DZ Bank AG, said this week by phone from Frankfurt. "The difficulties connecting offshore wind farms to the power grid reduces their profitability and renders the original investment calculations of utilities invalid."

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies| Germany]

Searchlight wind farm could reduce property values by 25-60 percent, suggest studies
April 2, 2013 by Kyle Gillis in Nevada Journal

Recent studies and testimony by real estate appraisers from around the world indicate that properties within two to three miles of wind turbines have seen their values decline from 25 to 60 percent - with the decreased value being "tantamount to an inverse condemnation, or regulatory taking of private property rights."

Also filed under [ Property Values| Nevada]

Costly renewable energy 'will damage UK's economy'
April 1, 2013 by Julian Knight in The Independent

A cross-industry group called the Powerline is to launch a scathing attack on the Bill, due to be given Royal Assent later this year, through advertising and social media. The business leaders are furious at what they see as the energy Bill's over-reliance on costly renewable energy at the expensive of traditional and lower-cost energy sources such as coal-fired and gas power stations.

Also filed under [ UK]

Losses of power distributors in Bulgaria due to EU renewable energy requirements
April 1, 2013 in Novinite

Haritonova's comments, came in response to the intentions of EVN to sue Bulgaria over the dispute with DKEVR over the obligations for purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources. Stressing that it had accumulated losses of BGN 100 M in Bulgaria, EVN vowed on March 19 to file a lawsuit with the International Court of Arbitration to protect its investments, unless an agreement was achieved within 3-6 months.

Also filed under [ Europe]

States Cooling to Renewable Energy
March 28, 2013 by Ryan Tracy in Wall Street Journal

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.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies| USA]

£286 green tax on energy bills: But ministers insist 'efficient appliances' will save us money
March 27, 2013 by Nick Mcdermott in Daily Mail

Energy Secretary insisted households will be better off due to initiatives but families will only benefit if they buy more efficient domestic appliances. Average bill is now £1,267 with £112 of that amount going on green taxes. By 2020 green taxes will have risen by over 150 per cent - £286 per family. Charity said government 'embarrassed by terrifying cost of green policies'. Claimed it is 'covering up' with a 'whitewash of wildly optimistic assumptions'.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies| UK]

Farmers fear ill wind in expansion of turbine plan
March 24, 2013 by John Thistleton in The Canberra Times

An explosion of proposed wind farms near Canberra and their divisive nature have turned communities against them, the Liberal candidate for Hume claims. Angus Taylor said neighbouring farmers were terrified their land values will plunge 30 per cent.

Also filed under [ Property Values| Australia / New Zealand]

Rural municipalities fight wind farms with high fees
March 22, 2013 by John Spears in Toronto Star

Bluewater's new law would impose a building permit fee of $14,000 per turbine on wind developments. The bylaw also imposes refundable security deposits totaling $420,000 per turbine for decommissioning, health and property damage, and legal fees.

Also filed under [ Tax Breaks & Subsidies| Canada]

Overflow crowd at wind farm hearing; Tipton BZA listening to pros and cons.
March 21, 2013 by Ken de la Bastide in Kokomo Tribune

At the center of the battle between opponents and proponents of the Prairie Breeze project is the potential impact on property values in the area. ...Appraiser Mike McCann, representing the CRD, said a wind farm will change the character of the area from residential and rural to industrial and decreases the desirability of selling a residential property.

Also filed under [ Property Values| Indiana]

More pain to come on power prices
March 18, 2013 by Peter Hannam and Brian Robins in Camden Haven Courier

Even though wind power is inexpensive to build, it is difficult to obtain the permits and approvals, and it also needs gas-fired power stations to generate electricity when the wind is not blowing. ...''At the moment, these are marginal fuels, free-riding on the system. Once that free ride is over, they will have to pay their way, and that will result in increased costs.''

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| Australia / New Zealand]

California utilities' renewable energy spending up
March 15, 2013 by David R. Baker in San Francisco Chronicle

The utilities have warned that the push to buy renewable power will raise customers' bills. PG&E, for example, estimates that renewable contracts will add about 1 to 2 percent to bills each year through 2020. ...Long-term power purchase contracts with wind farms, solar plants and other renewable energy facilities averaged 9.9 cents per kilowatt hour.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| California]

Barely 2,000 onshore wind farm jobs in Scotland
March 15, 2013 by Simon Johnson in The Telegraph

"The rhetoric from the Scottish Government over recent years has given the clear impression that wind farms are worth the visual sacrifice because they are such a major source of employment. Yet now we learn that are only 2,000 employed thanks to wind farm developments."

Also filed under [ UK]