A new analysis of government and industry figures shows that wind turbine owners received £1.2billion in the form of a consumer subsidy, paid by a supplement on electricity bills last year. They employed 12,000 people, to produce an effective £100,000 subsidy on each job. The disclosure is potentially embarrassing for the wind industry, which claims it is an economically dynamic sector that creates jobs.

Merkel's policy to wean Europe's biggest power market off fossil fuels and to embrace renewables has led to a boom in green energy sources, but ballooning costs have led to calls for cuts to feed-in tariffs and for industry to pay more. "Dealing with the renewable energy reform is the most urgent of the energy topics, in my view."

"It remains to be seen just how, or if, this new direction will have any impact on Pattern and Samsung's project, which already has Feed-in-Tariff approval," Clarke said. "Going forward, if there will be a more inclusive process that engages municipalities, that's fine, but what does it mean for current projects?" ..."The devil will be in the details."

The costs of start-up financing for green energy and the compensation for expansion of the power grid are added to customers' electricity bills in the form of a special tax. The entire subsidy system is supposed to come to an end when green energy becomes competitive. That, at least, is the theory. But the reality is different. No longer can one simply describe the tax as a way to get renewable energies off the ground. Indeed, following Berlin's decision two years ago to shelve nuclear energy and accelerate the expansion of renewables, the EEG has become a giant redistribution machine.

Shortly after a blade came loose at the Ocotillo Express Wind facility in Imperial County earlier this month, facility operator Pattern Energy deftly handed the matter off to turbine builder Siemens Energy. With a muted press statement issued Friday, it looks as though Siemens is now trying to pass the buck as well.

"This would just be terrible for the dairies around here," said Weld County Commissioner and Platteville-area farmer Doug Rademacher, who added that Weld County's five-member Board of County Commissioners has spoken out against Senate Bill 252. "It would really be disastrous for all of ag. A farmer told me the other day this could increase his electricity costs for (groundwater) pumping by about $8,000 per month."

Sixteen of the 29 states with renewable portfolio standards are considering legislation that would reduce the need for wind and solar power, according to researchers backed by the U.S. Energy Department. North Carolina lawmakers may be among the first to move, followed by Colorado and Connecticut. ...Repealing the state's RPS policy "would help increase disposable income, attract more business investment and make energy more affordable for consumers."

"I will continue my efforts to get rid of the 20-year-old, multi-billion-dollar subsidy for unreliable, expensive wind energy that stands no chance of powering our nation's 21st century economy." ...Perhaps just as important, Alexander said, wind turbines would scar the mountaintops of Tennessee, the only place in the state where they can work.

Generous subsidies for renewable energy in Europe widespread. Europe's debt crisis has many nations focused on costs, not climate change. Rocketing prices, infrastructure challenges, budget cutbacks paring renewables push.

However, some members wanted to see the program repealed, including House Republican Alliance co-chair Rep Pam Tucker, R-Greenland. ...Over the past two years, the House voted to repeal RGGI, while the Senate wanted to modify the program. Two years ago, the bill died when the Senate failed to override former Gov. John Lynch's veto.

Surplus wind power could cost Ontario ratepayers millions and compromise power system, says electricity system operator. It says renewable energy market rules must change. ...The IESO has drawn up new rules that will allow it to shut output from wind and solar operators ...The renewable power generators are fighting the new rules vigorously.

As the session progresses, renewable energy advocates are bracing to defend critical policies that have helped Texas become the leading wind-power state. The ascendancy of the Tea Party, an abundance of cheap natural gas and tighter budgets have reduced the sway of the wind industry. Solar power advocates anticipate limited gains at best.

In the report, released on Monday, the authors say wind energy "will never be suited as the lone or primary source of grid electricity due to its variable nature and will not deliver the environmental benefits expected".

Fresh off their successful push to extend a key tax break in the PTC, wind industry lobbyists are beginning to prepare for the tax reform fight. But the push for some longer-term certainty will proceed without at least one key ally in Congress. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) says the one-year extension and expansion of the PTC that were included in this month's "fiscal cliff" legislation should be sufficient for the industry.

"Defendants used the ATVM loan program as nothing more than a veil to steer hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to government cronies," according to the district court complaint. Today's lawsuits are the latest challenge to clean-energy loan programs administered by the Energy Department, which has come under scrutiny over a $535 million loan guarantee to now-bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra.

Xcel won't need more wind energy until 2019 at the earliest, because it has built up a sufficient storehouse of wind energy, Xcel spokeswoman Mary Sandok said. Xcel will revive its idea for a consumer renewable credit with Congress this year when lobbying begins anew on extending the production tax credit beyond 2013.

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), a second-term lawmaker who opposes energy credits, said he believes Congress "can get rid of a big swath" of energy subsidies. "I've spent the first two years in Congress talking about these market distortions," Pompeo told The Hill. "This is the stuff that five years ago wasn't even talked about. I think we've made a lot of progress in getting awareness."

The PSB recommends that the renewable energy credits be retired - and not re-sold to polluting power companies. The board says that because RECs are sold in the regional market, utilities in other states can use them to offset their own emissions.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Congress should double the Energy Department's (DOE) research and development funding to generate breakthroughs that would reduce oil dependency and close the federal deficit. Alexander said he would pay for part of that $6 billion bump by eliminating a tax incentive for wind power production that he has long opposed.