"Subsidies for renewables make sense only if they're achieving a societal benefit," said staff attorney Ed McNamara in a handwritten note on one draft report. "Without retirement of RECs, the only societal benefit of Vermont's program is economic development (and through) an inefficient method."

"Quebecers pay literally hundreds of millions of dollars a year to produce electricity from wind turbines that they don't need. This energy is 2.5 times more expensive than hydroelectricity. Even if they account for only a small proportion of the electricity produced here, Hydro-Québec has indicated that the most recent rate hike was due almost entirely to these new projects."

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.

Two-thirds of the cost of wind development is paid for by taxpayers. New subsidized power from remote states will be paid for by the ratepayer/taxpayer. Congress has called for the phaseout of wind subsidies. When that happens, the new transmission lines surely will be the next "bridge to nowhere." Happy Global Wind Day.

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.

The Prime Minister said he would "think very carefully" about green subsidies for energy sources such as wind farms and solar panels, as they "end up on consumer bills". He admitted that fuel bills are being driven up by green subsidies, even though the Department of Energy and Climate Change largely blames the rising cost of gas for soaring energy costs.

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."

After Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge David Garfunkel ruled that the town's original PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, agreement with Antrim Wind Energy for a proposed wind farm is null and void on May 20, town officials met with members of Antrim Wind Monday night to discuss terms for a revised PILOT, which was drafted by the wind developer.

"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."

"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."

E.ON Climate &Renewables this week canceled an appearance before the council, from which it was scheduled to ask for property tax abatement for a wind farm. The reason? "In my opinion, they pulled the request off the table ...in my opinion, trust me, the council will most likely turn it down, most likely unanimously."

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.

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.

"I've made it very clear that Nebraskans deserve tax relief first ... before you ought to be considering a bill like that, and especially providing special tax breaks for a Kansas company so they can ship Nebraska energy" out of state, Heineman said during a conference call with reporters. "You ought to ask him why that makes sense."

Dank said the wind tax credits, among the most costly issued by state government, benefit some companies that are selling the power they generate to other states. "The Oklahoma taxpayers are being asked to subsidize electric customers in Tennessee and Alabama," he said.

Wind farm operators are being paid millions for "wasted" electricity under a complex system known as constraint payments. Since 2011 over £26.5million has been paid out under the constraint payments

According to various reports these incentives were scrapped as many developers took incentives to save tax and after the completion of incentives either neglected or abandoned the wind farms altogether.

Speculation the project could end up “dead in the water” intensified when Swedish company Vattenfall – Europe’s sixth-largest generator of electricity – announced plans to put its 75 per cent stake in the venture up for sale.

AWEA is trying to secure more stable policy to give stronger signals to investors. Those options include a phase out for the credit and making the incentive permanent ...But Republicans have told The Hill they believe a phase out is AWEA's stance.