In New Zealand we are told that windpower is economic compared to alternatives, that the unpredictable short term fluctuations can easily be covered by our "abundant hydropower" and it helps conserve hydropower storage. ...The truth is, as I will show, that windpower is expensive compared to alternatives, hydropower schemes have no spare capacity to back up windpower in a critical dry year and wind power output is lowest in the late summer and autumn when we need it most.

There is no doubt that wind farms are in vogue around the world as governments prioritise renewable energy projects in order to comply with the demands of the Kyoto Protocol. Such "green" energy projects have been promoted by environmentalists as the best way to not only save the planet from global warming, but to create thousands of green jobs in the process. On further investigation however, these claims are found to be spurious. Global temperatures are now cooling not warming, and for each green job created, 2.2 other jobs in other parts of the economy are destroyed.

Still, as fast as wind power is growing, the renewable energy source contributes only a fraction of the world's total power production, generating just 1.5% of electricity globally. The same day as the Worldwatch figures came out, Peabody Coal, the world's largest coal company, announced record earnings, making it clear that coal, which provides roughly 40% of the world's electric power, is still king.

There's also reason to expect that wind's green status will evaporate. For one thing, the pending proposals would require tens of millions of acres of new wind farms, much of it on land currently in its natural state. Environmentalists already object to certain wind farm sites and transmission line routes, and their complaints would greatly multiply if wind power expands. Its claimed global-warming benefits could also come under attack.

The first complaints were of the visual impact of wind farms on their landscapes and waterscapes. Now a new concern is emerging. People who live near wind turbines are complaining of health problems such as sleep disorders, migraines, tinnitus, equilibrium problems, depression and anxiety attacks, and in children, learning disabilities. A 2008 California study and a 2007 British study have dubbed the "wind turbine syndrome," an effect on the inner ear by low energy noise from the turbines. There may also be an effect from air pressure changes from the turning turbines.

Once again, you have made a farce out of the democratic process by remaining silent and secretive over the past seven years while avoiding a reasonable moratorium or making any comment on this matter until the last several weeks. Some serious realism and a sense of public purpose is needed, and not the arrogant and incompetent actions that seem to permeate this administration.

Governments are fond of setting specific targets by specific time frames to be seen to be doing something without properly considering the technical feasibility. Geothermal isn't ready for 2020. Hydro and biomass growth is limited by available resources. Solar, tidal and wave power are considered too expensive today and probably still will be in 2020. Which leaves us with wind and that will probably not deliver as much greenhouse gas reduction as we might have expected unless we are prepared to sacrifice network reliability.

Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts have introduced The American Clean Energy and Security Act. ...Michigan Democrat John Dingell dared to utter the truth on April 24. "Nobody in this country realizes that cap-and-trade is a tax, and a great big one." How big? $646 billion between 2012-2019, states President Obama's budget.

We aren't mere nimbys. In addition to resisting change that doesn't work, we adjacent landowners and residents of surrounding towns are saying "no" for very substantive reasons. Wind energy projects have a very large footprint and very real impacts. The 16-turbine Sheffield Wind Project would result in 7.5 miles of wide ridgeline roads, destruction of 62 acres of high-elevation forest, degradation of stream water quality and a large expanse of forestland being fragmented. Impacts to birds, bats, bears and other wildlife would be substantial.

The ripple of controversy prompted Premier Dalton McGuinty to vaguely promise to investigate: "We'll take advantage of the very best information that's out there to make sure that we're doing something that's intelligent," he said after Dr. Robert McMurtry, a former dean of medicine at the University of Western Ontario, presented the survey results. ...And after so many things - cigarettes, asbestos and pesticides - that were initially considered innocuous turned out not to be, I wouldn't dismiss concerns.

President Barack Obama has praised Spain as a global leader in renewable electricity generation and has lauded its success at creating so-called "green jobs." However, a recent Spanish university study concluded that Spain's mad rush to meet overly aggressive renewable standards has destroyed jobs and driven up the real cost of electricity, without cutting carbon emissions.

Years ago, Princeton economist Alan Blinder famously exhorted policy-makers to frame policy that was based on soft hearts and hard heads. The McGuinty government's proposed foray into investments in wind generation upends this admonition by giving us policy that is soft-hearted - and soft-headed.

On Friday, last week, the Manawatu Standard said Environment Minister Nick Smith had some explaining to do. Official documents obtained by the newspaper revealed Dr Smith's justification for calling-in the Turitea wind farm application was less than compelling, and at odds with the public explanation he gave in support of his decision. Dr Smith was out of the country last week, but responds to the Standard's coverage in today's edition.

let me clarify your editorial assumption that I "oppose the wind farm." It would be more accurate to say that I am skeptical that the proposed project, and the several more that are sure to follow, will be good for Mineral County.

As taxpayers of Allegany County, Maryland and residents of Harwood Subdivision located adjacent to the proposed Dan's Mountain Wind Project, we are in favor of zoning regulations for industrial wind farms and support Code Home Rule Bill No. 2-09. The proposed regulations will play a vital role in providing protection to property owners that presently does not exist.

Recently, Senate Bill 771, which would set up a study committee in the legislature to formulate statewide performance standards for industrial wind turbines, died in the House of Delegates without even the courtesy of a committee vote. As you will recall, this proposal by Senator Edwards received a favorable Senate Finance Committee vote and a 45-0 vote from the full Senate. This means that there are no safety, health or environmental protections against industrial wind turbines at the local or state level.

Why are we ignoring things we know? We know that the sun doesn't always shine and that the wind doesn't always blow. That means that solar cells and wind energy systems don't always provide electric power. Nevertheless, solar and wind energy seem to have captured the public's support as potentially being the primary or total answer to our electric power needs.

I feel compelled to share my considerable alarm about the views expressed by the new Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Mr. Wellinghoff. His suggestion that "baseload capacity is going to become an anachronism" and that renewable energy can meet all our future energy needs represents a dangerous delusion, at least for the next several decades. I am not dismissing the vital contribution of renewables in addressing climate change, or the potential of a smarter electricity grid to accommodate a greater share of generation from renewable sources than would be feasible today. ...Visionary leadership [...] must be grounded in reality, and not skewed by wishful thinking or the ingrained habits of a long career spent in advocacy for renewable energy.

Revelations in today's Manawatu Standard about how Dr Smith came to his decision to "call-in'' Mighty River Power's consent application for its Turitea Wind Farm make for startling reading. Dr Smith's decision last year to take the consent process away from the Palmerston North City Council because it was of "national significance'' angered many Palmerston North residents, not least the council.

The bill would require doubling in three years of the share of electric utility output that comes from renewable sources-wind, solar, geothermal, biomass-from three percent now to six percent in 2012. In a further leap of central-planning arrogance, the bill would raise that standard in stages to 25 percent in 2025. Sounds good? Maybe, but the technology to do it doesn't exist.