News, Wind power needs federal assistance. (solar, pollution, tax credits, wind turbines)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Wind power has seen historic growth and the blessing of President Obama - but it's far from recession-proof.
The American Wind Energy Association reported Tuesday that the amount of electricity generated by wind turbines grew by 50 percent last year and 55 new manufacturing facilities were built to make turbine components.
This isn't really new news... Wind has been getting handouts since it's inception. In fact it can't support it's own existence without goverment support.
This isn't really new news... Wind has been getting handouts since it's inception. In fact it can't support it's own existence without goverment support.
Not according to the artice. Just tax breaks. Name an energy industry that doesn't have those. Since this is a growth industry they may also be trying to prevent the job losses that are impending in what has up to now been a source of new jobs. Last week there were 78,000 jobs lost, by some accounts. We're hitting the steep part of the slope that started last October. What's being proposed doesn't seem that different from what's being done in many other industries.
Quote:
Congress already has provided tax breaks for wind energy, but the industry maintains those credits aren't worth much if there is no taxable income.
Lawmakers in the House are considering, instead, government grants to cover 30 percent of upfront costs of wind-energy investments. A draft Senate version has no such provision, although it would provide a 30 percent investment tax credit for renewable energy, including wind power.
Wow if you look at the free ride coal has on pollution, nuclear has in direct subsidies over its entire life, and include the cost of our military presence in the Middle East in the price of oil, the ~$500 million in tax credits that wind receives a year seem pretty modest.
I say cut subsidies to coal industries, make them more accountable for the mess they create. That'll drive up the price of coal so lower cost alternatives can take dominance - geothermal, wind, solar. Cheaper than unsubsidized coal.
Hmph - I say, cut subsidies to EVERYONE, give me back my tax dollars to invest in the technology I choose, and let the technology stand or fail on its own. As could have happened in the ethanol craze, the marketplace, if unaltered by fanatical lobbyists and government sponsered nannyism, will fail and eliminate a poor idea - or an idea that has outlasted its viability - far more quickly and cheaply than has occurred under the superficial umbrella of fiscal protectionism.
I have been working on new designs for Wind Power for several years now. I DO NOT think the future of wind is going to be in huge Wind Farms that generate electricity to add to the existing ELECTRIC GRID.
When I was a kid growing up on a farm in Eastern Colorado the R.E.A (Rural Electrification Association) brought power lines to the family farm in the 1950's. Until about 1956 our family depended on a Wind Generator for electricity. Of course at that time the only thing we used electricity for was a Radio, a few light bulbs and an electric fan.
With the new battery technology we have now smaller (15 KWH) Wind Generator can pay for themselves even without tax credits etc. In some states tax credits and buybacks by utility companies can make small generators profitable. Ironically New Jersey has some of the best tax incentives for development.
One thing I would like to see is new thinking in other uses for windpower other than generating electricity. There are other ways to use that power.
Hey, Gunluvver, I'm in! Totally agree. I just wish that there was less regulation about where and how it could happen - i.e., in our state, I would love to put up turbines on my hill to power my house AND my little town - but no, I have to let them put the towers up and plug them into the grid. Sure I'd profit some (maybe - gotta think long-term here) but it wouldn't help my town AT ALL because they couldn't share in it and use it for their own progress and development! What's the point of THAT? Not to mention that the town itself is not allowed to put up their own... really stinks.
Keep working on it... I'd love to hear what you come up with!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
