Congress ended a year of wind industry angst this week by renewing for another year the production tax credit program that has helped sustain the growth of wind energy in the U.S..
Tags: · AWEA, Congress, PTC, U.S., Wind energy, Wind Farms, wind manufacturing
Despite having escaped this summer without rolling blackouts and the kind of heat we experienced last year, Texas is still dealing with the energy crunch issue. Luckily, our state is home to the nation’s largest wind power industry and it contains about a fifth of the country’s wind turbines. The Electric Reliability Grid of Texas (ERCOT), the Texas grid operator, announced that earlier this month wind throughout the state contributed 26 percent of the load on the grid, setting a new record…This is in addition to wind helping Texas avoid blackouts in February of last year, when a cold front proved too much for many traditional power plants.
Tags: · production tax credit, Renewable Energy, Texas grid, Wind Farms, wind jobs, Wind Power, wind record
From Green Right Now Reports
Whole Foods Market announced today that it purchased 776 million-kilowatt-hours of renewable energy credits from wind farms — equal to 100 percent of its electricity use in its North American operations. The company said nearly 90 percent of this year’s purchase will help fund E.ON Climate & Renewables’ recently-completed Texas-based Panther Creek wind farm.
The Panther Creek wind farm iis 50 miles east of Midland in Big Spring, Texas. It began operating in 2008, and its final phase of construction was recently completed. The project is built and operated by EC&R North America, a renewable energy developer headquartered in Chicago, with development offices in Austin and Denver. The remaining RECs come from a number of different wind farms in locations across the U.S. and Canada. The total purchase of 776,115,000 kilowatt hours, the largest to date by a U.S. retailer, was made in partnership with Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy.
Tags: · Big Spring, Renewable Choice Energy, Texas, Whole Foods Market, Wind Farms
The Cape Wind Energy Project released its final environmental impact report Friday. The project, to be located in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts, aspires to be America’s first offshore wind farm.
The project’s goal is to use the power of wind to provide three-quarters of Cape Cod and nearby islands’ clean electricity – enough to power about 200,000 homes – and at the same time, create new jobs and lower electric costs.
Photo: Cape Wind Associates
This images shows the projected view of the wind farm from Craigville six miles away.
The wind farm of 130 turbines five miles off the coast of Cape Cod would provide an alternative to using fossil fuels since wind is a renewable energy source. Already in use overseas in countries such as Denmark, wind power is a proven option to traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal.
Tags: · Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Cape Wind Energy Project, New England, Wind Farms
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift