This type of clean, no-emissions power is growing with gusto in many Spanish-speaking locations. It’s taking hold in Mexico and in Brazil, where General Electric is helping advance special turbines that capture the lighter, steady breezes characteristic of that country.
Tags: · American Wind Energy, BarbaraKesslerBlog, Red Electrica, Spain, U.S., Wind energy
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
A bipartisan coalition of governors has written to Congress to plead for the extension of the Production Tax Credit that has helped fuel the development of wind energy in the U.S..
The PTC, set to expire at the end of December, provides wind developers with a tax break that makes the business more profitable. Proponents say it’s needed to level the playing field for new energy, which must compete against subsidized fossil fuel industries like coal and natural gas.
Tags: · AWEA, clean energy, Congress, Governors, jobs, manufacturing, Renewable Energy, Wind energy, wind layoffs
U.S. wind energy workers are losing their jobs as factories pare back in apparent response to the potential loss of a tax credit that has bolstered wind development.
Losses include layoffs and planned layoffs at wind manufacturing facilities in Tulsa, Okla., West Fargo, N.D., and in Little Rock, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports.
Tags: · AWEA, clean energy, PTC, renewables, tax subsidies, U.S. wind, Wind energy
Wind energy will grow fastest in Asia and other parts of the developing world over the next few years, but appears headed for a drop in activity in North America starting in 2013, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
The council released a five-year outlook report this week that predicts it is too late for the US to avoid a decline in wind energy production caused by Congress’ reluctance to renew the production tax credit that has fueled growth in the sector in recent years.
Tags: · Global Wind Energy Council, Green Energy, Wind energy, wind energy growth, wind energy stagnation
The wind is whipping down the plains, challenging the view that renewable energy can play only a small role on the electricity grid, according to figures released today by the American Wind Energy Association.
AWEA’s annual report shows that five states received more than 10 percent of their electricity from wind in 2011:
Tags: · 2012 prospects, annual report for 2011, AWEA, Green Energy, production tax credit, Renewable Energy, Wind energy
Governors representing a majority of the U.S. population have asked Congress to extend tax credits for renewable energy to help keep wind power moving forward in America, and to retain green jobs in the wind sector
Tags: · Congress, governors appeal, Governors' Wind Energy Coalition, tax credits for wind, Wind energy, Wind Power
Consumers and businesses will soon be able to buy from companies that are certified for using wind power by looking for the WindMade label, a new standard unveiled in New York today.
The label will be available first to companies that qualify by obtaining at least 25 percent of their power from wind energy, and soon thereafter, wind-powered companies will be able to use the label on qualified products.
Just as consumers now seek out the Organic certification on produce, or the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) label on furniture to assure that they are buying from environmentally responsible sources, the WindMade label will provide third-party verification that a product has been manufactured using clean, renewable wind energy.
Tags: · greenrightnow.com, Wind energy, wind industry touts new label for companies and products, WindMade label, WindMade.org
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any meaner, it gets meaner.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whose attempts to strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights has provoked massive demonstrations by angry teachers, firefighters and state employees, is now also drawing fire from environmental and clean energy advocates.
In addition to his plans to squash collective bargaining rights, Walker wants to dismantle several eco-friendly programs and has already axed one, the high speed rail line that would have been funded by federal stimulus money.
Tags: · anti-green crusade, BarbaraKesslerBlog, Gov. Scott Walker, greenrightnow.com, high-speed rail, un-greening, Wind energy, Wisconsin
Andrew Winston
A cover story in the NY Times today declares, “Cost of Green Power Makes Projects Tougher Sell.” Apparently wind turbines are not flying off the shelves as fast as a couple of years ago (when oil hit $145/barrel in mid-2008, it was a pretty good boost to the renewables industry).
While China and other countries ceaselessly invest in renewables, we continually see these kinds of ebbs and flows in our commitment depending on the politics of the moment. In the inexorable march toward a clean energy grid and economy, these slow-downs do take the wind out of your sails (pun intended).
Tags: · Andrew Winston, cost of renewable energy, green power, grid, OtherVoicesBlog, Renewable Energy, renewables, utilities, Wind energy
Now that the political winds have shifted, the American Wind Energy Association has taken a new snapshot of the horizon.
What do they see? Bipartisan support.
Really. They say they do. Those words came up often at an AWEA web conference on Friday to discuss the future of wind under the new split Congress. It became such a mantra — you could almost hear the turbines at Texas’ Horse Hollow wind farm whirring out the words bi-paaar-ti-saaaan sup-poooorrrrt, as AWEA CEO Denise Bode and others counted the ways they hope that “bipartisan support” will work to keep government wind supports alive in this witheringly tough economy.
Now before we dismiss this as naive thinking, we should remember that wind power actually does have serious bipartisan roots. Elected officials in 29 states have put targets for clean energy into place, pushing utilities to make room for wind- and solar-generated electricity that doesn’t pollute like the fossil fuels (mainly coal) they have relied upon. These initiatives, called Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS’s) were put into place mostly over the last decade and have been endorsed by legislators and governors of red and blue stripes (those a few more wear blue).
Tags: · AWEA, BarbaraKesslerBlog, clean energy economy, Green jobs, greenrightnow.com, offshore wind, Wind energy, Wind industry, wind manufacturing, Wind Power
Clean energy advocates and labor leaders are calling on the U.S. to step up its commitment to wind energy and wind-related manufacturing — or risk losing thousands of jobs to China, Europe and India.
American wind urgently needs strong supports, such as long-term investment tax credits and a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), to show investors and domestic and global companies that it believes in the sector, the leaders said at a Monday news conference. A RES would signal that the U.S. wants to incubate developing firms and build everything it needs — from wind towers and blades to the highly evolved nacelles that keep the turbines turning.
Tags: · American jobs, American Wind Energy Association, BlueGreen Alliance, clean energy, Green jobs, green manufacturing, jobs, manufacturing, Renewable Electricity Standard, Sierra Club, union jobs, United Steeworkers, wind, Wind energy, wind jobs
The village of Stella, Missouri, has constructed a veterans’ memorial of attractive design in the center of the village. Read more
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift