The industry must fight the perception that wind energy cannot compete with fossil fuels
Coming off one of the most tumultuous years in its recent history, the U.S. wind power industry has emerged stronger and more confident of its future, industry leaders gathered here for the American Wind Energy Association‘s national conference said yesterday.
But for wind power to solidify its standing in a highly competitive energy market, it must shift its focus from federal tax policies to seek a broader agenda that plays to wind energy’s inherent strengths while fighting back against those who argue that wind cannot compete with fossil fuels for electricity generation.
Citing the industry’s robust growth, with wind turbines accounting for 42 percent of all new generation added to the U.S. grid in 2012, AWEA’s new board chairman, Gabriel Alonso, said wind energy developers, manufacturers and consumers have proved that the renewable energy resource is here to stay.
“That’s good news, but it’s just another chapter in a story we keep writing every day,” said Alonso, CEO of Houston-based EDP Renewables North America. Future chapters will have to place the industry on a clearer path to economic security, one that does not rely on the on-again, off-again cycle of federal tax policies that have sustained the industry for decades.
Even if total wind power installations dropped marginally from last year’s record 13,000 megawatts, Alonso predicted, the industry could remain “vibrant and sustainable.” But the boom-and-bust cycle associated with a strong reliance on government incentives “does not make for a sustainable industry.”
Alonso called on the wind power industry’s 1,200 members to commit to more aggressive campaigning on behalf of wind energy and to powerfully convey the industry’s positive message in Washington, D.C., as well as in statehouses and town council chambers across the country. “You have a message that matters,” he said.
Tom Kiernan, AWEA’s incoming president and CEO, said of the industry’s challenges: “The country needs us to succeed. The natural world needs us to succeed. And frankly, my children and your children need us to succeed.”
Borrowing a page from environmentalists
To that end, some wind power advocates argued that the industry should borrow a page from the environmental movement by challenging renewable energy naysayers head on and ratcheting up its rhetoric on wind energy’s environmental benefits relative to fossil fuels rather than seeking to peacefully coexist alongside the oil, coal and gas sectors.
Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation and one of several high-profile environmental leaders addressing the Chicago conference, told AWEA members that they represent “an insurgent industry” that is “taking on an incumbent industry that plays hardball.”
“I would urge you all to become more aggressive,” he added, “because if you don’t be more creative, more aggressive, more willing to take risks, this industry will move along at a pace that will not solve our problems.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Wind Power
- Coal power stations in NH converting to battery storage for offshore wind | CloseUpon May 12, 2024 at 12:54 pm
On CloseUp, Granite Shore Power highlighted its plan to transition the Merrimack and Schiller stations to battery storage for anticipated development of offshore wind platforms in the Gulf of Maine.
- ‘Wind Repowering’ Has Rejuvenated Turbines to Boost Gigawatts and Power Millions More Homeson May 12, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Wind repowering is revamping old turbines with more efficient components that can deliver a higher energy output with less noise.
- What’s Going On: Does size matter when it comes to State Pier’s wind turbines?on May 12, 2024 at 5:36 am
A Wind Summit last month in New London, combined with some extracurricular reading, left me wondering if the 30-acre State Pier laydown area will be adequate to handle the increasingly massive ...
- Northeast Oklahoma residents organize against wind turbineson May 10, 2024 at 12:59 pm
More than 50 turbines are planned for construction beginning in 2028. “Just like the chicken houses, this is bringing people together,” said Delaware County resident Emily Oakley.
- First turbine installed at Iberdrola’s Baltic Eagle offshore wind farmon May 10, 2024 at 1:21 am
Iberdrola has announced that the first of 50 wind turbines has been successfully installed at the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea. This marks a milestone for the 476MW project ...
- Wind turbine manufacturers see record year driven by growth in home marketson May 9, 2024 at 11:29 pm
GW of new capacity last yea . Wind turbine manufacturers see record year driven by growth in home markets . wind Utilities ...
- Massive wind turbines that will power Google head to eastern North Carolinaon May 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
One by one, 242-foot-long wind turbine blades are headed to eastern North Carolina where they’ll be powering Google next year. One by one, 242-foot-long wind turbine blades are headed to eastern North ...
- The Scots engineer who pioneered the wind turbineon May 8, 2024 at 2:58 pm
When James Blyth created what many believe was the world’s first wind turbine in 1887, villagers dismissed it as the "work of the devil". The huge structure at Blyth’s family home in the Aberdeenshire ...
- Massive wind turbines that will power Google head to North Carolinaon May 8, 2024 at 12:02 pm
One by one, 242-foot-long wind turbine blades are headed to eastern North Carolina where they’ll be powering Google next year. The blades are starting to arrive at the Port of Morehead City, where ...
- Wind turbines keep getting biggeron May 8, 2024 at 9:21 am
I N RECENT YEARS the manufacture of blades for wind turbines has undergone a revolution, as it were. Two decades ago lengths of 40 metres or so were an achievement. Thanks largely to lighter and ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Wind Power
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Wind Power” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Wind energy
- Trump vows to target offshore wind from ‘day one’on May 12, 2024 at 6:03 pm
Donald Trump vowed to issue an executive order targeting offshore wind development if he wins a second term as president, making his most explicit threat yet toward the growing industry.
- ‘Wind Repowering’ Has Rejuvenated Turbines to Boost Gigawatts and Power Millions More Homeson May 12, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Wind repowering is revamping old turbines with more efficient components that can deliver a higher energy output with less noise.
- What’s Going On: Does size matter when it comes to State Pier’s wind turbines?on May 12, 2024 at 5:36 am
A Wind Summit last month in New London, combined with some extracurricular reading, left me wondering if the 30-acre State Pier laydown area will be adequate to handle the increasingly massive ...
- Wind Energy Newson May 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Machine Learning Enables Viability of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have used a genetic learning algorithm to identify optimal pitch profiles for the blades of vertical ...
- Northeast Oklahoma residents organize against wind turbineson May 10, 2024 at 12:59 pm
More than 50 turbines are planned for construction beginning in 2028. “Just like the chicken houses, this is bringing people together,” said Delaware County resident Emily Oakley.
- Solar Is Leaving Wind In The Dust As World Renewable Energy Hits New Highon May 10, 2024 at 7:37 am
In 2000, renewable energy (i.e. solar and wind) made up less than 19% of the global energy mix. Today, they make up more than 30%.
- Wind energy can be unpredictable. AI can helpon May 10, 2024 at 6:29 am
Sims Witherspoon is a researcher using AI to fight climate change. She says AI can help solve the biggest problem with renewables like wind and solar: their unpredictable nature.
- Are NH and Maine poised to become the 'Saudi Arabia of wind energy'? Advocates say yes.on May 9, 2024 at 2:25 am
Want to learn about offshore wind power efforts off NH and Maine coast? A public hearing is coming to Portsmouth's Urban Forestry Center on May 29.
- Massive wind turbines that will power Google head to eastern North Carolinaon May 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
On May 27, they’ll start arriving at the wind farm site outside of Edenton. Apex Clean Energy announced last year that it had reached a power purchase agreement with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) for the farm ...
- Massive wind turbines that will power Google head to North Carolinaon May 8, 2024 at 12:02 pm
One by one, 242-foot-long wind turbine blades are headed to eastern North Carolina where they’ll be powering Google next year. The blades are starting to arrive at the Port of Morehead City, where ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Wind energy
[google_news title=”” keyword=”wind energy” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]