Posted on 01/18/2008 5:25:03 AM PST by alnitak
Shattering all its previous records, the U.S. wind energy industry installed 5,244 megawatts (MW) in 2007, expanding the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 45% in a single calendar year and injecting an investment of over $9 billion into the economy, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced today. The new wind projects account for about 30% of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally in 2007 and will power the equivalent of 1.5 million American households annually while strengthening U.S. energy supply with clean, homegrown electric power.
“This is the third consecutive year of record-setting growth, establishing wind power as one of the largest sources of new electricity supply for the country,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “This remarkable and accelerating growth is driven by strong demand, favorable economics, and a period of welcome relief from the on-again, off-again, boom-and-bust, cycle of the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind power.”
“But the PTC and tax incentives for other renewable energy sources are now in danger of lapsing at the end of this year—and at the worst moment for the U.S economy,” added Swisher. “The U.S. wind industry calls on Congress and the President to quickly extend the PTC—the only existing U.S. incentive for wind power—in order to sustain this remarkable growth along with the manufacturing jobs, fresh economic opportunities, and reduction of global warming pollution that it provides.”
The U.S. wind power fleet now numbers 16,818 MW and spans 34 states. American wind farms will generate an estimated 48 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of wind energy in 2008, just over 1% of U.S. electricity supply, powering the equivalent of over 4.5 million homes.
(Excerpt) Read more at awea.org ...
Not following the logic here. Just because a wind developer pays less tax doesn't mean somebody else necessarily pays more. You're arguing that $1 less sent to the US treasury means somebody else is charged some incremental $1 somewhere else?
When Bush lowered your tax rate, let's call it a tax credit on the revenue of "traditional1, inc.", did somebody else get charged more?
And that Altamont pass photo is very disingenuous — modern wind farms look nothing like that monstrosity.
Well think about it... do you think if these engines were in Fords, Chevies, and Dodges they might suddenly make more money than Toyota? Now why wouldn’t someone want to do that? Further, some Saudi Sheik isn’t going to care. There’s plenty of ways to burn oil. Besides all he has to do is cut production, reduce supply and make the same amount if not more money.
This is just sad. They just completed a huge highly enriched uranium storage facility over here in Oak Ridge. Most of the uranium came dismantled weapons from the former Russian states and the US. It's not too hard to down blend the enriched uranium into fuel for power plants rather than spending $Billions to store it.
Nuclear is the only proven technology we could use to rapidly decrease our dependence on oil and avoid eventual energy rationing and/or sharp decreases in standards of living.
1. No containment structure.
2. Positive power feedback coefficient of reactivity in certain operating regimes (which is what they were in when they had their accident).
LWR technology as deployed in the West has neither of these shortcomings.
At what point will tax breaks and subsidies be equal for innovations within the oil business so that the pursuit of “alternative” energy stops getting in the way of the actual solutions in front of us?
How can we win the war by subsidizing boondoggles that are only a small part of the solution if that? How long can effectively spend hundreds of millions subsidizing boondoggles that only block the solutions?
Isn’t this the very definition of Washington subsidiaing and not solving the problem and yet we don’t hear a single candidate speaking of it.
You'll get no argument from me we need to rapidly expand nukes and oil development. But the govt doesn't "spend" hundreds of millions on wind energy -- wit doesn't "collect" the money. (see #21).
You know how us conservatives go nuts when liberals call a tax cut a "cost"? Or when the rate of growth in a govt agency budget is slowed it's called a "cut".
Well, let's all please use proper terminology here in the case of what the PTC tax credit is.
The Price-Anderson Act establishes the legal framework within which a privately-funded liability pool is established to provide protection against losses on a no-fault basis. No taxpayer dollars are involved. Private companies (utilities, etc.) pay into the pool and fund it. A private company writes the policies.
Buy your nuclear reactor insurance here
Price-Anderson establishes liability limits, but all insurance policies have liability limits. There is a provision for the government guaranteeing losses that exceed the liability pool limit (currently something like $10 billion), but along with that there is provision for Congress to pass legislation that raises the liability for plant owners/operators, with the intent that losses above the liability pool would be ultimately subrogated to the industry. And, between you and me, given the political climate, I have a feeling that if such legislation were required, it would be passed in record time by the Congress.
US government makes every molecule of fuel in every nuclear power plant, and US government invented the processes in the first place, with massive investments over decades. Yet, that’s not a subsidy in your book.
US government built the power lines across most of the country in TVA, Rural Electrification, Bonneville Power Authority. US government makes the waterways that bring the coal to coal fired plants safely navigable. US government subsidizes gas wells with special tax treatment. US government is so thoroughly entrenched in every aspect of the US energy market that the mere notion of a “free market” level playing field for alternative energy is a farce.
Thanks for the detail on it, but there is still a govt guarantee on top of the pool to make it work.
And how many billions of taxpayer dollars went into Yucca Mountain, which is a huge support to the industry?
I very much support Yucca Mountain and rapid development of nuke plants, btw. Just saying people ought not get up in arms that the PTC credit for wind energy is some huge pork check, or something way out of proportion compared to govt support in other areas of the energy industry.
And when will this new infrastructure of wind poser begin to need maintenance, which will decrease their profit margin?
Ha! Now they’re going to use up all our wind before it gets to us, we need wind credits pronto. Please join my Conserve Solar Energy and Wind Energy (CSEWE)movement by sending every dime you can afford to me. I’ll put it to good use protecting your children and grandchildren.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1986 provided for industry-funding of the development of Yucca Mountain. The DOE collects a millage on every kwhr of nuclear-generated electricity to provide for waste management. There is no taxpayer funding. It is consumer-funded, but then again everything in our economy ultimately is funded by the consumer. It is also interesting that the nuclear industry is the only industry required by law to plan for it's own decommissioning and waste disposal. Coal-fired plants, gas turbines, windmills, solar panels, oil refineries, steel mills, factories, chemical plants, all of these other industries don't have the same requirements for decommissioning/waste disposal as the nuclear industry.
Here's another thing not a lot of people know: the nuclear industry pays essentially 100% of the cost for the government to regulate it. Essentially all of the NRC's budget is covered by licensing fees paid by licensees. The industry essentially pays for the "privilege" of being regulated by the government. I know that's not true of things like the broadcast industry (FCC fees don't cover the budget of the FCC), the airline industry (the FAA), and industries regulated by EPA. But it's interesting that the nuclear industry is singled out in this manner.
Most of the fuel in US Nuclear Power plants comes from foreign suppliers.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/umar/figure_s1.jpg
Uranium Marketing Annual Eeport
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/umar/umar.html
The rest is still from private industry. Where did you get the idea the US goverment produced their fuel?
US government built a small percentage the power lines across most of the country. Fixed your typo.
US government subsidizes gas wells with special tax treatment.
Subsidizes? The goverment makes more money the companies on the oil and gas industry.
The largest Natural Gas Producers in the US is ConocoPhillips. Operator Level Data
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/current/pdf/appa.pdf
ConocoPhillips 2006
Net Income $15.5 billion
Taxes $31.0 billion
Income taxes $ 12.783B
Taxes other than income taxes $ 18.187B
ConocoPhillips 2006 Annual Report
Consolidated Income Statement
http://www.conocophillips.com/NR/rdonlyres/CA84868B-CB7C-4A44-BB60-AD5EFF254023/0/64_67.pdf
You are right. But the market can be freed up a whole lot more. We subsidized railroads but then had to struggle when they began to run the country and still do. River transport always forces railroads to lower rates when it is compeitive, but we had to subsidize much of river transport’s development. I’d say that nuclear power is a classical example. There are patents that would be suitable for private deployment in nuclear power but we have not freed the market and the Japanese, who are better than we are at subsidizing and enabling deployment into the market are far ahead of us on this, even offering their scheme to put small, deployed nuclear into Alaskan native villages as a demonstration. We are not using the new information structure to force our “leaders” to better this situation in energy, transportation, medicine or aerospace.
Uh oh!!
Has anyone squealed to the 'Commissar of Renewable Energy'?
Gonna be hell to pay. Hell to pay, I say!!
I guess that would be a surprise to the thousands of people working for GE and Westinghouse making nuclear fuel:
Nuclear fuel made by Westinghouse
Guess they better wake up and realize that they're really working for the US government? Bah!
Exactly, if programs continue, and are paid for by taxpayers, then the added revenue that SHOULD have come from other projects that recieved subsidies, the taxpayer continues to pick up that slack.
Likewise, where revenues would have INCREASED absent the tax-breaks, escalating expenditures that Congress ALWAYS comes up with are funded by ....(guess who)....the TAXPAYERS, instead of offset by the foregone subsidy revenues.
Follow the money......
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