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It is interesting that you say impact to migratory birds is unproven. If the case, why are wind facilities agreeing to shut down turbines during key migration periods? Wouldn’t that be an expensive concession given a 30-35% average output to begin with?

However the companies are structured, my question continues to be “wind power at what price?”. If I lived in Colorado, I would question how much of the land in my state would need to be consumed by wind turbines to make a difference in our fossil fuel use and corresponding green house gases. Yes, you can graze cows between the towers. But stating that the facility would “generally not impact land usage” could only be true if the land was of no use beyond grazing a cow here and there. Perhaps that is the case – and no one would live between the towers nor fashion any other commercial or residential opportunity. Even “useless” land is pretty to look at.

That said, as you move eastward, the ridgelines of New Hampshire and Vermont are hardly as expansive nor as “useless” in the opinion of many. You clearly have knowledge of the energy business. Do you have reason to believe that wind power can provide average output (minus any backup systems) to make a dent in the 20 million barrels we consume daily? If yes, would all of North Dakota need to be overrun with turbines to make that dent?

I wasn't aware of any facility that shuts itself down during migratory periods. Do you have a project name or location? Yes, it could be very costly to the wind farm, depending on the time of year it's shut down and for how long.

As for wind power at what price, states with an RPS have a lot of project developers running around trying to get projects going, giving utilities the ability to shop around to get the lowest price. But the project must then find an investor that finds it financially attractive in order to get built, not to mention many other permitting issues. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can't simply force a utility (and ultimately consumers) to buy energy from inefficient wind farms.

Wind power could probably make a small dent in America's energy consumption, not so much with regards to gasoline, but helping to replace aging coal and oil-fired power plants - often grandfathered from current EPA standards. You'd still need plenty of "baseload" fossil fuel power for when the wind isn't blowing, but with whatever subsidies or tax break/credits each industry receives, wind power is currently just as cost-effective as new fossil fuel power plants (as in $/kWh).

BTW, companies that shop "green" energy to consumers for a premium are just lining their pockets. The wind farms are likely already up and running, power purchased has already been factored into the utility's rates, and they are just playing on consumer's feelings for the environment.

I wasn't aware of any facility that shuts itself down during migratory periods. Do you have a project name or location? Yes, it could be very costly to the wind farm, depending on the time of year it's shut down and for how long.

As for wind power at what price, states with an RPS have a lot of project developers running around trying to get projects going, giving utilities the ability to shop around to get the lowest price. But the project must then find an investor that finds it financially attractive in order to get built, not to mention many other permitting issues. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can't simply force a utility (and ultimately consumers) to buy energy from inefficient wind farms.

Wind power could probably make a small dent in America's energy consumption, not so much with regards to gasoline, but helping to replace aging coal and oil-fired power plants - often grandfathered from current EPA standards. You'd still need plenty of "baseload" fossil fuel power for when the wind isn't blowing, but with whatever subsidies or tax break/credits each industry receives, wind power is currently just as cost-effective as new fossil fuel power plants (as in $/kWh).

BTW, companies that shop "green" energy to consumers for a premium are just lining their pockets. The wind farms are likely already up and running, power purchased has already been factored into the utility's rates, and they are just playing on consumer's feelings for the environment.