Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

U.S. wind turbine sales may dry up in 2013 unless lawmakers extend tax credits supporting the market beyond the end of next year, said Vestas Wind Systems A/S Chief Executive Officer Ditlev Engel.

Energy development capitalizing on the high winds in the area — which quickly turned sunshine to chill rain one afternoon in late October — has injected sluggish rural communities with new economic lifeblood. More than one local resident has called it the “windfall,” and it has bestowed hundreds of millions of dollars on West Texas schools.

Former lawmaker, FERC chairman to lead new Bipartisan Policy Center panel

Vestas Wind Systems forecast lower sales and profit margins in the next four years and said it would lay off workers at its American factories at the end of 2012 if the United States doesn’t renew the renewable energy production tax credit.

The production tax credit for renewable energy projects doesn’t expire for another year, but supporters are gearing up for a year-long fight in a presidential election cycle to win a four-year extension.

Lawmakers are poised to introduce a bipartisan bill extending a key federal incentive for wind energy developers through 2016. It’s emerging during a stormy debate over renewable energy subsidies and as lawmakers struggle to identify massive spending cuts before year’s end.

A House Republican has reintroduced legislation to grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission greater authority to overrule state opposition and ensure the construction of power lines.

Lawmakers are poised to introduce a bipartisan bill extending a key federal incentive for wind energy developers through 2016. It’s emerging during a stormy debate over renewable energy subsidies and as lawmakers struggle to identify massive spending cuts before year’s end.

Nebraska’s newest wind farm is set to make its official debut Monday, with the help of appearances by Gov. Dave Heineman and Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy.

Another wind farm opened on another windy ridge in West Virginia this week, 61 turbines stretched across 12 miles, generating up to 98 megawatts of electricity. But the novel element is a cluster of big steel boxes in the middle, the largest battery installation attached to the power grid in the continental United States.