Feds move to speed approval for wind projects

Federal officials are moving to speed up their review of wind power projects across the Upper Great Plains in anticipation that the industry will continue growing, a situation that’s alarmed wildlife advocates who say many bird and bat species are being put at risk as wind turbines proliferate. The proposal would cover future wind farms in Montana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Companies to date have installed roughly 8,000 turbines generating more than 12,000 megawatts of wind energy in the six states. That’s almost one-fifth of the wind power in the U.S. and represents enough energy to power the equivalent of almost 3.3 million homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association. [ read more … ]

Short-term transmission planning shortchanges consumers, study says 

The planning of high-voltage power lines in the United States — marked by just-in-time, least-cost projects — is failing to prepare the nation for unavoidable changes to the power grid, ensuring that consumers will ultimately have to pay significantly more for electricity, a new study by transmission proponents argues. Commissioned by WIRES, an advocacy group including utilities and transmission developers and operators, the study by the Brattle Group is directed at power grid officials, regulators and members of Congress who are confronting implications of U.S. EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan on the future of the power grid. [ read more … ]

Moniz sees half of QER spending on grid and gas improvements 

About half of the $15 billion in federal spending proposed in the Department of Energy’s Quadrennial Energy Review would go to modernizing the electric grid and providing incentives to replace aging natural gas lines, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. It will be up to Congress to find a source of funding, although about $350 million has been set aside for grid modernization in the Energy Department’s fiscal 2016 budget, Moniz said during a press conference at the IHS CERAWeek conference here [ read more … ]

EPA’s McCarthy tells industry to ignore ‘doomsday’ talk, focus on innovation 

s Gina McCarthy spoke for a second straight year at one of the world’s top energy gatherings, the U.S. EPA administrator defended a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions and told the power industry to focus on its ability to innovate. McCarthy made a point at IHS CERAWeek here to outline the thinking behind EPA’s Clean Power Plan, saying a low-carbon future is an “inevitability.” She dismissed “doomsday” scenarios she said won’t happen because of the plan, which aims to use Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to seek carbon emissions reductions from power plants. [ read more … ]

Renewable energy, the best investment of the 21st century

It would be foolhardy to stanch federal investment in the research, development and commercialization of clean and renewable sources of energy. There is huge money to be made in this sector, which can bolster regional economies, rejuvenate the tax base, enhance our global competitiveness, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. If we fail to seize these opportunities, others will do so.

We are a nation of entrepreneurs, and today’s energy entrepreneurs — just like the energy entrepreneurs of a century ago — need encouragement and support. Without it, we ultimately will be buying from others what they should be buying from us. A significant number of the world’s most respected economists believe that renewable energy will be one of the most dynamic and profitable sectors of the global economy in the next 100 years. Nations that provide either mandates or private-sector incentives to develop and commercialize renewable energy technologies through tax credits, loans and innovation funding will have a significant economic advantage over those that do not. [ read more … ]

Xcel Energy leads nation in wind energy

Xcel Energy is named the number one wind power provider for the 11th consecutive year. “Wind is becoming more and more important to us than ever,” Mike Herro, community service manager at Xcel explained. The company holds nearly 6,000 megawatts of wind power. That powers nearly 3 million homes. [ read more … ]

To the Editor: Wind Energy’s Role

Most important, United States wind energy reduced carbon pollution by 125 million metric tons in 2014, the equivalent yearly emissions of 26 million cars. As the lowest cost zero-emission energy source, wind energy must play a critical role in tackling the most pressing challenge facing all of Earth’s lands: climate change. [ read more … ]

Growth in green energy jobs outpaces coal industry losses

Far more jobs have been created in wind and solar businesses in recent years than were lost in the collapse of the coal industry, and renewable-energy companies expect record growth in the United States this year. “I started this company in 2009, and I have seen tremendous growth since then,” said John Billingsley, chief executive of Tri-Global Energy in Dallas. Billingsley built his business on wind energy, which generated more than 10 percent of the electricity in Texas last year. He said he is hiring more workers to expand into solar power. [ read more … ]