Wind power

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2010 - The U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Navy are co-hosting an all day forum in Hawaii on April 6, 2010, to share information about a recently announced collaborative energy opportunity. Among those providing remarks are Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen A. Merrigan and Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, assistant secretary of the Navy for installations and environment. The program is taking place on the Marine Corps Base-Hawaii in the Kaneohe Bay Officers Club.    » read more »

March 12, 2010 -- A groundbreaking study has found that Nebraska and the other states in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) region can reliably obtain 40% of their electricity from wind energy, achieving major carbon emissions reductions and incurring only minor costs associated with operating the power system differently than it operates today.    » read more »

More Than 2,000 Say Delay Will Worsen Consequences and Drive Up Costs

WASHINGTON (March 11, 2010) – Nobel Prize-winning economists and scientists will deliver a letter to the U.S. Senate today, urging lawmakers to require immediate cuts in global warming emissions. The letter was signed by more than 2,000 prominent U.S. economists and climate scientists, including eight Nobel laureates, 32 National Academy of Sciences members, 11 MacArthur "genius award" winners, and three National Medal of Science recipients.    » read more »

03/09/2010 -- WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on the annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2008 draft report. This report will be open for public comment for 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published.

The draft report shows that in 2008, overall greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions have decreased by 2.9 percent. This downward trend was attributed to a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions associated with fuel and electricity consumption. Total emissions from GHGs were about 6,946 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent. Overall, emissions have grown by 13.6 percent from 1990 to 2008.    » read more »

Project will create 200 jobs, power 7,700 homes and reduce dependence on oil

March 5, 2010 -- Washington DC --- U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy has offered a conditional commitment on a $117 million loan guarantee to finance the construction and start-up of an innovative 30 megawatt (MW) wind energy project in Kahuku, Hawaii.

Kahuku Wind Power, LLC will install twelve 2.5 MW wind turbine generators along with a battery energy storage system for electricity load stability. The loan guarantee is being supported by funds made available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.    » read more »

03/05/2010 -- WASHINGTON, DC- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar praised the work of the 22-member Wind Turbine Guidelines Federal Advisory Committee, which reached consensus on a set of draft recommendations aimed at minimizing the impacts of land-based wind farms on wildlife and its habitat.

Salazar said he will review the recommendations and take them under advisement as he asks the Service to develop guidelines for evaluating wind energy development on public and private lands.    » read more »

03/01/2010 -- WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today concluded the historic preservation consultation process for the proposed Cape Wind energy project in Nantucket Sound, clearing the way for a final decision on the project.

The Secretary notified the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation that the parties to the consultations have not been able to reach agreement on mitigation actions for the proposed wind turbine farm in federal waters of Nantucket Sound. The Council has 45 days to provide an opportunity for the consulting parties and the public to offer their views. The Advisory Council will then provide its comments to the Secretary, who will take those comments into consideration before deciding whether to approve or deny the project.    » read more »

March 3, 2010 -- The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today issued the following statement from AWEA CEO Denise Bode:

“At a time when the construction unemployment rate is nearly 25% and the manufacturing unemployment rate is 13%, this proposal would cost 50,000 American workers their jobs.

The truth is, by law, Recovery Act grants can only be used to finance projects that are being built in the United States.

This proposal would torpedo one of the most successful job creation efforts of the Recovery Act, which has already preserved half of the 85,000 American jobs in the U.S. wind industry.    » read more »

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently issued the following statement from AWEA CEO Denise Bode on a new assessment from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showing that U.S. wind resources are larger than previously estimated:    » read more »

Bipartisan bill would extend key production and investment tax credits for offshore wind until 2020

March 3, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced legislation to provide critical financial incentives for the investment and production of offshore wind energy.

Specifically, the Carper-Snowe-Brown-Collins Offshore Wind Bill provides the offshore wind industry with enhanced stability by extending production and investment tax credits for offshore wind until 2020. These provisions are vital because of the long lead times required to permit and construct wind turbines offshore, compared to onshore wind energy.    » read more »

March 5, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Hawaii will receive a $117 million federal loan to finance the construction of a 30 megawatt wind farm in Kahuku, Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka announced today.

The project is expected to supply electricity to 7,700 households and avoid the production of nearly 160 million pounds of carbon dioxide. The plant's construction will create 200 jobs and upon completion will provide between six and 10 full-time positions in Kahuku.

The conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will be paid for with money made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.    » read more »

New Bipartisan Legislation Part of E4 Initiative to Create Jobs While Addressing Energy Challenges

February 23, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John Ensign (R-NV) are introducing renewable energy legislation today that could be a boon for businesses that produce renewable energy technologies, lead to green job creation and help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.    » read more »

Creating the Clean Energy Economy of Tomorrow

Having steered the economy back from the brink of a depression, the Administration is committed to moving the Nation from recession to recovery by sparking job creation to get millions of Americans back to work and building a new foundation for the long-term prosperity for all American families. To do this, the 2011 Budget makes critical investments in the key areas that will help to reverse the decline in economic security that American families have experienced over the past decade with investments in education, clean energy, infrastructure, and innovation.    » read more »

Copenhagen Accord recycles old climate commitments, leaving the world heading for catastrophic climate change

31 January 2010 -- Amsterdam, Netherlands -- With the passing of the Copenhagen Accord's 31 January deadline for its supporters to submit their pledges to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the absence of strengthened commitments has failed to meet the Accord's stated objective of taking action to limit global warming to under 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F), a critical threshold for avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.    » read more »