“The bulk of AWEA’s presentation was designed to show how many and diverse are the offshore wind projects under way. Other than Deepwater Wind and the likely dead Cape Wind projects, all the other projects or possible projects are living on government grants and/or remain little more than speculative research projects. [AWEA head Tom] Kiernan acknowledged that the problem for offshore wind is its cost, likely three to five times that of onshore wind projects.

At last month’s National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) annual meeting, the Offshore Renewables Committee hosted a breakout-session presentation by Tom Kiernan, chief executive officer of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).  With him was research analyst Celeste Wanner who presented a rundown of the status of offshore wind projects. [1]

As one would expect, Mr. Kiernan presented all the positives for wind energy – its cost has declined to where it is now competitive with coal and natural gas generated electricity, there are no emissions since there is no fuel burned to generate electricity.…

“According to the American Wind Energy Association, more than 15,000 MW of new wind is currently under construction or in advanced stages of development. Under the IRS’ loose rules, the number of MWs eligible for the full subsidy could easily double that. Yet, this change was not subject to public input or any type of budget scoring.”

“In 2013 and again in 2015, Windaction sent letters to the IRS calling on the Service to do just that. Each time we were ignored. This latest overreach by the IRS runs afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act and is ripe for court action.”

Remember the wind PTC/ITC phase-out enacted by Congress under the Protecting American from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act)? Under that law, the wind PTC would be reduced by 20% in each of the years 2017, 2018, and 2019 for projects that start construction.…

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. To this end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

Some of the more insightful articles in this issue are:

New US federal rule would permit thousands of eagle deaths

Archive: Prove This Wrong — Wind Makes Zero Sense

150% Renewable Energy Required to be Fossil Free

CO2 Emissions from Gas Balancing Wind Energy

Video: German Pastoral Landscapes converted to Industrial Zones

Video: Fossil Fuels: The Greenest Energy

The Nuclear Reaction

Video: What Do Scientists Say

After 10 Years, an Inconvenient Truth is Alarmingly Inaccurate

NASA: Doubling SLR by Data Tampering

US General’s Senate Testimony: Climate Change and War

Climate Crisis and Political Power

CEI Strikes Back At Unlawful Subpoena

Greed Energy Economics:

Norway to End Renewable Energy Scheme by 2021

German Wind Projects Paid $500M to Stand Idle

Archive: Prove This Wrong — Wind Makes Zero Sense

Archive: The Real Cost of Electricity

Research: State Renewable Energy Policies

Why Renewable Energy Can’t Exist Without the Government

Turbines Result in Negative 99% Return on Investment

Poster Child for Clean Energy Files for Bankruptcy

Net Metering and the Death of US Rooftop Solar

Support for Green Power Has Been Shrinking

Denmark’s Electricity Subsidies Increase by 1000%

Renewable Energy Destroying Ecosystems:

New US federal rule would permit thousands of eagle deaths

Wind Project results in Less Breeding Birds

Wind Developers Don’t Have to Make Their Bird & Bat Kills Public

Miscellaneous Energy News:

150% Renewable Energy Required to be Fossil Free

CO2 Emissions from Gas Balancing Wind Energy

Video: German Pastoral Landscapes converted to Industrial Zones

Video: Fossil Fuels: The Greenest Energy

Video: Turbines Jeopardize Ontario Airspace

David MacKay video: The Final Cut

Navy & Air Force Share Concerns Regarding Wind Energy

The Good, Bad and Ugly on Maine Energy

Education Pushback to Children Getting Energy Propaganda

Illegal Turbine Puts Speculator in Jail

Obama Targets Electric Grid for Power Grab

Small Turbines Can Outperform Conventional Wind Turbines

Local legislators excluded from wind energy technical meeting

NYS Town Likely to Pass a Restrictive Wind Law

Why Wind Turbines Have Three Blades

The Nuclear Reaction

Decarbonising Power Generation — the Nuclear Option

US operator seeks swift SMR licensing to optimize low-carbon output

Wind turbine and tornado, after a lightning strike

Wind Industry is a Threat in your Backyard

NY Gov’s Loyalty to Greens Takes Precedence over State Welfare

See Wind Turbine Infrasound, inside a home

Manmade Global Warming Articles:

Video: What Do Scientists Say

After 10 Years, an Inconvenient Truth is Alarmingly Inaccurate

NASA: Doubling SLR by Data Tampering

US General’s Senate Testimony: Climate Change and War

Climate Crisis and Political Power

CEI Strikes Back At Unlawful Subpoena

Video: Sin, Deception and the Corruption of Science

Climate Change Lobby Wants to Kill Free Speech

CEI Wins Against RICO Ringleader in FOIA Lawsuit

Scientific silencers on the left are trying to shut down climate skepticism

Shining Light on ‘Settled’ Science: There Is No ‘Climate Crisis’

The Inconvenient Truth About the Environment

Seven Enviro Predictions in 1970 That Were Wrong

Elon Musk – Crony King

The Green Unreality Show

Are These Politicians Lying or Just Stupid?…

“Clearly the work of the U.S. Government laboratories played a crucial role in wind resource assessment and critically needed impetus to technology development―a role the private sector viewed as either too risky or representing an inadequate business opportunity. NREL has led and nurtured wind technology toward commercial viability since the 1970s and, in my view, this work represents one of the best return-on-investments in energy technology ever made by Uncle Sam.”

–  Jim Dehlsen, the founder of Zond Energy Systems (2003)

Enron might have saved the US wind industry in the mid-to-late 1990s. It began with its purchase of Zond Energy Systems in late 1996. At the time, Zond was in financial trouble, and its main domestic competitor, Kenetech, was in worse shape and would soon declare bankruptcy.

With Enron’s capital (and reputation at the time), the renamed Enron Wind Corp.…