“Wind Power: A Turning Point” (Revisiting Worldwatch Institute Paper #45 from 1981)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 6, 2013 No Comments

“From all signs, the wind-energy field has reached that all-important turning point.”

– C. Flavin, Wind Power: A Turning Point (Worldwatch Institute: July 1981), p. 47.

Christopher Flavin, long associated with the Washington, DC-based Worldwatch Institute (see appendix below), was among the most thoughtful and prolific energy writer in the neo-Malthusian energy/environmentalist camp. His tone was positive, his writing clear, and his research well documented. Flavin’s work is scholarly compared to his (shrill) predecessor, Lester Brown, the founder of WorldWatch. Still, Flavin’s final products are little more than lawyer briefs for energy/climate alarmism.

Flavin is now paying the price for assuming alarmism to hype market-incorrect energies. He banked on wind and solar as primary energies despite the fact that they were dilute, intermittent, and environmentally invasive. Flavin pretty much forgot his early caution and warnings about windpower (see his introduction to Paul Gipe’s Windpower Comes of Age).

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Ignorant Arrogance: Energy “Market Failure” Revisited

By Peter Grossman -- May 2, 2013 3 Comments

[Ed. note: Dr. Grossman is author of the just-released U.S. Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure, an important and sobering tome with much insight about today’s debate.]

The U.S. government has claimed over the years one and one reason only for government intrusion into markets: Market failure. As a Carter administration document put it:

The first assumption for any commercialization activity by the government is that the market either has failed or will fail to make the optimum choice … [and] that the government policy maker can make a better selection than can the market.

Every administration has reiterated something like this. The Clinton administration made the point that the government needed to get involved in creating an 80-miles-per-gallon “supercar” because as the president claimed, “[T]here are a lot of things that we need to be working on that market forces alone can’t do.”

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Short of Repeal, Reform the PTC in 2013!

By -- April 24, 2013 1 Comment

In the final hours of the 2012 fiscal cliff negotiations, the now 20-year old wind production tax credit (PTC) was granted a 1-year extension at the estimated cost of $12 billion. [1] This move was done behind closed doors, without debate or opportunity for amendment and no obligation of the Congress to find a way to pay for it.

With this most recent extension of the PTC, the Congress took no action to address the harmful effects [2] of the PTC on competitive wholesale energy markets.

The PTC is set to expire on December 31st. Until this long postponed day, the legislative opportunity is for the Congress to amend the flawed tax provision to relieve market distortions [3] and promote more reliable, least-cost renewable choices for taxpayers.

Market Signals That Work

Nearly two decades ago, electric energy markets in most of the U.S.

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AWED Energy & Environmental Newsletter: April 23, 2013

By -- April 23, 2013 4 Comments

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy & environmental policies. Our basic position is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using real science.

Instead of a science-based approach, our energy and environmental policies are typically written by those who stand to economically or politically profit from them. As a result, anything genuinely science-based in these policies is usually inadvertent and accidental.

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every 3 weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and environmental matters. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

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This is a brief summary of my Science talk.

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Believe or Know? Modern Environmentalism Reconsidered (Earth Day thoughts for midcourse correction)

By Ben Acheson -- April 22, 2013 2 Comments Continue Reading

Is the Great Climate Alarm Winding Down?

By Douglas Gregory -- April 18, 2013 11 Comments Continue Reading

All You Need to Know About RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates)

By -- April 12, 2013 13 Comments Continue Reading

IMF’s Carbon Tax Shenanigans: Part II

By -- April 10, 2013 7 Comments Continue Reading

IMF’s Carbon Tax Shenanigans: Part I

By -- April 9, 2013 9 Comments Continue Reading

FERC Order 1000: Cost Socialization for ‘Green’ Energy (NRDC, AWEA Rejoice)

By -- April 8, 2013 13 Comments Continue Reading