“But the true intent of AWWI’s study is not about accurate mortality estimates. It’s about deflecting the avian mortality problem…. The fact is, many more birds (and bats) are dying at operating wind plants than we know, and as the turbines spread, mortality will increase. Now is not the time to relax our concern and look elsewhere. Rather, we should [demand] … that the industry be held accountable for bird mortality once and for all!”

Nobody really knows how many birds are destroyed annually in wind turbine related collisions. [1] Wind proponents have long discounted the carnage by pointing at other sources of bird mortality including cats, windows, and communications towers [2], but the issue still haunts developers.

This month, the American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) released its latest analysis of bird fatalities with the focus on small passerines (commonly referred to as songbirds).…

“The wind industry is in tatters in Germany, being routed out in Spain, and reduced to operating without mandates such as the RET (Renewable Energy Targets) in AU. It is only a short matter of time before the U.S. and Canada begin their unraveling. It is time for the USFWS to demand complete accountability from developers and pressure the Department of Interior for rapid and realistic policies to protect Eagles, not ‘stabilize’ an industry that wobbles with its every assertion.”

Re: Docket No. FWS–R9–MB–2011–0094-0491 (September 4, 2014)

On behalf of the Great Lakes Wind Truth Group, USA and Canada, and NA-PAW (North American Platform Against Wind Power), representing more than 350 groups, we vigorously protest any permitting AT ALL, for killing of endangered or at risk species via the U.S.…

Wind energy development in the United States has slumped. Despite record installations in 2012, and eking out a 1-year, $12 billion extension [1] of the wind production tax credit (PTC), new wind capacity last year fell to just 1,087 megawatts, a level not seen in more than a decade. Development in 2014 is showing signs of improvement, but the year may not fare much better.

The industry blames Congress and the uncertainty surrounding the PTC for the slowdown. But such thinking is overly simplistic and ignores the fundamental challenges facing big wind. This slump, like others that plagued development in prior years, can be traced directly to generous government assistance, current energy prices, and the inherent limitations of wind power.

Slowdown Reasons

The Section 1603 cash grants enacted under ARRA fueled a wind bubble as developers raced to build and qualify their sites.…

“Since Siemens’ tax-sheltering market is drying up in Europe, their marketing efforts in the U.S. are clearly geared towards increasing income for its investors via wind’s tax sheltering schemes here. Taxpayers, consumers take note!”

If you watch much mainstream TV, you’ve probably seen Siemens’ recent  multi-million-dollar advertising blitz  to sell the American public on industrial wind.

As it turns out, the wind business abroad has taken a huge hit of late. European countries have begun slashing renewable mandates due to the ever-broadening realization that renewables cost far more than industrial wind proponents have led everyone to believe — not only economically, but environmentally, technically, and civilly as well.

As reported in the article Siemens onshore, offshore pain: “Siemens’ energy business took a €48m hit in the second quarter related to a bearings issue with onshore turbines and a €23m charge due to ongoing offshore grid issues in Germany.”…