Vermont Environmentalists: 'Time Out' to Industrial Wind (Whoa moment in the Green Mountain State)

By Sherri Lange -- September 6, 2011 22 Comments

“What will we do when the wind turbines die? Will there be a ‘deconstruction tax’ placed on fossil fuels, oil, gas, and coal taking the blame for driving wind turbines into retirement?”

Former Governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas, says that wind turbines are the “wrong choice” for the famous ridgelines and natural beauty. Annette Smith, Executive Director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment (read her op-ed below), says “it’s not too late,” to examine the facets of building mammoth turbines in one of the most beautiful natural areas of America.

These new, important voices indicate that politically correct wind energy is creating a backlash in Vermont, as elsewhere.

Lifecycle Analysis

What is actually involved in the construction of huge turbines is often not thought of, unless, as Ms. Smith suggests, you are forced by proximity and imminence to consider the “engagement.”…

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Sustainability Lessons from Evergreen Solar's Bankruptcy (Part II)

By Gary Hunt -- August 24, 2011 10 Comments

Part I yesterday described Evergreen Solar Inc.’s recent bankruptcy protection filing, which has left Massachusetts holding the bag for tens of millions of dollars in tax benefits and subsidies for a Devens, MA solar panel factory. Massachusetts wanted to be a true believer, and the promise of 800 jobs in a recession was too good to pass up even if the risks were high.

For politicians looking for good press this was a great opportunity—until reality hit the fan. So what lessons does this failed ‘green’ energy experiment impart for other political jurisdictions eager to create jobs? I offer five.

1. Being green does not mean being sustainable.

Evergreen Solar expanded just as the solar market was reeling from feed-in-tariff (FiT) subsidy cuts in Spain and later Germany, the then hottest markets in the world.…

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Evergreen Solar Inc.: Anatomy of a 'Green' Bankruptcy (Part I)

By Gary Hunt -- August 23, 2011 2 Comments

Earlier this month, Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, claiming the lower costs of Chinese competitors drove it to restructure. The Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council, the Commonwealth board charged with overseeing MassDevelopment tax breaks to business, had previously voted May19 to end the 20-year, $15 million property tax break and terminate the $7.5 million in state tax credits for Evergreen, two months after the company shut its state-aided manufacturing plant in Devens, Massachusetts built and eliminated 800 jobs.

Adding insult to injury, Evergreen borrowed money to build a new solar manufacturing plant in China.

‘Clean-Energy’ Investments Up, but Performance Lags

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, new global investment in the clean energy sector (including solar) was up 27% to $41.7 billion in Q2:2011 from the prior quarter–and 22% higher than a year ago.…

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James Hansen Smacks Renewable Energy ("The Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy"–and Lovins as dreamer)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 22, 2011 17 Comments

“Suggesting that renewables will let us phase rapidly off fossil fuels in the United States, China, India, or the world as a whole is almost the equivalent of believing in the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy.”

Climate and energy alarmists war with reality. And now and again, the incentives line up for a particular alarmist to blow the whistle on some aspect of the governmental ‘cure’ to their problem. The incendiary Joe Romm, for example, trots out free-market-type arguments against carbon sequestration and nuclear (both too expensive).

Hansen on Cap-and-Trade

NASA scientist and uber-climate-alarmist James Hansen informed the climate policy debate in 2009/2010 with his blistering criticism of CO2 cap-and-trade. “The truth is, the climate course set by Waxman-Markey is a disaster course,” he said. “It is an exceedingly inefficient way to get a small reduction of emissions.…

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Solar Energy: Tough Love in the EU

By Gary Hunt -- August 17, 2011 3 Comments Continue Reading

"Let Them Eat Carbon: Britain’s New Green Tax Con": New Book Invites Consumer/Voter/Environmental Backlash

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 16, 2011 4 Comments Continue Reading

Overplaying Heat, Underplaying Adaptation (Part I)

By Chip Knappenberger -- July 11, 2011 6 Comments Continue Reading

In Denial: Thomas Friedman's (Self) Limits to (Intellectual) Growth

By -- June 10, 2011 4 Comments Continue Reading

Energy for a Free Society: The 'American Energy Act' (Part II: Real World Reform)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 1, 2011 6 Comments Continue Reading

Electricity: The Master Form of the Master Resource

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 26, 2011 2 Comments Continue Reading