“Wind turbines and associated MET towers are encroaching on aviation air space, and safety concerns are growing worldwide.”

Editor’s note: This is the fifth (of six) in a series examining opportunities of the Trump Administration to correct harmful wind energy-related policies.

Last month, a single engine plane collided with a wind turbine in Germany killing the pilot and shattering the aircraft. The appalling tragedy was reported as a rare occurrence, but few realize that in the U.S. alone at least ten people have lost their lives in fatal aviation accidents involving collisions with U.S. sited wind turbines and meteorological (MET) towers.

The table below lists these accidents, six in all.

Wind and Collisions

The most well-known incident occurred the night of April 27, 2014, just ten miles south of the airport in Highmore, South Dakota.…

“While the ITC option eliminates the uncertainty of performance, it is also consistent with the view of Warren Buffett, considered one of the outstanding investors of all-time. He has said, ‘[O]n wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms.  That’s the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without the tax credit.’”

“Responding to his critics about the economics of Deepwater Wind, CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said: ‘We’re building clean energy for the next generation here. And I think there are always small-minded opponents who like to find conspiracies.’ But I doubt most Rhode Islanders consider themselves either ‘small-minded’ or conspiracy-theorists.”

America’s renewable energy industry recently opened a new chapter with the official startup of the Block Island Wind Farm located 3.8 miles off the coast of Block Island in Rhode Island state waters.…

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. Towards that 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 important articles in this issue are:

Is Global Warming Just a Fraud?

Many meteorologists question climate change science

Climate Orthodoxy — The Limits of Professional Judgment

Major Study about the limitations of climate models

Study: A Host of Problems Associated with CMIP3 and 5 Climate Models

Cabinet Science-Denial or Scientific Skepticism?…

[Editor Note: This essay, the fourth in a series aimed at correcting the most harmful wind energy-related policies of the Obama era, examines how the U.S. Department of Energy has set aside its scientific objectivity and, instead, has assumed the role of chief advocate for wind power in the federal government.]

Since 2008, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has touted the technical feasibility of using wind energy to meet 20 percent of the nation’s electricity demand by 2030. In 2015, the agency refined its plan with the release of its Wind Vision, which further qualified the opportunity and laid the groundwork for the US to achieve 10 percent wind power by 2020, 20 percent wind power by 2030, and 35 percent wind power by 2050.

DOE and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) insist that the industry is on track to meet these goals, but even a casual look at DOE’s claims makes clear that the reports are more advocacy than reality.…