“The industry needs an immediate extension of the Production Tax Credit in order to save U.S. wind manufacturing jobs,” said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.”
E&E Daily reports:
A day after the Senate declined to extend an array of federal incentives for renewable energy development, the Obama administration’s top energy official signaled an openness to eventually eliminating support for some wind energy because it is nearly competitive with conventional generation.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said he and other administration officials, including White House energy adviser Heather Zichal, met Tuesday with representatives of the wind industry and other energy sectors on the topic of tax incentives and other subsidies. He said that during the meeting a wind industry official, whom he did not name, expressed a willingness to eventually phase out the production tax credit, even though the industry is aggressively lobbying to have that credit extended beyond its scheduled December expiration.
“The representative of the wind industry said they just don’t want to see a cliff, they just don’t want to see it ended suddenly,” Chu told reporters after testifying on Capitol Hill yesterday. “So over a period of time, especially as — and no dates were discussed — but over a period of time, a road map of phasing out, you see where the prices are going and you can see” how to eliminate the credit…
Of course they can be cost effective. If you shut down essentially all the coal and nuclear generation in the country, and force natural gas prices to a point about 4 times what they are today, wind becomes cost effective.
Yes, hook up the windmills to electric power so they can run all the time. PS, I had my “special” hat on when I thought that one up.
Is there any way that wind energy can be cost effective?