Other News

Wind Power Becoming Worldwide Choice (5/18/01)
Worldwide installations of wind energy generating capacity outstripped those of nuclear for the second year in a row in 2000, an indication that wind is becoming a competitive player in today's power markets. The steady growth of investment in wind farms makes it clear that deployment of wind power can be part of the solution to America's energy crisis, according to AWEA. For more information contact: Tom Gray at 802/649-2112, or Christine Real de Azua at 202/383-2508/ or visit http://www.awea.org/.  

Legislation to Extend Federal Wind Energy Production Credit (3/28/01)
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.), and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) helped set the stage for what is expected to be a strong effort to extend the federal wind energy production tax credit (PTC), introducing legislation (S. 530) March 14 to extend the credit for five years.  S. 530 joins a companion bill (H.R. 876) introduced in the House of Representatives a week earlier. For more info contact: Tom Gray at 802/649-2112 or Christine Real de Azua at 202/383-2508.

Wind Power as Rural “Crop”(3/22/01)
Capturing energy from wind blowing over the land is emerging as one of the most lucrative "crops" around. An article in Tidepool Magazine, “Harvesting The Wind: A New Economic Opportunity for Rural Communities,” reports that  farmers and ranchers typically earn $2,000 annually for each wind turbine sited on their land. Since a turbine only requires around one-half acre, harvesting the wind has a profitability per acre many times that of most other crops. Additionally, the Seattle Post-Intelligencier reports: “As the Northwest faces the prospect of skyrocketing wholesale electricity rates in coming years, experts say rural communities could become a major source of clean power for the region's energy-hungry cities. Rural landowners could generate energy not only for their own needs but even produce marketable excess power to sell.” To view these articles see: http://tidepool.org/features/mazza.wind.cfm or http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/farm30.shtml.

Wind Power on Blackfeet Reservation, Montana (3/22/01)
On September 6^th, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council signed a joint development agreement with SeaWest Windpower, Inc., to build a 22 megawatt wind installation on the reservation. Called the Blackfeet I Wind Power Project, it is the first commercial utility-scale wind facility ever planned for tribal lands and is the largest in Montana to date. "The Blackfeet have tremendous land and wind resources," said Dave Roberts, assistant vice-president at SeaWest. "We are helping them develop their export market — to the state and to other places. Our role is to work directly with the tribe to see this happens." Says Earl Old Person, chairman of the Blackfeet council, "Gaining electricity from the winds here on the reservation has been talked about for many years. We are gratified that this idea has finally become a reality."  For more information see "Blackfeet Wind Projects" at http://biology.umt.edu/more/Bcc.htm.  For related news articles see http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues/Co09232000/CO_09232000_Wind.htm or http://www.enn.com/enn-news-archive/2000/09/09122000/windblackfeet_31356.asp. 

Low Costs Position Wind as Clean Solution to Energy Crisis (3/22/01)
The American Wind Energy Association reports: "Electricity from large new wind farms proposed in the Western United States will be generated at record-low costs, establishing wind energy as a source of electricity that can play a significant role in stabilizing electricity prices while offsetting pollution associated with conventional electricity generation." To view the article see: http://www.awea.org/news/news010306cew.html. View the AWEA comparative energy cost fact sheet, at: http://www.awea.org/pubs/factsheets.html. 

Wind Power Project Proposals Requested (3/22/01)
The Bonneville Power Administration requests proposals for new large-scale wind power projects, with a minimum of 15 average megawatts (about 40 to 60 megawatts of nameplate capacity) per project.  The agency is soliciting for a total of roughly 1,000 megawatts of wind power, which would supply the needs of about 150,000 households.  For more info, call George Darr, BPA, at 503/230-4386 or see http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/kcc/nr/01nr/nr022201x.shtml. 

Largest Wind Farm In the World (3/22/01)
In January, plans for construction of 450 windmills along the Oregon-Washington line, to generate 300 megawatts or enough electricity for 70,000 homes in 11 Western states, was announced. Factoring in the savings from the federal wind energy production tax credit, the “Stateline” wind farm will achieve record-low costs of only 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Construction could be completed by the end of the year. With this winter's elevated natural gas prices, wind energy is now shaping up as one of the lowest-cost options for electricity production. For more information view http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/01/01112001/ap_wind_41291.asp.