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Wind energy blowing less in state

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Also by Julia Bair:

Wind energy blowing less in state (April 8, 2008)
Election sparks new debate over justice selection (April 3, 2008)
Doyle pushing for renewable energy (April 1, 2008)
Eau Claire joining smoking ban list (March 27, 2008)
Legislator: Alter justice selection process (March 25, 2008)

by Julia Bair

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Wisconsin ranks 23rd out of 34 states producing wind power, according to a report released late last week by the American Wind Energy Association.

Over the course of 2007, the wind power industry grew by leaps and bounds, installing more than 5,000 megawatts of energy and putting the U.S.-installed wind power capacity at 16,800 megawatts.

“The numbers in this year’s rankings underscore the wind energy industry’s strong growth and the fact that wind is a bright spot in the U.S. economy,” AWEA director Randall Swisher said in a statement.

According to the AWEA’s report, Texas and California lead the nation in wind power capacity, while Iowa and Minnesota lead the Midwest.

“If you look at neighbors of Wisconsin that have a similar resource like Minnesota and Iowa, you’ll see them higher on the list because they had state policies that promoted wind energy even in the ’90s,” said Kathy Belyeu, AWEA manager of industry information.

In recent years, however, Gov. Jim Doyle has stressed the importance of clean energy in Wisconsin, as the governor’s global warming task force is currently exploring ways for Wisconsin to expand its clean energy sector.

After a unanimous vote by the Public Service Commission to explore offshore wind energy production in the Great Lakes, the governor’s task force encouraged the commission research the idea in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources.

According to the AWEA report, the cost of offshore wind farming increases with water depth. The offshore farms are popular in Denmark and Germany, but have not taken hold in the United States.

“Going offshore takes advantage of excellent wind conditions while considerably reducing the potential impact of the environmental footprint,” according to a statement from John Kourtoff, president of an energy corporation that plans to build an offshore wind farm in Ontario, Canada.

Some studies estimate offshore wind turbines can produce twice as much energy as their onshore counterparts, since winds over water generally blow at a higher velocity.

Many members of the environmental community were surprised that Midwest states have not yet taken advantage of untapped wind resources of the Great Lakes.

However, others oppose offshore wind farms on an aesthetic basis.

“I’ll fight this every way I can,” Algoma Alderman Ken Taylor said to the Planning and Development Network. “The beautiful view we have would be destroyed. … How many are going to come here if we have these things off our coastline?”

Various groups in Madison, including Sierra Club, the Center on Wisconsin Strategy and the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, have highlighted the potential of wind energy to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases, as well as to create jobs for Wisconsin workers.

According to Jennifer Feyerherm, of Madison’s Sierra Club, Sierra Club promotes wind power and solar power production as the clean energy options with greatest potential because they do not rely on drilling, mining or fuel.

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kevin kawula (April 8, 2008 @ 8:29am):

The reason Industrial Wind Energy hasn't taken in Wisconsin is because it is harmful! It is harmful to fragment any landscape with huge industrial wind turbine infrastructure, especially when it is not needed, and can not prove itself effective or reliable at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Where is the third party audit of wind energy's effectiveness? It is harmful to expose people, livestock, and wildlife to the noise, the strobing and flicker, and the subsonic waves. Ask some people, not on the wind industry's payroll, who have to live by these huge machines how their lives have, or will be, changed by living only sometimes 1000 feet from a 400 foot-tall machine with something the size of a 747 spinning on it. The AWEA, when it speaks of economies and wind resources is using corporate-speak to push utility and special interest agendas. Luckily for Wisconsin its citizens have stood up against the wind lobbyists, and are trying to get Governor Doyle to promote safer more reliable renewable energy resources such as Solar and Biomass. Finally if Industrial Wind Energy is so wonderful, try to get your hands on one of the Wind Industry's land lease contracts. 22 pages of gag orders and loss of property rights. Wisconsin deserves better than this Wind Industry boondoggle!

Anonymous (April 8, 2008 @ 1:14pm):

Yer right kevin, nuclear power is the only way to go.

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