tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82068139668441013982024-03-06T03:09:59.830-05:00A Marshall County Wind Farm"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-39785189919831136932013-01-03T10:09:00.002-05:002013-01-03T10:09:48.390-05:00“Fiscal cliff” deal preserves America’s leading source of new electric generation WASHINGTON, D.C., January 1, 2013 – Congress has
included the long-sought extension of wind energy tax credits in final
passage of a bill to avert the "fiscal cliff" that now moves to
President Obama for his expected signature.
<br /><br />
America's 75,000 workers in wind energy are celebrating tonight over the
continuation of policies expected to save up to 37,000 jobs and create
far more over time, and to revive business at nearly 500 manufacturing
facilities across the country. The extension of the wind energy
Production Tax Credit (PTC), and Investment Tax Credits for community
and offshore projects, will allow continued growth of the energy source
that installed the most new electrical generating capacity in America
last year, with factories or wind farms in all 50 states.<br />
<br />
The version included in tonight's deal would cover all wind projects
that start construction in 2013. Companies that manufacture wind
turbines and install them sought that definition to allow for the 18-24
months it takes to develop a new wind farm.<br />
<br />
Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee included that version in a "tax
extenders" package they assembled in August, which made it into the
overall fiscal cliff deal that passed the Senate early this morning and
the House tonight. The bill is expected to be swiftly signed into law by
President Obama, who consistently supported the wind energy tax credits
throughout the process.<br />
<br />
Wind set a new record in 2012 by installing 44 percent of all new
electrical generating capacity in America, according to the Energy
Information Administration, leading the electric sector compared with 30
percent for natural gas, and lesser amounts for coal and other
sources.<br />
<br />
However, America's wind energy workers have been living
under threat of the PTC's expiration for over a year and layoffs had
already begun, as companies idled factories because of a lack of orders
for 2013. Uncertain federal policies have caused a "boom-bust" cycle in
U.S. wind energy development for over a decade.<br />
<br />
Half the American jobs in wind energy – 37,000 out of 75,000 – and
hundreds of U.S. factories in the supply chain would have been at stake
had the PTC been allowed to expire, according to a study by <a href="http://awea.org/learnabout/publications/reports/upload/AWEA-PTC-study-121211-2pm.pdf" id="http://awea.org/learnabout/publications/reports/upload/AWEA-PTC-study-121211-2pm.pdf|">Navigant Consulting</a>.<br />
<br />
In the closing days of this year's "lame duck" session of
Congress, America's wind energy workers have been posting videos to tell
their stories of working in the new industry. The 2,000 companies that
belong to AWEA have sent delegations to Capitol Hill repeatedly, invited
Members of Congress on tours of wind farms and factories, and delivered
hundreds of thousands of letters from constituents.<br />
<br />
"On behalf of all the people working in wind energy manufacturing facilities, their families, and all the communities that benefit, we thank
President Obama and all the Members of the House and Senate who had the
foresight to extend this successful policy, so wind projects can
continue to be developed in 2013 and 2014," said Denise Bode, CEO of
AWEA for the past four years.<br />
<br />
"Now we can continue to provide America with more clean,
affordable, homegrown energy, and keep growing a new manufacturing
sector that's now making nearly 70 percent of our wind turbines in the
U.S.A.," said Rob Gramlich, who becomes AWEA's interim CEO on January 2
with Bode's return to private practice as a tax attorney, as previously
announced.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-988376440031900412012-10-22T17:45:00.002-04:002012-10-22T17:45:21.439-04:00Triple Bottom Line Benefits of Clean Energy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/aoiNU-78L3o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-13890723392090875072012-10-22T17:41:00.000-04:002012-10-22T17:41:19.957-04:00Wind Power Adds Jobs and Increases Wealth in Rural CommunitiesThe first study to use detailed econometric methods to measure the economic development impacts of wind power installations in a 12-state region between 2000 and 2008 shows a positive net annual increase on county-level personal income and jobs.
“For every megawatt of additional wind in County A, one would expect an $11,150 increase in income,” said Ryan Wiser, Staff Scientist and Deputy Group Leader in the Electricity Markets and Policy Group at LBL. Along with the increase in income, there was also an average 0.48 increase in net jobs, and Wiser added that the net job measure is meaningful only when most wind farms are bigger than 1 MW.
“There is no doubt that local communities, especially rural communities, are impacted by these projects,” said Wiser. “We are not prepared to say whether [the numbers] are significant or insignificant, but some counties are being substantially positively impacted by wind development.”
<br><br>
The study, conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, focused on 1,009 counties in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, North and South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.
<br><br>
The $11,150-per-MW increase in total county-level personal income and the 0.48-per-MW net employment increase translate to an average 0.22% increase in personal income and 0.4% employment gains from 2000 to 2008.
<br><br>
Wiser said the numbers are “a bit misleadingly low, because we take into account only wind development in the past, and there has already been a lot of development since 2008.” Furthermore, he said, the study team did not count people switching into a wind sector job as a net positive gain in employment, only as an increase in income, if it included one. The study team chose to use personal income instead of labor income to account for things like royalties paid to a landowner for wind turbine installation, Wiser said.
<br><br>
Such a study was not possible until now, Wiser said. “It requires enough wind development in the past to identify impacts that exist. If [USDA] had come to me 4 years ago, I would have said there’s not enough development to determine econometric impact.”
<br><br>
The study, “The Impact of Wind Development on County-Level Income and Employment: A Review of Methods and an Empirical Analysis,” can be purchased through the website of journal Energy Economics. The study is also summarized in a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
<br><br>
<i>By Marsha W. Johnston</i>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-29686635830003824392012-03-12T23:30:00.000-04:002012-03-14T13:30:48.371-04:00Big Wind, Renewable Energy Boost in Illinois<div class="MsoNormal">
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced a project that over a
three-year period will support wind turbine and transmission manufacturing in
Illinois and create 1,450 union construction jobs. The Rock Island Clean Line
will enable some $7 billion worth of investments in new wind energy projects to
move forward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A $2 billion Rock Island Clean Line transmission line will
deliver 3,500 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable energy to communities and
businesses across Illinois and other states to the east. The project will allow greater access to
low-cost clean wind energy and will deliver enough energy to power more than
1.4 million Midwest homes. In addition
to creating clean energy construction jobs, building the Rock Island Clean Line
overhead high voltage direct current (OHVDC) transmission line will boost clean
energy manufacturing in Illinois and the Midwest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Developing wind and renewable energy resources has been a
focal point of Gov. Quinn’s administration. The Illinois Renewable Portfolio
Standard (RPS) mandates that renewable energy resources are to supply 25% of
Illinois’ electricity needs by 2025. Seventy-five percent of that is to come
from wind energy. There are 2,743 MW of
wind generation installed in Illinois, enough to power nearly 1 million homes,
and 523 MW of new wind is now under construction. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A study conducted by Illinois State University found that
wind energy in Illinois supports local economies by generating $22.2 million in
annual property taxes, and supports nearly 600 permanent jobs and over 13,000
construction jobs, according to an Illinois State University study.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gov. Quinn highlighted the magnitude of the project and
stressed its benefits, not only in terms of generating clean, renewable energy
and long-term job creation in construction and manufacturing, but also in terms
of the principal role renewable energy investment is playing in terms of
enhancing US energy independence and security.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rtv0UrZ5xJg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
http://cleantechnica.com/2012/03/07/big-wind-renewable-energy-boost-as-illinois-gov-quinn-announces-rock-island-clean-line-project-labor-agreement/</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-63706823574947653692012-02-28T23:09:00.001-05:002012-02-28T23:09:42.384-05:00Myhrvold finds we need clean energy yesterday (and no natural gas) to avoid being cooked<div class="MsoNormal">
Nathan Myhrvold — former Microsoft exec, kajillionaire,
inventor, founder of Intellectual Ventures, and all-around polymath genius type
— was quoted in the book SuperFreakonomics saying dismissive things about
climate activists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took some heat for
it at the time and the experience apparently convinced him that he needs to get
a better handle on things climate and energy-related. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Myhrvold built a specialized set of models to
capture the global temperature effects of transitions to low-carbon energy of
varying speeds, using varying technologies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Flash forward a few years: Myhrvold is out
with a paper on his results, co-authored with respected climate scientist Ken
Caldeira, published in Environmental Research Letters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The results are … grim.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In their results, Myhrvold and Caldeira highlight a few
poorly appreciated but crucial features of energy transitions. The first is
that they take quite a while to have an appreciable effect on CO2
concentrations. The world’s oceans have considerable “thermal inertia” — it
takes them a long time to absorb heat and a long time to release it. Even after
CO2 concentrations start falling, it will take the oceans a while to stop
releasing the excess heat they’ve already absorbed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So much CO2 accumulation is already “baked in” that
temperature will continue to rise for a while even in the context of rapid
emission reductions. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">We’ve already
gotten drunk on fossil fuels; there’s no way to avoid the hangover.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The consequences of this time lag are twofold. First,
substantially affecting global temperature in the first half of the century is
all but impossible; even to secure temperature reductions in the second half of
the century, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">a rapid transition to clean
energy needs to begin immediately</b>. Second, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">lower-carbon energy — like, say, natural gas — just won’t do it. If we
transitioned to something with half of coal’s emissions, it would take more
than a century to produce even a 25 percent decline in CO2 relative to the
status quo baseline. By then we’d be cooked.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Myhrvold and Caldeira have shown in pretty stark terms that,
if we’re not willing to substantially reduce population growth or economic
growth, we’re going to need an absolutely gargantuan amount of zero-carbon
energy, without delay. They conclude:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re
going to need “immediate and precipitous anti-carbon initiatives.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s Caldeira discussing the paper:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/a9LaYCbYCxo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://grist.org/climate-change/climate-safety-requires-massive-clean-energy-transition-with-no-natural-gas-myhrvold-finds/ </div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-29318652219272109532012-02-28T22:41:00.000-05:002012-02-28T22:42:19.486-05:00Renewables Now Cheaper than Coal in Michigan<div class="MsoNormal">
New renewable energy--wind, biomass, landfill gas,
digesters, hydro--now costs less than a new coal plant. Don't believe it? That is the finding of the Michigan Public
Service Commission that quietly released on February 15th its statutorily
required report to the Michigan legislature.
See the details at:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mpsc/implementation_PA295_renewable_energy2-15-2012_376924_7.pdf.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Looking at the actual prices bid to build new renewable
energy plants, the Michigan regulators found:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1. new wind plants from 2008-2011 on average cost 8.76 cents
per kilowatt-hour;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. new biomass cost 9.89 cents per kilowatt-hour;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3. new landfill gas cost 9.81 cents per kilowatt-hour;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. new digester power cost 12.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The average renewable energy cost was 9.19 cents per
kilowatt-hour for the entire 3 year period and would be even lower if only 2012
prices were included. By comparison, the
cost of new coal-fired plant for a life cycle of 40 years is 13.3 cents per
kilowatt-hour. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And where are renewable energy prices headed? The Michigan PSC states "...that the
average levelized costs of the [renewable energy] contract continue to
decline" and that "contract prices have been much lower than
expected." Indeed, the renewable
energy prices are lower in 2012 than in
2011, 2010, 2009, or 2008.
Consequently, the prices expressed in the report overstate the price of
renewable energy in 2012. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gas is certainly remaking the energy marketplace, but it is
not alone in doing so. Renewable energy
and its sharp price drop is an equally profound change, making both gas and
renewable energy the dominant fuel sources for the next 20 years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://johnhanger.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-coal-plants-now-more-expensive-than.html</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-5291648592810753452012-02-26T22:00:00.000-05:002012-02-27T10:36:04.389-05:00Nearly One Quarter of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Come From Fossil Fuels Mined and Drilled on Public Lands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDFLqgHofBRu2f6bBCMsZkRjDMAp5TivrzGJpnPE0cgplOY9HgUps8hmVJzKJXv3YOBdQI5LwNnZnOTDLwjEFD3b-HCzhWycLlTtlE6dmExjqz85zbkfcfEQC5ytUvNAZkDFIBj_cs2rq/s1600/Coal-Powder-River-Basin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDFLqgHofBRu2f6bBCMsZkRjDMAp5TivrzGJpnPE0cgplOY9HgUps8hmVJzKJXv3YOBdQI5LwNnZnOTDLwjEFD3b-HCzhWycLlTtlE6dmExjqz85zbkfcfEQC5ytUvNAZkDFIBj_cs2rq/s400/Coal-Powder-River-Basin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A new report shows that 23 percent of total U.S. greenhouse
gas emissions come from oil, gas, and coal extracted from federal lands and
waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under Executive Order 13514, all
federal agencies were required to “report and reduce greenhouse gas pollution,”
which included items such as energy use, fuel consumed by government fleets,
and methane generated by landfill waste.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This analysis suggests that ultimate GHG emissions from
fossil fuels extracted from federal lands and waters by private leaseholders in
2010 could be more than 20-times larger than the estimate reported.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Approximately 44% of coal, 36% of crude oil,
and 18% of natural gas produced in this country are extracted from public
lands, which combined create an astounding amount of carbon released into the
atmosphere.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That fact is critically important as our government
considers strategies to reduce emissions over the coming years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Federally-managed lands and waters provide a
unique opportunity in this process due to their extent and geographic
diversity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/02/26/432203/stunner-one-quarter-of-total-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come-from-fossil-fuels-mined-and-drilled-on-public-lands/?mobile=nc </div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-70821443208091595582012-02-22T22:39:00.001-05:002012-02-22T22:39:29.405-05:00Coal Mine Boss Faces Criminal Charges, 29 Dead<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lduq3YP1clU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-42253951940214743782012-02-22T22:18:00.000-05:002012-02-22T22:20:14.832-05:00Chicago's Mayor Puts Coal Power Plants On Warning<div class="MsoNormal">
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has put Chicago's two coal power plants
on warning: Either present a plan to clean up their pollution or risk being
shut down by the city within the next two years. Various politicians, community groups and
others have been pushing for more than a year to shut down the Crawford and
Fisk plants - owned and operated by Midwest Generation - because they say the
plants come with serious health consequences.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alderman Danny Solis and Dr. Ravi Shah are among those who
have spoken out against the plants. According to Shah, the coal-fired power
plants such as theirs are the largest generators of the greenhouse gases
associated with respiratory problems. Solis,
was called out by his opponent by his initial reluctance to support the
ordinance that would limit the plants' dangerous emissions of soot and carbon
dioxide.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meanwhile, Jennifer Hoyle, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said
that Emanuel has urged Midwest Generation to "clean up the two plants,
either by installing the necessary infrastructure to dramatically reduce the
pollution they emit or by converting to a clean fuel." If an agreement is
not reached, the mayor will reportedly join the call for the plants' shutdown. The mayor's call for the plants to clean up
their act comes a week after the Chicago Clean Power Coalition demonstrated
inside City Council chambers, urging Emanuel to "finish the work he has
begun, and to not delay any further."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Both plants were built more than 100 years ago and generate
emissions that would violate the federal Clean Air Act of 1977 - except that
both were grandfathered in under that law.
Late last month, the plants were identified by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency as the city's biggest industrial sources of pollution. In
2010, the two plants reportedly pumped 4.2 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere, according to the EPA.<br />
<br />
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/22/rahm-emanuel-tells-chicag_n_1294246.html?ir=Green </div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-45721204127935298892012-02-20T22:44:00.000-05:002012-02-20T22:57:47.300-05:00Cincinnati Could Be Completely Powered By Renewables This Year<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrMz75Vj_2hJG5aRYUcH0cMhj0UwQ6Wi347PDrqLOnK3vrhqnF3eN2eTNxIvNEMJliaipc24Ziwr2dnQ4AfglLNYbuSqY9vneQtnCww340hYaBdbpG4GHN4UWPaU4lei6VcHFzAW-H1xw/s1600/cincinnatibridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrMz75Vj_2hJG5aRYUcH0cMhj0UwQ6Wi347PDrqLOnK3vrhqnF3eN2eTNxIvNEMJliaipc24Ziwr2dnQ4AfglLNYbuSqY9vneQtnCww340hYaBdbpG4GHN4UWPaU4lei6VcHFzAW-H1xw/s400/cincinnatibridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Queen City could soon be the clean (energy) city</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cincinnati is working on a new power aggregation deal right
now that could lead to the entire city being powered from 100 percent renewable
energy sources. The deal, city officials say, could be finalized within the
coming months and be in place for consumers by summer 2012.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Such a move would make Cincinnati the largest city in the
United States to have its energy supply come from 100 percent renewable
sources, and it might be accomplished without any significant cost difference
for ratepayers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The way it would work, is by requiring power providers to
include quotes for both the cheapest electricity available and 100 percent
renewable electricity. In Oak Park, Ill., for example, the bids came back so
competitive that city officials decided to go with the 100 percent renewable
solution.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The movement towards sustainability has evidently picked up
steam in Cincinnati as of late. At the first of two required public hearings,
about 70 people came out to speak in favor of using completely renewable energy
sources, and the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace flew a hot air ship
over Cincinnati last week advocating for such change.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even if the response to the city’s RFP does not come back as
favorable as Oak Park’s, city officials may be able to structure the deal to
offer consumers a choice between the cheapest electricity option and a 100 percent
renewable electricity option.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“There are a lot of things Cincinnati is doing to position
itself as a leader in sustainability and going green – both in the public and
private sectors,” Falkin concluded. “This is a significant part of that total
package in terms of branding Cincinnati as a progressive city, and cities
across the country may start to look to adopt the Cincinnati solution for
energy.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2012/02/cincinnati-exploring-100-renewable.html</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-30165390304695650572012-02-09T18:43:00.001-05:002012-02-09T18:43:03.547-05:00It's time to move on.It's time to move on. Our country, and all of us, need to move from a fossil fuel past to a renewable energy future.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ggg3C87UVCY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-4916855193927747452012-02-06T18:11:00.000-05:002012-02-07T15:13:22.147-05:00Unearthing the True Cost of Fossil Fuels<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4Uxe8BAR5FtHtNoQpW-o4pW15Fak_NHVEkw3ufvAGju6DFNpshEUeEHHHvqYX6o9ffmkRp5FimtSy9v3eYa-qkC_tM_G3geLEnHfKNsVKhwv90vp00-30Uc7pq7nfRoHsyb09-y-CEoO/s1600/coal+train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4Uxe8BAR5FtHtNoQpW-o4pW15Fak_NHVEkw3ufvAGju6DFNpshEUeEHHHvqYX6o9ffmkRp5FimtSy9v3eYa-qkC_tM_G3geLEnHfKNsVKhwv90vp00-30Uc7pq7nfRoHsyb09-y-CEoO/s400/coal+train.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimon/3910811017/sizes/z/in/photostream/"><span style="color: blue;">Coal trains in Wyoming. Photo: KimonBerlin via Flickr</span></a>/<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en"><span style="color: blue;">CC BY 2.0</span></a></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For decades now, fossil fuel company
executives and D.C. politicians have worked together to ensure that coal and
oil prices stay low enough to keep the American people hooked. In his new book
Greedy Bastards, Dylan Ratigan explains how “vampire industries” like oil and
coal have forged “an unholy alliance with government based not just on the
money that they contribute to political campaigns and spend on lobbying but on
their ability to hypnotize us with false prices.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Industry gets tax breaks, subsidies,
military support in volatile regions, the right to use our air and water like a
sewer, and assurance that the government will clean up its environmental
messes. Politicians get campaign contributions, a steady flow of dirty energy,
and a talking point to brandish about how they kept energy affordable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But the American public just gets
screwed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We get stuck with a dirty, polluting
energy regime; one that enriches a few one percenters while making the public
sick and hobbling innovation. As Ratigan puts it in his book, a handful of
greedy bastards are fleecing Americans with a “Very Bad Deal”. Fossil fuels
seem cheap and convenient now, but when we get hit with the true costs—of a
spoiled environment, of missing out on vital future industries like clean
energy, of a mounting public health burden, of possible war—we’ll see we were
had.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Just how rigged is the fossil fuels
market? In a word, overwhelmingly.
Clearly, government assistance distorts the price of fossil fuels,
making them artificially cheaper. But those direct subsidies are nothing
compared to the enormous costs the public indirectly pays for fossil fuels.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, coal is so economically
disastrous that the mainstream journal American Economics Review found that the
electricity generated from coal actually does more damage to the economy than
the electricity is worth. Grist’s David Roberts notes that “Coal-fired power is
a net value-subtracting industry. A parasite, you might say. A gigantic,
blood-sucking parasite that’s enriching a few executives and shareholders at
the public’s expense.” In other words,
if prices accurately reflected all of the actual costs of burning coal,
coal-fired power plants would be dead in the water.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We’ve got to restore price integrity
to commodities like coal. We’ve got to
prevent fossil fuel companies from dumping their costs on us, level the playing
field for clean energy technologies, and reveal the true costs of fossil fuels
once and for all.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">http://www.treehugger.com/energy-policy/true-cost-fossil-fuels.html#mkcpgn=fbth1 </span></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-27765924415614373642012-02-05T17:52:00.000-05:002012-02-05T17:52:40.335-05:00Super Bowl XLVI Using Renewable Energy!<a href="http://www.greenmountain.com/super-bowl-xlvi/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.greenmountain.com/images/stories/Landing-Pages/Super-Bowl-XLVI/Super_Bowl_Info_Graphic_FINAL.gif" width="500" height="1875" alt="Super Bowl XLVI Goes Green | Green Mountain Energy Company" /></a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-48333265653127758482012-01-09T21:00:00.000-05:002012-01-10T09:08:02.754-05:00America Is Getting More Power from Renewables than From Nuclear<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSNVG_xpxZkUfLLtP3RR3gHmV5kaW866wLNyKnu1VlZeMwFJEiJa6WUmTqGGgpbjDCP2X9EnBD5_rHG_tiDopcV9eNap_t1EGd8MVFaYYQJIQJpg1i7AuUsQhqrJ0DoIrh-70y6vBRWD_/s1600/windturbine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmSNVG_xpxZkUfLLtP3RR3gHmV5kaW866wLNyKnu1VlZeMwFJEiJa6WUmTqGGgpbjDCP2X9EnBD5_rHG_tiDopcV9eNap_t1EGd8MVFaYYQJIQJpg1i7AuUsQhqrJ0DoIrh-70y6vBRWD_/s400/windturbine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the economic slowdown and the absence of any
groundbreaking climate policy, renewable energy had a good year in the United
States in 2011. According to the latest report from the Energy Information
Administration, in the first nine months of the year, renewables accounted for
11.95 percent of domestic energy production, pulling ahead of nuclear power,
which contributed only 10.62 percent.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you look at the electricity sector alone, renewables
shine even brighter. Nuclear’s share of electricity generation dropped by 2.8
percent compared to the first nine months of 2010, while coal’s share dropped
by 4.2 percent. In the same period, renewables’ share of electricity generation
grew almost 25 percent.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The continuing success of renewable energy also points to
its dynamism compared to energy sources like nuclear plants—which take years to
build, require heavy investments at the beginning of their lifetime, and often
face strong community opposition. While the price per unit of renewable energy
has been dropping steadily, the price per unit nuclear energy has been sneaking
upward. Renewable energy is thriving
now, and its share of power generation should continue to grow over the coming
decades.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
http://www.good.is/post/america-is-getting-more-power-from-renewables-than-from-nuclear/ </div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-45025990339099385252012-01-09T20:30:00.000-05:002012-01-10T08:47:59.824-05:00Local School Powered By Wind<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4l2auC4b3MBqzb0zpFsDClXMeOdi9MJn4DJvcCKtdEzl9lcv34xI20OKKclZI-gpJPF_x9QrOTwe6gJXJ6zAjxMbDy2VpWFMSjDW-71I48lVLnK4wkJ69JupVoCu6pCUK3UGgXttQJvRU/s1600/Tippecanoe_Valley_Wind_Turbine_pictures_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4l2auC4b3MBqzb0zpFsDClXMeOdi9MJn4DJvcCKtdEzl9lcv34xI20OKKclZI-gpJPF_x9QrOTwe6gJXJ6zAjxMbDy2VpWFMSjDW-71I48lVLnK4wkJ69JupVoCu6pCUK3UGgXttQJvRU/s400/Tippecanoe_Valley_Wind_Turbine_pictures_002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation made Indiana history in November of
last year after being the first school in the state to install a wind turbine.
Superintendent Brett Boggs said, “Since September three years ago, we had spent
a lot of time studying it.”<br />
<br />
On November 15, 2011, the blades began turning on the 322-foot high, 900 kW,
PowerWind turbine that is expected to provide up to 70 percent of the power
needed to operate both the middle school and senior high school. The turbine
has a hub that reaches approximately 225 feet and 90 foot blades. Boggs said, “It
will generate a significant amount of electricity.” Groundbreaking for the
project was held on May 31.<br />
<br />
Boggs said the project will help the school district compensate for
decreases in state funding while, at the same time, reduce expenditures without
diminishing programs for students. He said, “It will free up money in the
general fund.”<br />
<br />
According to reports, Kosciusko REMC joined with the school corporation and
the design-builder, Performance Services, to develop the unique solution.<br />
<br />
The school corporation could lease space on the tower to generate income.
Boggs said that cell phone companies could lease space up to 120 feet in the
air and still not be in the path of the blades.<br />
<br />
Boggs said they have gotten a lot of positive feedback on the project. He
said, “It is an opportunity for us to set a good example to our students.” An
extra bonus is the curriculum that is provided for students on wind energy that
can be used in the classrooms.<br />
<br />
Boggs said information on the usage can be found on the schools’ website
under “Digital Dashboard”.<br />
<br />
Carol Anders Correspondent<br />
<br />
http://am1050.com/2012/students-at-tippy-valley-learn-first-hand-about-wind-turbines/Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-32427162905242640492011-12-28T23:37:00.000-05:002011-12-28T23:37:05.492-05:00Energy Trends to Watch in 2012<strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">As fossil fuel prices continue to rise resulting in escalating home heating and cooling costs for most local residents, the cost of fuel will hold steady for wind power: zero.</span></strong> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">In
2012 utilities will continue to embrace the price-locking benefit of
wind power by signing long-term power contracts for the affordable
energy source. That’s because unlike the volatile prices of fossil
fuels, wind power’s fuel cost is fixed: <em>zero</em>. The fuel cost was
zero last year, and it’s guaranteed to stay at zero in 2012 as well.
And wind power chalks up big zeros in other key areas: zero water use,
zero air emissions, and zero water pollution.</span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-53257924078597094922011-12-20T18:55:00.001-05:002011-12-20T20:08:30.494-05:00Cost of Wind — Kicks Coal’s Butt<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Overall, wind costs have
dropped significantly in recent years, and looking at its true costs indicates
it is much cheaper. There are a few different ways you
can measure electricity cost. For example:</span></div>
<ol start="1" style="font-family: inherit;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) — the utility way
(the average cost over the lifespan of the project, initial investments
plus operation and maintenance costs, not including externalities).</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“All In” — taking into account externalities —
health/environmental costs (these are real costs that we pay that vary
according to the energy source).</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The figures you normally see are
according to LCOE, which artificially makes the cost of coal cheaper than it
should be. Without even taking externalities into account, wind is already
beating coal. Wind has gotten cheaper
and cheaper while coal is getting more expensive (and that trend isn’t expected
to change).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAYJpHOEzhw7ofbQwNhnBj7f9LskGhpBZBDI7vKMYXyilbO07ECy95LOr7UcOc83Llxx9Z8HFrTCK-x3ZmXp3mzsBMeMgLGy3K4Lyhq0ivbiE_synkvhK0vXWdXNyWh7gkrjOWFz-_euE/s1600/cost-of-wind.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAYJpHOEzhw7ofbQwNhnBj7f9LskGhpBZBDI7vKMYXyilbO07ECy95LOr7UcOc83Llxx9Z8HFrTCK-x3ZmXp3mzsBMeMgLGy3K4Lyhq0ivbiE_synkvhK0vXWdXNyWh7gkrjOWFz-_euE/s400/cost-of-wind.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">While LCOE is widely used to compare
various sources of energy, even not including the fact that it doesn’t account
for health or environmental costs, it has its weaknesses. For example, LCOE for
wind projects are often based on a 20-year lifetimes for wind turbines.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Department of Energy, found the
price of electricity from new wind farm plants ranged from 4 to 9 cents per
kilowatt-hour in 2009, which is competitive with other new power plants.
However, if a 30- or 40-year lifespan were used for the projects, the costs
would be much lower, as the huge majority of a wind project’s costs are from
the initial investment (wind, the ‘fuel’, is free and there are minimal
operating and maintenance costs).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you take the full health costs
and environmental costs of various energy sources into account, wind comes out
looking even better. A recent study out of Harvard found that if one adds in
the hidden <a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2011/02/17/cost-of-coal-500-billion-year-in-u-s-harvard-study-finds/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">costs of coal</span></a> then its
actual price in the U.S. is 9-27 cents higher per kilowatt hour. These and the
more difficult to quantify externalities are borne by the general public.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">This makes the <b>true</b>, “all-in”
cost of coal electricity somewhere between 17 cents and 35 cents per kWh. You
pay 8 cents or so per kWh on your electricity bill and then quite a bit more
than that in healthcare costs, health insurance premiums, and with your tax
dollars. Wind? It’s sticking to its original 4 to 9 cents per kWh.</span><br />
<br />
Wind has no fuel costs. That is an advantage today, but with <a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2008/04/24/peak-coal-as-early-as-2025/" target="_blank">peak coal</a> coming in the not-too-distant future, this is
likely to make wind increasingly cheaper than coal. (Of course, if we just cut
our coal use now, we wouldn’t even have to run into peak coal, but it seems
that we aren’t so foresighted.) There
are numerous reasons to shift more to wind power and numerous reasons why it
would help create a more secure, brighter future.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">http://cleantechnica.com/world-wind-power/5/ </span></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-31665552094584367662011-12-13T22:00:00.000-05:002012-01-10T10:02:38.260-05:00The End of Culver?A Culver group warns of near apocalyptic consequences should the
proposed NextEra Wind Farm be approved. Humans may suffer headaches,
blurred vision, dizziness, depression, etc. Farm animals may become
sick, die, suffer birth defects, decreased dairy and egg production,
etc. Birds, bats, butterflies, fish, etc. may be killed or abandon the
area. Yes, even fish. Wildlife habitat may be lost. Lifeline
helicopters and crop-dusters may not serve the area. Wind turbines may
catch fire and endanger firefighters and EMS crews. And, the horrid
wind turbines will pervert the community’s natural beauty and depress
property values.<br />
<br />
That was just a sampling and it’s frightening. Could this be the end
of Culver? To answer this question I looked at an even more ominous
threat that Culver has thus far withstood- BOATING. Boating threatens
people, animals, the environment and our aesthetic sensibilities. The
Coast Guard reported that in 2009 boating accidents resulted in 736
deaths and 3,358 injuries. Rescuers put their lives on the line every
day responding to these accidents. The noise, turbulence and emissions
of boats adversely affects the feeding, breeding and nesting of fish,
birds and other aquatic life; and it affects water clarity and quality.
This results in increased algae and the introduction of metals,
hydrocarbons and other carcinogenic pollutants. And don’t forget that
boats introduced zebra mussels. As for aesthetics, does anything
pervert the lake’s natural beauty more than the hundreds of piers, lift
stations and boats that line our shores half the year and our roads the
other half? And the noise- it carries for miles while disturbing a
peaceful weekend afternoon. Perhaps the Culver group’s next crusade
should be to ban all boats on Lake Maxinkuckee. As silly as that sounds
my point is that scare tactics can be used to instill fear and
undermine anything.<br />
<br />
Alfred Nyby<br />
<br />
http://am1050.com/2011/the-end-of-culver/Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-62213769601153122722011-12-06T23:00:00.000-05:002011-12-07T10:38:21.399-05:00Fighting For a Breath of Fresh Air<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnwReSRsVIHrccAWHlEQZ4EoaEQ-bYLkGO0c71Dzl1465tnyUMnfR4jD0nkS_qFlWfTxKInk0L47N1TnY6yCzKs4cJqMNVQMKAtnVv0odJYMh2jZwxcLKiZJtiFiCcZhcrPJE76_NIFVR/s1600/2011-11-coal-psa-peter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMnwReSRsVIHrccAWHlEQZ4EoaEQ-bYLkGO0c71Dzl1465tnyUMnfR4jD0nkS_qFlWfTxKInk0L47N1TnY6yCzKs4cJqMNVQMKAtnVv0odJYMh2jZwxcLKiZJtiFiCcZhcrPJE76_NIFVR/s200/2011-11-coal-psa-peter.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I'm
Peter's mom. He's that 6-year-old on those ads around town. You know, the one with the inhaler, the one he's
been using since he was 3. That makes him luckier than his older
brother Anthony, who developed his asthma at 3 months. When Anthony had
his first asthma attack, I didn't know much about it. When he was
struggling to breathe you could see his little rib cage. I learned that
that was a telltale sign.<br />
<br />
Peter's asthma began with a cough that
wouldn't go away. Now that he's been diagnosed, we've had to learn what
his "triggers" are. Unfortunately, he has a really tough time on bad
ozone days or when it's really humid and really hot. While other
families are able to go to the zoo or the park, my kids can't. It's very
hard to explain to a 6-year-old who wants to do nothing but play
outside that he can't because the air quality isn't good enough.
<br />
<div class="float" style="clear: both;">
<img alt="" height="1" src="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/images/pixel.gif" width="1" /></div>
<div class="mod-adcpc" id="mod-ctr-lt-in-top">
</div>
<div class="float" style="clear: both;">
<img alt="" height="1" src="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/images/pixel.gif" width="1" /></div>
<div class="mod-chitribarticletextwithadcpc mod-chitribarticletext mod-articletext" id="mod-a-body-after-first-para">
Nationwide, 1 in 10 kids has asthma. We live less than a mile away from
one of the Fisk and Crawford coal plants; 1 in 4 Chicagoans lives
within three miles of one. Until recently, lots of folks here didn't
even know what the plant was; a lot of the young people thought it was a
car factory. All you see is white smoke coming out of the stacks. It
turns out that the coal for the plant comes from Wyoming, the power is
sold out of state, and the profits go to a company in California. The
only thing we get is asthma attacks.<br />
<br />
I'm not
saying that Fisk and Crawford caused my sons' asthma. After all, there's
industry everywhere in our community — it's a regular toxic soup. But
Fisk and Crawford depend on outdated technology, and they're impacting
my environment more than anyone else. I don't necessarily blame them for
causing my kids' asthma, but I do blame them for making it worse.<br />
<br />
My husband Stan and I are also trying to do our best by our kids. We
try to make sure they eat healthy food and get lots of physical activity
to strengthen their lungs. But we can only do so much. After that it
falls on our city, state and federal government to provide Peter and
Anthony and all the other little kids with a clean environment. It's a family and
a community issue. Our kids have the right to breathe clean air, and
the owners of Fisk and Crawford need to be held responsible for the
damage they're doing.</div>
<div class="mod-adcpc" id="mod-a-body-after-first-para-ad-cpc">
</div>
<br />
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has spoken out against the plants in the past; "We
are paying a health care cost as a city because of the plants," he said.
"I want them as a company to be a responsible citizen to the people of
the city of Chicago." Now's the chance to do something about it, so
Peter can finally get outside and play.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
By Kim Wasserman </div>
<br />
<a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-30/news/ct-perspec-1130-coal-20111130_1_fisk-and-crawford-asthma-breath-of-fresh-air">http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-30/news/ct-perspec-1130-coal-20111130_1_fisk-and-crawford-asthma-breath-of-fresh-air </a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-48144155944642925082011-11-30T19:19:00.000-05:002011-12-05T13:38:35.271-05:00Latest Information for the Proposed Marshall / Fulton County Wind Farm (map update - 11/30/2011)In a recent presentation to the Plymouth Rotary Club, NextEra’s project manager indicated that they are looking at roughly 63 wind turbines, two-thirds of which would be located in Marshall County with the balance in Fulton County. <br />
<br />
The wind turbine technology they would use has not yet been decided, however GE's 1.6 MW, 100 meter rotor diameter wind turbine is a new standard in wind generation. Its total height is approximately 80 meters to the hub (262 feet) and a 48.7 meter blade (159 feet) for a total height of 421 feet. More information on these wind turbines can be found <a href="http://www.ge-energy.com/products_and_services/products/wind_turbines/ge_1.6_100_wind_turbine.jsp">here</a>.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<u>About the Proposed Project</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>100 megawatt Wind Facility</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Take approximately 90 acres of farmland out of
production</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Would generate enough electricity to power
28,000 Indiana homes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Enable the reduction of emissions
of other generating units by</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">–<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>More than 349,900 tons of carbon dioxide
annually (the equivalent of removing
approximately 62,240 cars from the road)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">–<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>More than 1,200 tons of sulfur dioxide annually</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">–<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>More than 350 tons of nitrogen oxides annually</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Will require no water to generate electricity</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Will prepare a Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Plan (SWPP) for Construction Activities </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>$180 + million investment Marshall and Fulton
counties</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>$23 million in escalating lease payments to
landowners</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>$22 million in property tax revenue</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>$14 million in salaries and benefits for about 8
full time employees</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Purchase of goods and services for the life of
the plant</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Support for agricultural community</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Places no demands on local infrastructure</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Compatible with agricultural land use</div>
<br />
The map below shows NextEra's proposed wind farm location. Click on the map to enlarge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL58ydXa4w87GR1XwnoW05Bi_g2P1Luj_pJZ8HA-P939W-vdanm7S6ZsIewf9DWdtbnY19qqVBaXhLOwLK0meZXYfcJ6vuPKdnAIazOCf_y1coYvrr0tGvoONL6lp0IzF3O2gwm8_5HdK5/s1600/NextEra+Map+tweek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL58ydXa4w87GR1XwnoW05Bi_g2P1Luj_pJZ8HA-P939W-vdanm7S6ZsIewf9DWdtbnY19qqVBaXhLOwLK0meZXYfcJ6vuPKdnAIazOCf_y1coYvrr0tGvoONL6lp0IzF3O2gwm8_5HdK5/s400/NextEra+Map+tweek.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-54081290112886793302011-11-28T18:37:00.000-05:002011-11-29T14:45:15.078-05:00Texas Schools Get Huge Improvements from Wind Farm Revenue<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YjYqeUjpA9UqgCxWLTwjX-0RsydmR2C4R7OK7ejGa8MsqCfFbknYL32-c3LAQgluKOxg7INApdehQyzkxBTpPDPPymF7qViLjl6eytalxGWelezmd4_IrBl5k7OE1D84NFfZ3AgIYitW/s1600/Nolan_County_Schools.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YjYqeUjpA9UqgCxWLTwjX-0RsydmR2C4R7OK7ejGa8MsqCfFbknYL32-c3LAQgluKOxg7INApdehQyzkxBTpPDPPymF7qViLjl6eytalxGWelezmd4_IrBl5k7OE1D84NFfZ3AgIYitW/s400/Nolan_County_Schools.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Blackwell's
new $3 million football stadium, which wind money helped pay for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The on-site
wind turbine can produce up to 40 percent of the school's electricity needs.<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When people complain about the weather here, Abe Gott, the school superintendent, just smiles. A visit to the campus shows why. Behind the 1930s-era façade of the Blackwell school building looms a distinctly 21st-century sight: a wind turbine. Energy development capitalizing on the high winds in the area has injected sluggish rural communities with new economic lifeblood. More than one local resident has called it the “windfall,” and it has bestowed hundreds of millions of dollars on West Texas schools.<br />
<br />
By the 2018-19 school year, Gott’s district will have received about $35 million from a deal it brokered with a wind farm company in 2005. On the school grounds, $15 million from a combination of bond and wind farm revenue has paid for a new football stadium and academic complex attached to the original school building. About $28 million sits in a foundation earmarked for scholarships; graduates receive $3,000 for each year they have spent in the district, which they can put toward any type of professional advancement, from a beauty school certificate to a bachelor’s degree. The influx of wealth has also enabled the district to buy an iPad for every student, starting in the seventh grade.<br />
<br />
“What I wanted is, if you grew up in a town of 350 people in West Texas, that should not work against you,” Gott said. “We can send you to Harvard, we can send you to Baylor, we can send you to Texas Tech — we can send you anywhere because we have the pathway to get there.” Even without more money from wind companies, their presence still helps districts by technically allowing them to lower their taxes by adding more property value on the tax rolls.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, other investments that districts put in place with money from wind deals are beginning to make their mark. The Roscoe School District will receive a total of $11 million over 10 years. It has used the money to build a state-of-the-art academic facility — the Eon Center for Innovation and Higher Education, named for the alternative energy company that made it possible — and to hire instructional coaches, a new dean, and an early college director. Kim Alexander, the superintendent, said “Without the wind company, we would not have had the means to even enter into the early- college arena.”<br />
<br />
As an early-college school, Roscoe joins a handful of Texas schools that partner with local community colleges to let students begin taking college courses in ninth grade instead of in their junior year. Depending on how well they perform, students can graduate with an associate’s degree at no additional cost. The goal, Alexander said, is for 90 percent of Roscoe students to do that by 2015. “We think it’s going to be a significant way to develop a model to break the poverty cycle,” Alexander said.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.texastribune.org/library/multimedia/wind-farm-money-spending-schools/">http://www.texastribune.org/library/multimedia/wind-farm-money-spending-schools/</a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-17182453874163888892011-11-20T21:51:00.000-05:002011-11-20T11:49:13.450-05:00Wind Turbines Benefit Crops<div class="MsoNormal">
Wind turbines in farm fields may be doing more than churning
out renewable energy. According to
research conducted by Gene Takle, professor of agricultural meteorology and
director of the Climate Science Program at Iowa State University, and his
colleague Julie Lundquist, with the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic
Sciences, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, wind turbines produce measurable effects on the micro-climate near crops. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The slow-moving turbine blades bath the crops below with
increased airflow, which help corn and soybean crops stay cooler and dryer,
help them fend off fungal infestations and improve their ability to extract
growth-enhancing carbon dioxide from the air and soil.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Our laser instruments could detect a beautiful plume of
increased turbulence that persisted even a quarter-mile downwind of a turbine.”
“The turbulence resulting from wind
turbines may speed up natural exchange processes between crop plants and the
lower atmosphere.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxxS2ub3kA3-7EJiILFra1u9L25jACsMBH6fgWp9tkUSgFzwiga_8jGRWMrBcdUey-14Ug1GtYXLjMelTTaJdSRCtOh01kk_smsRADF5aZMaIEl9wyTkVEqXtgT1k6EhAoN9lKPwUj3Kj/s1600/temp-sensor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxxS2ub3kA3-7EJiILFra1u9L25jACsMBH6fgWp9tkUSgFzwiga_8jGRWMrBcdUey-14Ug1GtYXLjMelTTaJdSRCtOh01kk_smsRADF5aZMaIEl9wyTkVEqXtgT1k6EhAoN9lKPwUj3Kj/s320/temp-sensor.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Researchers take temperature measurements on corn leaves</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Crops warm up when the sun shines on them, and some of that
heat is given off to the atmosphere. Extra air turbulence speeds up this heat
exchange, so crops stay slightly cooler during hot days. On cold nights,
turbulence stirs the lower atmosphere and keeps nighttime temperatures around
the crops warmer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We anticipate turbines’ effects are good in the spring and
fall because they would keep the crop a little warmer and help prevent a
frost,” said Takle. “Wind turbines could possibly ward off early fall frosts
and extend the growing season.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other benefits of wind turbines result from their effects on
crop moisture levels. Extra turbulence can help dry the dew that settles on
plants beginning in late afternoon, minimizing the amount of time fungi and
toxins can grow on plant leaves. Additionally, drier crops at harvest help
farmers reduce the cost of artificially drying corn or soybeans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another benefit to crops is that increased airflows could
enable corn and soybean plants to more readily extract atmospheric CO2, a
needed “fuel” for crops. The extra turbulence might also pump extra CO2 from
the soil. Both results could facilitate the crops ability to perform
photosynthesis.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We anticipate the impact of wind turbines to be subtle, but
under certain circumstances the effects could be significant,” said Takle.
“When you think about a summer with a string of 105-degree days, extra wind
turbulence from wind turbines might be helpful. If turbines can bring the temperature down
below 100 degrees, that could be a big help for crops.”<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/r7qNNvYVKI4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ameslab.gov/news/news-releases/wind-turbines">http://www.ameslab.gov/news/news-releases/wind-turbines</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-56105254341070381412011-11-19T21:30:00.000-05:002011-11-20T11:48:52.004-05:00Wind: The Easiest Crop to Harvest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/R5sib--TRs0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Today’s farmers are interested in wind energy because they’re good managers; farming is all about maximizing profits and reducing risk. Wind energy does both. It’s an additional, steady source of income that doesn’t require extra work, a second crop that can be harvested without effort or significant use of land. <br />
<br />
Some people might believe because wind turbines are such large structures that they take substantial acres of property out of production. This is a common misconception. In reality, wind turbines occupy a small area, leaving 99% of farmland in production. <br />
<br />
A rule of thumb regarding wind farm land use is that, while each turbine generally needs a plot of about 100 acres separating it from other turbines, the actual footprint of each turbine is less than one acre. This footprint includes the area surrounding the turbine and all access roads. Therefore, each turbine occupies less than 1% of the open land required by a wind farm, leaving the other 99% of the property available as farmland or pasture. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmb3U2UpFte9byNWQ45x1MkpgAwEQfSe0iI3iaE1FS5916KSeJLJ3b1IY7Yp7_WepQz-lxozyGcRbr380Xu-Nu-LGPzdvuPfsDEPipZqIZBwrK8kLUWfiC1p2m3kqd26XBJWrGM8tNUnW/s1600/wind+profit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmb3U2UpFte9byNWQ45x1MkpgAwEQfSe0iI3iaE1FS5916KSeJLJ3b1IY7Yp7_WepQz-lxozyGcRbr380Xu-Nu-LGPzdvuPfsDEPipZqIZBwrK8kLUWfiC1p2m3kqd26XBJWrGM8tNUnW/s320/wind+profit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
To examine the impact wind energy can make on a small amount of land, let’s envision a hypothetical farmer, John, who grows corn on 500 acres of land. Assuming the average return per acre of corn from 1999-2008 was $60.13 per acre. A total of 500 acres of corn at $60.13 profit equals $30,065 per year. This is the farmer’s return on labor and management after investing capital, labor, management and taking commodity and weather risks. <br />
<br />
Now, imagine that John has five turbines on his farm, occupying five of his cropping acres, leaving him with 495 acres of corn. His farming conditions are the same, so from those acres he’ll make $29,764 in profit, based on the 10 year average profit of $60.13 per acre. But add in the revenue from the turbines ($35,000 total assuming $7,000 per turbine) and his total profits increase to $64,764 per year. This would be almost double his profits from growing only corn without turbines. The profit structure may be even better if landowners take an ownership stake in a project company and share in the actual profits generated. <br />
<br />
What if there is heavy flooding or drought next summer, and John is only able to harvest a fraction of expected yield? His revenue could drop to a level below his expenses. Maybe he would break even with the help of crop insurance, but he won’t see a cent of profit. If he had turbines on his property, he would still earn $35,000 in profits. Turbine revenues help to buffer against these acts of God and resulting price volatilities. This allows the farmer to diversify his income and reduce risk. <br />
<br />
Wind is another crop that more and more farmers are harvesting. With a small initial outlay of land, a turbine can continue to provide income for years into the future. After construction is complete, the practice of farming continues as it has for generations, with the bonus of added financial security.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
- by Tim Lehman <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TVhBSiw0boo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/Gu4_b4bEE6I/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gu4_b4bEE6I&fs=1&source=uds" />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" />
<embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gu4_b4bEE6I&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>
<br /></div>
<a href="http://nationalwind.wordpress.com/author/tlehmannw/"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeSeu4GeP3b2BukiJWrZILLLWva2KDxlZaueKZ1I6LySpwocxEVLnB6Ox1j94fzp5h4-aFBuMWFpnA2M-q5Wxsvk0TR54diR7m46imdpooyrSvnwTN7RnmZbmt5xZLsCb7PG-hOZaFyk9/s1600/wind+profit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-49421517137182466092011-11-16T20:15:00.001-05:002011-11-16T20:38:33.930-05:00Wind Turbines an Atlantic City Tourist Attraction<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBD5fP4wNnBiQo2_SVgBkwecQvik01Jripp7rsSurZs8VOzAWeMAOy7ETAhPT-BA5OFxEqz3cUIHDUnJ23_Cv4jOMBqyaA280yF1sqoKcDsJmY6zobHwOJOfhYqp_Cfx-0kqhjCDufutT/s1600/jersey-atlantic-city-wind-farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBD5fP4wNnBiQo2_SVgBkwecQvik01Jripp7rsSurZs8VOzAWeMAOy7ETAhPT-BA5OFxEqz3cUIHDUnJ23_Cv4jOMBqyaA280yF1sqoKcDsJmY6zobHwOJOfhYqp_Cfx-0kqhjCDufutT/s400/jersey-atlantic-city-wind-farm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Atlantic City Wind Farm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Atlantic City wind turbines have become a tourist attraction there. Tourists haven’t stopped asking questions about the wind turbines since they went up five years ago along a back-bay salt marsh. Some casino hotel guests are so fascinated that they ask for rooms with a wind farm view.<br />
<br />
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is now offering tours of the wind farm twice a week. Standing at the concrete base of one of the massive turbines gives visitors a better understanding of just how this operation saves 24,000 barrels of crude oil a year with the hybrid energy projects in use here. In its five years, the wind farm has saved the utilities authority about $2.5 million in energy costs.<br />
<br />
John Wolfram of Absecon, who works in guest relations at the Water Club in Atlantic City, said visitors constantly asked about the turbines, so he took a tour to satisfy his own curiosity and to pass information along when he is asked.
"People drive in and see these things, and they are intrigued," Wolfram said. "They're like a tourist attraction. A lot of guests request rooms with a view of them."<br />
<br />
Dan DiPasquale, visiting the casinos with his wife and parents for the weekend from Wallingford, Conn., said he and his father had taken the tour as an alternative to gambling and walking on the Boardwalk.
"You know, you want something to do that's a little different, and we always wondered about these big turbines as we're driving in here, so we saw a brochure on it and thought it might be entertaining," DiPasquale said. "Who knows? This could become as big a tourist attraction as the casinos."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-12/news/29650149_1_turbines-first-commercial-wind-project-wind-energy">http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-12/news/29650149_1_turbines-first-commercial-wind-project-wind-energy</a>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8206813966844101398.post-71945284680419194332011-11-09T21:06:00.002-05:002011-11-09T21:06:27.227-05:00Find Wind Farms and Wind Turbine ManufacturersFind current wind farm projects, wind turbine parts manufacturers, as well as congressional voting information on this map.<br />
<iframe border="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.aweawindworks.com/embed" style="border: none; height: 420px; width: 580px;"></iframe>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12498366134905286389noreply@blogger.com0