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Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Wind-energy advocate misled with=20 misinformation

Glenn R. Schleede

=B1

Schleede, of Round Hill, is an energy analyst and the author =

of many papers and reports on energy matters.

In his June 14 commentary ("Foes are clouding wind energy = debate"),=20 Michel A. King chose to use an ad hominem attack along with false = and=20 misleading information to justify his support for building a "wind = farm"=20 in Highland County.

King's commentary is typical of the misinformation that the = wind=20 industry and other wind energy advocates have used for years to = mislead=20 the public, media and government officials. They greatly overstate = the=20 environmental and energy benefits of wind energy and greatly = understate or=20 ignore its adverse economic, environmental, ecological, scenic and = property value impacts.

In the past three years, citizen-led groups in the U.S. and = other=20 countries where wind farms have been proposed or built have = learned the=20 facts about wind energy and are making progress in bringing them = to the=20 public. The key, documented facts are:

=95 Tax avoidance - not environmental and energy benefits - has = become=20 the primary motivation for building "wind farms." One expert = recently=20 noted that two-thirds of their economic value comes from tax = benefits. FPL=20 Group, parent of FPL Energy LLC, largest owner of wind farms in = the U.S.,=20 apparently paid no income tax in 2002 or 2003 despite reporting = more than=20 $2 billion in profits, due heavily to wind farm tax benefits.

=95 Huge windmills - often taller than the U.S. Capitol - = produce very=20 little electricity. With favorable wind, the electricity produced = by the=20 proposed Highland County wind farm would equal about 0.15 percent = of the=20 electricity produced in Virginia in 2003.

=95 Because the output is intermittent, highly volatile and = largely=20 unpredictable, electricity from wind turbines has less real value = than=20 electricity from reliable generating units and detracts from = electric=20 system reliability.

=95 The true cost of electricity from wind energy is much = higher than=20 wind advocates admit. They ignore the huge subsidies and fail to=20 acknowledge that reliable generating units must be kept available = and=20 running to balance and "back up" the intermittent, volatile output = from=20 wind turbines so that electricity always will be available when = required.=20 They also fail to acknowledge that electricity from wind uses = transmission=20 capacity inefficiently, adding to the true cost.

=95 Environmental benefits of wind energy are exaggerated. = Advocates tend=20 to ignore the fact that backup generating units must be = immediately=20 available and running at less than peak efficiency or in spinning = reserve=20 mode, and that they continue to emit while in these modes. Also, = the=20 generation that may be offset may not be powered by fossil fuels. = Further,=20 under "cap and trade" programs, credits for sulfur dioxide or = nitrogen=20 oxides emissions displaced by wind could be sold to other = emitters, with=20 no reduction in those emissions.

=95 Wind farms have significant adverse effects that advocates = like to=20 ignore. Residents of various states (and other countries) where = wind farms=20 have been constructed have become painfully aware that wind farms = impair=20 environmental, ecological, scenic and property values. Among the = adverse=20 impacts are noise, bird kills, interference with bird migration = paths and=20 animal habitat, destruction of scenic mountain vistas and = ecological=20 rarities, distracting blade "flicker" and aircraft warning lights. =

=95 Wind farms produce few local economic benefits, which are = overwhelmed=20 by the higher costs imposed on electric customers. This is = particularly=20 true when the wind farm owner and/or owner of the land lives = elsewhere or=20 spends the income elsewhere.

=95 Wind energy has not been the great success in other = countries that=20 advocates often claim. A growing body of literature describes = problems and=20 huge costs resulting from wind energy in Denmark and Germany. = Residential=20 electricity prices in both countries are among the highest in the = world,=20 thanks in part to wind energy subsidies. Opposition is also = growing in the=20 United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and = elsewhere.=20 Further, claims that wind energy will make significant = contributions=20 toward European countries' Kyoto goals have been discredited.

King's comparison of one wind energy subsidy - the Production = Tax=20 Credit of $0.019 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) - with the $0.0576 per = kWh "Price=20 to Compare" on his monthly electric bill is dishonest, as King = must know.=20 It's a classic "apples and horses" comparison that would make the = author=20 of "How to Lie with Statistics" blush.

His ad hominem statement that "Schleede never mentions in any = of the=20 position papers he's authored" that I worked for the National Coal = Association 24 years ago is typical of wind advocates' attempts to = mislead. My complete r=8Esum=8E - along with an explanation of the = reasons why=20 I do self-financed analysis and writing about wind energy - is = attached to=20 several of my papers that are readily available to King.

I suspect King knows I have nothing to do with the coal = industry or=20 with subsidies given to coal in Virginia. I suspect he also knows = that I=20 am just as strongly opposed to government subsidies for coal as I = am to=20 the enormous subsidies state and local governments provide for = wind farms=20 such as the one proposed for Highland County.

I would urge The Roanoke Times to take advantage of the growing = body of=20 literature that provides those facts on wind energy and bring them = to=20 readers.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Wind-energy advocate misled with=20 misinformation

=A9 Copyright 2005

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e-mail this = story=20 Printer-friendly=20 version

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Wind-energy advocate misled with=20 misinformation

=A9 Copyright 2005

Subscribe=20 to the paper Privacy=20 Policy Contact=20 Us Archives Reprints How = this site=20 works best

=20

Subscribe=20 to the paper
Privacy=20 Policy
Contact=20 Us
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How = this site=20 works best