The American Wind Energy Association wants its production tax credit (PTC) for wind electricity extended yet again. Congress should say no — and terminate the PTC now.
Wind
energy is expensive and unreliable. It does nothing to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions. It is land- and raw-materials-intensive, parasitic
and redundant. Whenever the wind is low or inconsistent, every megawatt
of wind power must be supported by electricity generated by fossil-fuel
plants. Even more damning, wind turbines disrupt wildlife habitats and
butcher birds and bats that are vital to ecological diversity and
agriculture.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and American Bird Conservancy
say wind turbines kill 440,000 bald and golden eagles, hawks, falcons,
owls, cranes, egrets, geese and other birds every year in the United
States, along with countless insect-eating bats.
New studies
reveal that these appalling estimates are frightfully low and based on
misleading or even fraudulent data. The horrific reality is that in the
United States alone, “eco-friendly” wind turbines kill an estimated 13
million to 39 million birds and bats every year.
These shocking
figures reflect the presence of more than 39,000 turbines in the United
States, many located in habitats with large numbers of raptors, other
birds and bats, says Mark Duchamp, president of Save the Eagles International. The estimates are based on a 2012 study by the Spanish Ornithological Society, which used data from 136 official turbine-monitoring studies in Spain, and is corroborated by a 1993 study of bird mortality from wind turbines in Germany and Sweden, Mr. Duchamp says.
1 comment:
Hi! Keep it up! This is a good read. I will be looking forward to visit your page again and for your other posts as well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about wind energy tax credits. I am glad to stop by your site and know more about wind energy tax credits.
Opponents declare that by using RECs a customer can claim energy “reduction” even if they do not actually reduce their end-use at all - or even increase it. Proponents counter that more REC purchases drive increased production of renewable power which can replace conventional production.
Despite this growing demand and support for renewable energy, a fragile economy, volatile commodity pricing, and the lack of national energy policy have combined to pave a challenging road for renewable energy advocates and stakeholders. Economies of scale and new manufacturing processes are making alternative energy production more competitive, but until it achieves parity through innovation or regulatory policy, the success of green energy companies may largely depend on their ability to optimize Green Energy and Cleantech tax incentives to attract investors and maintain sustainable balance sheets.
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