New Report Links Wind Turbines to Warmer Climate Temps, Energy Legislation Moves Through Appropriations, Wind PTC In Play
A provocative piece by Robert Lee Hotz in the Wall Street Journal states that researchers from the State University of New York and University of Illinois determined that large wind farms located in certain regions of the United States can cause a slight increase in local temperatures, potentially impacting local climate and farming while also raising doubts about the long-term sustainability of wind power. Researchers from the State University of New York and the University of Illinois spent nine years analyzing satellite readings of the areas surrounding four of the largest wind farms, all of which are in Texas. On the one hand, the wind industry is part of a larger initiative to cut greenhouse gas emissions believed to be responsible for global climate change. On the other hand, this report reveals a direct correlation between the location of those facilities and a nighttime temperature increase of 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
Energy and environment approriations legislation is coming together. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies approved a $32.1 billion energy and water appropriations bill for fiscal year 2013. The bill would provide $26.3 billion for the Department of Energy, a $358 million reduction from current funding levels and $1.8 billion below the president’s request for 2013. The Senate Appropriations Committee cleared its $33.4 billion energy and water spending bill and will now consider amendments. The bill includes language authorizing the Energy Department to set up one or more interim nuclear waste storage facilities. While it cuts $373 million from fiscal 2012’s spending level, it would give a bump to renewable energy and efficiency programs and the somewhat controversial Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.
Meanwhile, back to the wind industry, the House Science, Space, and Technology Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee and the Energy and Environment Subcommittee held a joint hearing to discuss tax policies. The debate focused primarily on the Section 1603 Treasury grant program and the cost effectiveness of renewable energy tax incentives - something that the wind industry has been pushing with some bipartisian success. Whether or not these incentives get reauthorized, is another story.
