Pete Danko: More Wind Power Equals Lower Electricity Prices
he price of electricity has dropped in states that have developed extensive wind power over the past five years. It’s just a slight drop, but here’s the kicker: the other states have seen a hefty rise.
This bifurcation in electricity costs is highlighted in a new report from the American Wind Energy Association, which obviously wants to convince you and everyone you know that wind power is a good thing – particularly as the industry pushes for reinstatement, preferably retroactively, of recently expired tax breaks (which, no doubt, help the competitiveness of wind).
But there doesn’t appear to be anything complicated or tricky about the AWEA claim, which is based on data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
The AWEA pointed to 11 states that had produce more than 7 percent of their electricity from wind power – Texas, Wyoming, Oregon, Oklahoma, Idaho, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. In those states, the price of electricity fell 0.37 percent in the past five years.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the states, electricity went up by 7.79 percent.
Even as it acknowledged that many factors can influence the price of electricity, the AWEA said this new data was pretty darn conclusive.
“During last month’s cold snaps, we saw very high wind energy output play a critical role in protecting consumers across the country from skyrocketing energy prices,” Michael Goggin, an AWEA senior electric industry analyst, said in a statement. “This study confirms that wind energy is providing that benefit every day.”
More here: http://earthtechling.com/2014/02/more-wind-power-equals-lower-electricity-prices/
Discovered on the Obama Diary
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