Wind Energy

Move forward now on wind farm siting, transmission

We at the American Wind Energy Association support putting more electric cars and hybrid electric vehicles with lithium ion batteries into America’s auto fleet and promoting a diverse electricity portfolio through a Clean Energy Standard. But while the President can influence legislation, he and his Administration have far more control over the policies of executive agencies. For wind power, this regulatory role is more important now. We highlight below some concrete steps that could remove existing roadblocks for renewable energy development.

First, the administration could withdraw recently proposed avian guidelines for wind farm plants and instead adopt a pro-wildlife consensus agreement that was worked out under the supervision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a two-year advisory committee process. The more recent draft guidelines that the Service issued while ignoring the consensus agreement threaten at least 35,000 megawatts of homegrown electricity (enough to generate as much electricity as eight nuclear power plants) and $70 billion in private investment. The Service is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and prompt, decisive action is needed to restore the consensus agreement.

Second, the Administration could press forward with removing roadblocks to the building of new, higher-capacity transmission lines to improve the reliability of the nation’s electric utility system and save consumers money by providing access to new resources, including renewable energy. The Department of Energy can help facilitate regional agreements and utilize authorities to get transmission lines sited.

Cost is not a major obstacle to building transmission, and taxpayer funding is not needed. In fact, the benefits of building transmission are much greater than the cost, which means that private industry could build the lines at a profit while simultaneously benefiting consumers.

We strongly urge that the Administration move forward on these issues, which must be resolved in any event for a more comprehensive energy policy to be fully effective.

By Denise Bode, AWEA CEO, www.awea.org/