INTRODUCTION
1. Letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt to James P. Warburg, May 23, 1934, quoted in James P. Warburg, The Long Road Home (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1964), 156–57.
CHAPTER ONE: CLOUD COUNTY REVIVAL
1. See table 1, estimating total yearly wind generation potential in Kansas at 3.6 million gigawatt hours. U.S. power generation in 2010 totaled 4.1 million gigawatt-hours. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), table 1.1, “Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors),” released March 11, 2011, http://www.eia.gov/.
2. American Wind Energy Association, U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report, 12, fig. 12.
3. T. Lindsay Baker, Field Guide to American Windmills, 33–40, 339–421.
4. Kansas Statutes 79–201 (effective January 1, 1999). The federal production tax credit, more fully described in chapter 3, “Rust Belt Renewables,” had been intermittently available since passage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102–486).
5. Duane Schrag, “Wind Turbines Could Resume Spinning Soon,” Salina (KS)Journal, April 28, 2009, http://www.saljournal.com/, citing EIA data.
6. Kurt and Helen Kocher, interviews with author, March 19, 2009, and May 14, 2009.
7. Ray Mason, interview with author, May 13, 2009.
8. Monica Perin, “Wind Energy Visionary Flies under the Radar,” Houston Business Journal, April 27, 2003, http://www.bizjournals.com/.
9. Jim Hoy, “Environmental Price Tag Too High for Wind Farms,” undated, Protect the Flint Hills, www.protecttheflinthills.org/, accessed September 30, 2011.
10. Tim Unruh, “Company Finds One of the Answers to the Energy Crisis Is Blowing in the Wind,” Salina Journal, October 8, 2008, http://www.salina.com/.
11. Tom Fowler, “Zilkha Wind Firm Purchased by Goldman Sachs,” Houston Chronicle, March 22, 2005, http://www.chron.com/.
12. Sergio Goncalves, “EDP to Buy $2.2 bln U.S. Horizon Wind Energy,” Reuters, March 27, 2007, http://www.reuters.com.
13. Jim Roberts, senior project manager, Horizon Wind Energy, phone interviews with author, May 12, 2009, and June 17, 2009.
14. See Vestas, V90–3.0 MW: An Efficient Way to More Power, http://www.autonavzduch.cz/, accessed April 4, 2011.
15. Carole Engelder, director of construction management, Midwest Region, Horizon Wind Energy, phone interview with author, June 11, 2009.
16. Roberts phone interview, May 12, 2009. Although he did not discuss per-turbine payments in our conversations, Roberts is cited in media reportage as giving $4,000 to $8,000 per turbine as the range of payments made to Meridian Way landowners. Tim Unruh, “Company Finds One of the Answers to the Energy Crisis Is Blowing in the Wind,” Salina Journal, October 8, 2008, http://www.salina.com/.
17. Bonnie Sporer, Cloud County landowner, phone interview with author, May 18, 2009.
18. Carole Engelder, e-mail to author, June 19, 2009. Roughly 47 percent of the workforce was hired locally.
19. Kirk Lowell, executive director, Cloud County Development Corporation, interview with author, May 20, 2009.
20. Bruce Graham, chairman, Wind Energy Department, Cloud County Community College, interview with author, March 19, 2009, and e-mail to author, March 4, 2011.
CHAPTER TWO: EARLY ADOPTERS
1. Danish Commission on Climate Change Policy, Green Energy, 32.
2. BTM Consult, World Market Update 2004 (Forecast 2005–2009), March 31, 2005, http://www.btm.dk/.
3. John Acher, “UPDATE 2—China Rivals Narrow Gap on Wind Leader Vestas,” Reuters, March 15, 2011, http://af.reuters.com/.
4. Vestas, Annual Report—2010, http://www.vestas.com/. Conversion to U.S. dollars at exchange rate applicable on December 31, 2010.
5. Lone Mortensen, director of people and culture, Blades Division, Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Lem, Denmark, October 7, 2009.
6. See Vestas annual reports, 2008–2010, http://www.vestas.com/.
7. Danish Energy Authority, “Combined Heat and Power Production in Denmark,” undated fact sheet, http://www.ambottawa.um.dk/, accessed August 1, 2011.
8. Buen, “Danish and Norwegian Wind Industry,” 3890.
9. Wind power producers were paid 85 percent of the pretax price charged to consumers. Birger T. Madsen, “Public Initiatives and Industrial Development after 1979,” in Nissen, Wind Power, 52, 54.
10. Toke, “Wind Power in UK and Denmark,” 83 et seq.
11. Van Est, Winds of Change, 89. This rule was issued in 1985.
12. Buen, “Danish and Norwegian Wind Industry,” 3890.
13. Sijm, Performance of Feed-in Tariffs, 11.
14. Gipe, “Wind Energy Comes of Age,” 760.
15. “Denmark Struggles with Regulations—So Far, So Bad,” Windpower Monthly, April 1, 2000, http://www.windpowermonthly.com/. See also Szarka, “Wind Power,” 3041, 3046.
16. Toke, “Wind Power in UK and Denmark,” 92.
17. Van Est, Winds of Change, 87.
18. Richard M. Nixon, Special Message to the Congress on the Energy Crisis, January 23, 1974, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/.
19. Richard M. Nixon, State of the Union address, January 30, 1974, http://abcnews.go.com/.
20. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Petroleum & Other Liquids: U.S. Imports by Country of Origin,” released July 27, 2010, http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
21. Jimmy Carter, Report to the American People on Energy, February 2, 1977 http://millercenter.org/.
22. Jimmy Carter, Address to the Nation on Energy, April 18, 1977, http://millercenter.org/.
23. Denis Hayes, phone interview with author, July 14, 2010. See also D. Hayes, Rays of Hope, 174–80.
24. PURPA, sec. 210. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) encouraged states to set rates at the full “avoided cost” of generating the same increment of power in the absence of the independent power sources. See Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, 31.
25. See Thomas A. Starrs, “Legislative Incentives and Energy Technologies,” 129–34, describing FERC v. Mississippi, 456 U.S. 742 (1982), and American Paper Institute, Inc. v. American Electric Power Service Corp., 461 U.S. 402 (1983).
26. Energy Tax Act of 1978, PL 95–618, 92 STAT. 3195, Sec. 301(a). See also Minan, “Encouraging Solar Energy Development,” 31–34.
27. Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax of 1980, PL 96–223, 94 STAT. 230, Sec. 221(a).
28. Fred Branfman, “Moving toward the Abyss,” Salon, April 18, 1996, http://www.salon.com/.
29. Lovins, Soft Energy Paths, 55.
30. See Clark, Energy for Survival.
31. See U.S. House of Representatives, Renewable Energy Incentives, 147 (testimony of Warren D. Noteware, California Energy Commission).
32. Righter, Wind Energy in America, 208.
33. Ellen Paris, “The Great Windmill Tax Dodge,” Forbes, March 12, 1984, 40.
34. Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, 31.
35. See Righter, Wind Energy in America, 215; Starrs, “Legislative Incentives and Energy Technologies,” 109, table 1; Smith, “Wind Farms of the Altamont Pass Area,” 153, fig. 3.
36. Righter, Wind Energy in America, 158. For testimony by representatives of NASA and major aerospace firms, see U.S. House of Representatives, Wind Energy Systems Act of 1980.
37. Gipe, Wind Energy Comes of Age, 106.
38. Ibid., 96.
39. See Asmus, Reaping the Wind, 87–131.
40. Van Est, Winds of Change, 54.
41. Righter, Wind Energy in America, 183, quoting interview with Paul Gipe, November 11, 1992.
42. Danish Wind Industry Association, Denmark—Wind Power Hub: Profile of the Danish Wind Industry, 2008, 13, http://www.windpower.org/.
43. Van Est, Winds of Change, 59; Righter, Wind Energy in America, 181.
44. Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, PL 95–620, 42 USC 8301.
45. Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act Amendments of 1987, PL 100–42, 42 USC 8312.
46. See Gipe, “Wind Energy Comes of Age,” 738; Starrs, “Legislative Incentives and Energy Technologies,” 119.
47. Ronald Reagan, “Acceptance Speech at the 1980 Republican Convention,” July 17, 1980, http://www.nationalcenter.org/.
48. Sissine, Renewable Energy: A New National Commitment?, unnumbered table, “Dept. of Energy (DOE) Renewable Energy R&D Funding: FY74 to FY92.”
49. Gipe, “Wind Energy Comes of Age,” 758, fig. 4.
50. Almost 70 percent of the world’s wind-generated electricity came from California’s big-three wind farms in 1985. Smith, “Wind Farms of the Altamont Pass Area,” 146.
51. Van Est, Winds of Change, 92.
52. See European Monitoring Centre on Change, EMCC Case Studies: Energy Sector: Vestas, Denmark, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2008, 4, http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/; and Reference for Business, Encyclopedia for Business, 2d ed., “Vestas Wind Systems A/S,” http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/.
53. See Sijm, Performance of Feed-in Tariffs, 7–8 and table 3.2.
54. Ibid., table 3.2; DOE, U.S. Installed Wind Capacity, 2000 Year End Wind Power Capacity (map), http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/.
55. Peter Wenzel Kruse, senior vice president for group communication and investor relations, Vestas, interview with author, October 8, 2009.
56. With 327 megawatts of new wind power capacity in 2010, Denmark ranked eleventh among European nations that year. European Wind Energy Association, Wind in Power: 2010 European Statistics, February 2011, http://www.ewea.org/.
57. Ditlev Engel, press conference on Q3 accounts 2010, Radisson Blue Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, October 26, 2011. Additional information provided via e-mail to author by Michael Holm, public relations manager, Vestas, October 26, 2010, and June 10, 2011.
58. See American Wind Energy Association, U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report, 36.
CHAPTER THREE: RUST BELT RENEWABLES
1. “President-Elect Obama Visits and Speaks at Cardinal Fastener, Bedford Heights, OH,” January 16, 2009, YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/.
2. American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report, 37.
3. Beth Govoni and Elizabeth Conley, Iowa Department of Economic Development, e-mail to author, August 4, 2010.
4. “Stimulus Money IS Creating US Jobs: American Wind Energy Association Response to American University Study/ABC World News Story,” Electric Energy Online, February 12, 2010, http://www.electricenergyonline.com.
5. Elizabeth Salerno and Jessica Isaacs, “The Economic Reach of a Thriving Sector,” Windpower Monthly, Special Report–United States: Wind Industry a Driver of Economic Recovery, May 2009, 7.
6. Interviews with Bob Loyd, plant manager, and employees at Clipper Wind Turbine Works were conducted during the author’s site visit to Cedar Rapids, IA, February 2, 2010.
7. David Pitt, “Historic Maytag Factory Shuts Its Doors,” Associated Press, October 25, 2007, http://www.manufacturing.net/.
8. Robert Gates, chief commercial officer, Clipper Windpower, phone interview with author, April 13, 2010. See also Jesse Broehl, “Domestic Supply Chain Must Grow,” Windpower Monthly, Special Report–United States: Wind Industry a Driver of Economic Recovery, May 2009, 11.
9. “Drive Train Retrofit Means More Delays—Further Bad News from Clipper on Liberty Component Problems,” Windpower Monthly, October 2007, 42; “Series of Blade Repairs Under Way—More Clipper Problems,” Windpower Monthly, February 2008, 39; “Growing Revenue but Higher Losses,” Windpower Monthly, June 2009, 31.
10. “Growing Revenue but Higher Losses,” Windpower Monthly, June 2009, 31; “Analysis–Changing Blades without a Tall Crane,” Windpower Monthly, April 2010, 22.
11. See Karl-Erik Stromsta, “Pertz Quits Over Losses,” Recharge News, March 12, 2010, 10; Robin Pagnamenta, “Clipper Has the Wind beneath Its Wings after US Funding Deal,” Times (London), December 11, 2009, http://business.timesonline.co.uk; Ben Backwell, “Clipper in a Cash Crisis,” Recharge, September 24, 2010, www.rechargenews.com/; and Associated Press, “United Technologies Optimistic about Wind Power,” February 10, 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/.
12. “Clipper Teams Up to Forge New Beginning,” Windpower Monthly, May 2010, 77.
13. Gates phone interview, April 13, 2010.
14. The production tax credit, under section 1914 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102–486), originally targeted wind and biomass derived from field crops or trees grown exclusively for power production. Other forms of renewable energy, including solar, geothermal, landfill gas, trash combustion, and certain kinds of small-scale hydropower, were added later. Sissine, Renewable Energy: Tax Credit, Budget, and Electricity Production Issues, 4.
15. The production tax credit for wind has since been raised to 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour. “Federal Incentives/Policies for Renewables & Efficiency: Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit,” Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE), rev. April 25, 2011, http://www.dsireusa.org/.
16. See H.R. 1, P.L. 111–5, Sec. 1101. The PTC was raised again in 2010 to 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour. For further analysis, see Viva Hammer, “Special Report: Alternative Energy Gets a Second Chance,” Tax Notes, November 22, 2010, http://vivahammertax.com/.
17. See Dan Eggen, “Four Democratic Senators Aim to Halt Stimulus Wind Project,” Washington Post, March 4, 2010.
18. AWEA, U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report, 36; AWEA Year-End 2009 Market Report, 37.
19. Under the Price-Anderson Act, each licensed reactor pays for $375 million in private insurance covering off-site liability. If an accident were to cause damage above that amount, all 104 licensed U.S. reactors would be assessed a pro rata share of the excess, up to a maximum of $111.9 million apiece. Beyond the $11.6 billion covered by this industrywide pool, state and local governments would have to petition Congress for supplemental disaster relief. See Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “Fact Sheet on Nuclear Insurance and Disaster Relief Funds,” June 2011, http://www.nrc.gov/.
20. For a general overview of this company, see Pruitt, Timken.
21. Lorrie Paul Crum, communications department, and James E. Charmley, director of product technology, Timken, interviews with author, March 5, 2010.
22. Ward J. “Tim” Timken Jr., “Private Enterprise: A Cornerstone of American Democracy,” Major Issues Lecture, Ashland University, Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, October 16, 2009, http://www.ashbrook.org/.
23. H. Josef Hebert, “Timken, Belden, and Their Workers Keep an Eye on Climate Bills,” Associated Press, October 11, 2009, http://www.cantonrep.com/.
24. Crum, e-mail to author, December 10, 2009.
25. Associated Press, “GE Partners to Create Wind Farm in Lake Erie Near Cleveland; Aims for 1,000 MW Farm by 2020,” May 24, 2010.
CHAPTER FOUR:THE CHINESE ARE COMING
1. The top fifteen global turbine manufacturers in 2010, by rank and market share, were Vestas (Denmark) #1–12%; Sinovel (China) #2–11%; GE (U.S.) #3–10%; Goldwind (China) #4–10%; Enercon (Germany) #5–7%; Gamesa (Spain) #6–7%; Dongfang (China) #8–7%; Suzlon (India) #9–6%; Siemens (Germany) #10–5%; United Power (China) #10–4%; Mingyang (China) #11–3%; REpower (Germany) #12–2%; Sewind (China) #13–2%; Nordex (Germany) #14–2%; XEMC (China) #15–1%. Reuters, “UPDATE 2-China Rivals Narrow Gap on Wind Leader Vestas,” March 15, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/, citing data from MAKE Consulting.
2. This conference, attended by the author, was held on October 21–23, 2009.
3. This ceremony, which took place on October 15, 2009, featured remarks by Lars Anderson, president, Vestas-China; Ni Xiangyu, vice chairman, the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area; and others.
4. Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA), China Wind Power Installed Capacity Data (2010), March 18, 2011 (in Chinese), table 2; Global Wind Energy Council, Global Wind Statistics 2010, http://www.gwec.net/.
5. China’s total electricity consumption is predicted to reach 8,200 terawatt-hours by 2020, with total installed capacity growing to 1.885 terawatts. “China Electricity Consumption to Almost Double by 2020: China Electricity Council,” Xinhua News Agency, December 21, 2010, http://news.xinhuanet.com/.
6. McElroy et al., “Potential for Wind-Generated Electricity in China,” 1378–80.
7. See Keith Bradsher, “China Outpaces U.S. in Cleaner Coal-Fired Plants,” New York Times, May 11, 2009.
8. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Independent Statistics and Analysis,” July 2009, http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
9. See “China’s Coal Demand Likely to Hit 3.8 bln t [billion metric tons] in 2015,” June 9, 2010, iStockAnalyst, www.istockanalyst.com/. Projected coal use of 3.8 billion metric tons converts to 4.18 billion “short” U.S. tons.
10. The official death toll for Chinese coal miners was 3,215 in 2008 and 2,631 in 2009. “China Mine Accidents Multiply—28 Dead, 192 Missing,” Agence France-Presse, April 2, 2010, http://www.chinamining.org/.
11. World Nuclear Association, “World Nuclear Power Reactors & Uranium Requirements,” table, March 2, 2011, http://www.world-nuclear.org/.
12. See Antoaneta Bezlova, “Three Gorges Dam May Displace Millions More,” IPS-Inter Press Service, October 12, 2007, http://ipsnews.net/; Jim Yardley, “Chinese Dam Projects Criticized for Their Human Costs,” New York Times, November 19, 2007.
13. Lema, “Between Fragmented Authoritarianism and Policy Coordination,” 3882.
14. See Li, Study on the Pricing Policy of Wind Power in China, 7.
15. Renewable Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China, approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, February 28, 2005, articles 6–9.
16. Wu Qi, “Landmark Project Heralds Grand Vision,” Windpower Monthly Special Report–China: Market Ambition Ramps Up a Gear, October 2009, 20–21. See also Louis Schwartz, “China’s New Generation: Driving Domestic Development,” March 10, 2009, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/.
17. Yvonne Chan, “China Unveils $140bn Plan to Build Seven Giant Wind Farms by 2020,” BusinessGreen, June 30, 2009, http://www.businessgreen.com/. See also Rujun Shen and Tom Miles, “China’s Wind-Power Boom to Outpace Nuclear by 2020,” Reuters, April 20, 2009, http://uk.reuters.com/.
18. Wu Qi, “New Milestone for Domestic Leader,” Windpower Monthly, May 2009, 31.
19. Wilson Guo, China country manager, UPC, interview with author, October 20, 2009.
20. Charles R. McElwee II, Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP, phone interview with author, November 23, 2009.
21. See Lewis, Comparison of Wind Power Industry Development Strategies, 15–17.
22. Goldwind Science & Technology Company, Company Overview and Highlights, September–October 2009, 12, www.goldwindglobal.com.
23. Chunhua Li, director, International Business Department, Goldwind, and Eva Xie, vice director, Investment Department, Tianrun, interview with author, October 18, 2009; Liang Xuan, International Business Department, Goldwind, e-mail to author, June 30, 2010.
24. See Wu Qi, “Grid Quotas Aim to Connect 9 GW of Stuck Chinese Wind,” Windpower Monthly, June 2010, 17; Li Jing, “China Plans for Renewable Energy,” China Daily, August 25, 2009, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/.
25. “China Electricity Consumption to Almost Double by 2020,” China Daily, December 22, 2010.
26. Lewis, A Review of the Potential International Trade Implications, 3.
27. Azure International, Beijing, data provided to author via e-mail, September 30, 2010.
28. CWEA, China Wind Power Installed Capacity Data (2010), March 18, 2011 (in Chinese), table 2. Rankings are based on megawatts installed in 2010.
29. See Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “United States Requests WTO Dispute Settlement Consultations on China’s Subsidies for Wind Power Equipment Manufacturers,” December 22, 2010, http://www.ustr.gov/. See also Keith Bradsher, “To Conquer Wind Power, China Writes the Rules,” New York Times, December 14, 2010.
30. See Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “United States Requests WTO Dispute Settlement Consultations.”
31. Chunhua Li interview, October 15, 2009.
32. Wu Qi, “Goldwind Wins New US Orders,” Windpower Monthly, April 25, 2011.
33. CWEA, China Wind Power Installed Capacity Data (2010), table 2.
34. See Lyn Harrison and Eric Prideaux, “Conference Report China: World Asks China to Drop Its Barriers,” Windpower Monthly, 57, 60.
35. Matthew Kaplan, associate director, North American Wind Energy Markets, IHS Emerging Energy Research, interview with author, June 7 2011.
36. Jim Bai and Chen Aizhu, “China Wind Power Capacity Could Reach 1,000 GW by 2050,” Reuters, October 19, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/.
37. Friedman, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, 372–73.
CHAPTER FIVE: WORKING THE WIND
1. Ira Chinoy, associate professor, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, e-mail to author, March 1, 2011.
2. Inside Indiana Business, “More Wind Turbine Components Arrive at Port of Indiana,” June 19, 2009, http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/.
3. Jesse Broehl, “Transportation Is the Wind beneath U.S. Industry Wings,” Windpower Monthly Special Report: Freight on Board, July 2010, 5.
4. “Western States—Four Ports Make US Top Ten List,” Windpower Monthly, Special Report: U.S. Investment and Development, September 2010, 23.
5. “Texas and Oklahoma Lead Quiet Region,” Windpower Monthly, Special Report: U.S. Investment and Development, September 2010, 16.
6. “Trains Deliver the Wind,” Breakbulk Industry News, September 22, 2009; “Iowa Cornfield Sprouts Wind Towers,” Breakbulk Industry News, September 22, 2009, http://www.breakbulk.com/ (archival access limited to subscribers).
7. Mark Anderson, “Trucking Turbines Gets Sophisticated,” Windpower Monthly, April 2009, 92.
8. Site visit to Grand Ridge Wind Farm, Ransom, IL; Adam Hartman, construction manager, Invenergy, interview with author, May 8, 2009.
9. Alvin Cargill, Horizon Wind Energy, project manager for construction—Meadow Lake Wind Farm, White and Benton counties, IN, interview with author, July 22, 2009.
10. Bruce Graham, presentation on Meridian Way Wind Farm to Kansas–Nebraska Radio Club, Cloud County Community College, observed by author, March 19, 2009.
11. American Wind Energy Association, “Supply Chain—Anatomy of a Wind Turbine,” http://www.awea.org/.
12. See “President-Elect Obama Visits and Speaks at Cardinal Fastener, Bedford Heights, OH,” January 16, 2009, YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/.
13. Clinton Newbold, quality assurance manager, Barnhart, at Meadow Lake Wind Farm, interview with author, July 23, 2009.
14. Martin Culik, Horizon Wind Energy, project manager for development, Meadow Lake Wind Farm, interview with author, July 23, 2009. See also Horizon Wind Energy website, Meadow Lake Wind Farm, http://www.horizonwind.com/.
15. Connie Neininger, economic development director, White County, IN, interview with author, July 18, 2009.
16. Steve Maples, Barnhart Crane & Rigging, site manager, Meadow Lake Wind Farm, interview with author, July 23, 2009. All subsequent quotes attributed to Steve Maples are from the same source.
17. Justin Van Beusekom, assistant operations manager, Meridian Way Wind Farm, Horizon Wind Energy, May 15, 2009.
18. Leo Jessen, lead technician, Grand Ridge Wind Farm, Invenergy, interview with author, May 10, 2009.
19. Ibid.
20. American Wind Energy Association, AWEA Year-End 2009 Market Report, 37–38.
21. See American Wind Energy Association, “AWEA Seal of Approval Program,” http://archive.awea.org/, accessed April 11, 2011.
22. Cloud County Community College Grants List—Wind Energy Technology Training Program, provided to author by Bruce Graham, March 2010.
23. Brad Lowell, “CCCC Becoming Leader in Wind Energy Education,” Concordia (KS) Blade-Empire, March 10, 2010, quoting Kim Krull, vice president for academic affairs, Cloud County Community College.
24. Acme Idea Company, New Duracell Smart Power Commercial, December 4, 2009, YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/.
25. P. Barry Butler, dean, College of Engineering, University of Iowa, interview with author, February 1, 2010.
26. Interviews with students, Wind Energy and Turbine Technology Program, Iowa Lakes Community College, conducted by author, February 5, 2010.
27. Michelle Graham, Horizon Wind Energy, operations administrator, Meridian Way Wind Farm, e-mail to author, May 16, July 9, December 17, 2009, and September 4, 2010.
28. Bruce Graham, e-mail to author, March 4, 2011.
29. Ahmad Hemami, instructor, Iowa Lakes Community College, interview with author, February 5, 2010.
30. Loma Roggenkamp, O&M technician, Siemens Energy, phone interview with author, September 7, 2010; e-mail to author, July 27, 2011.
31. Kristen Graf, executive director, Women of Wind Energy, phone interview with author, September 3, 2010.
32. AWEA Board of Directors, http://www.awea.org/, accessed April 11, 2011.
33. Jeanna Walters, former student, Wind Energy Technology Training Program, Cloud County Community College, phone interview with author, May 13, 2009.
34. U.S. Department of Energy, Wind Power in America’s Future, 12.
35. Ibid., appendix C: “Wind-Related Jobs and Economic Impact,” 207–10. Data are drawn, in part, from the explanatory text accompanying fig. C-7, with specific numerical projections underlying fig. C-7 provided by Suzanne Tegen, PhD, senior energy analyst, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), e-mail to author, August 31, 2010. Indirect jobs are based on “the increase in economic activity that occurs . . . when a contractor, vendor, or manufacturer receives payment for goods or services and in turn is able to pay others who support their business.” Induced employment is caused by “the changes in wealth that result from spending by people directly and indirectly employed by the project.” Ibid., 201.
CHAPTER SIX: THE PATH TO CLEANER ENERGY
1. Ryan H. Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “Tracking the US Wind Industry: Update on Cost, Performance, and Pricing Trends,” AWEA Windpower 2011 Conference, May 23, 2011. In previously published government data, wind was credited with a more modest 2.3 percent of total U.S. electricity supply in 2010: 94,647 gigawatt hours out of 4,120,028 gigawatt hours. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electric Power Monthly, table 1.1, accessed July 2011, http://www.eia.doe.gov/
2. EIA, Electric Power Monthly, table 1.1A. Solar-generated power totaled 1.3 gigawatt hours in 2011.
3. By way of comparison, a coal plant’s capacity factor is typically in the 70 to 90 percent range, and a nuclear plant can operate at over 90 percent of its stated capacity.
4. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and AWS Truewind, “Estimates of Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential by State for Areas >=30% Capacity Factor at 80m,” February 4, 2010, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Wind Powering America, http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/.
5. See David Appleyard, “Record Growth for EU Offshore Wind in 2010,” Renewable Energy World, February 15, 2011, http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/. Europe added 883 megawatts in new offshore wind capacity in 2010, about 10 percent of total European wind installations that year.
6. Schwartz, Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Resources, 3–4, table 1. This study understates the total offshore wind resource because it does not include data for Florida, Alabama, or Mississippi; wind maps for these states were unavailable. On the other hand, over 60 percent of the wind resources in NREL’s offshore database are in waters deeper than 150 feet, where wind energy development is not yet technically feasible.
7. Vattenfall, Life-Cycle Assessment, 2.
8. Spath, Life Cycle Assessment, 10–13, 29, table 29.
9. Estimates of coal power plant CO2 emissions were calculated by David Schoengold, senior consultant, MSB Energy Associates, based on an analysis of DOE data for 2008. David Schoengold, e-mail to author, October 5, 2010; Armond Cohen, executive director, Clean Air Task Force, e-mail to author, September 30, 2010.
10. Vestas, Lifecycle Assessment of a V90–3.0 MW Onshore Wind Turbine, 7.
11. Vestas, Lifecycle Assessment of Offshore and Onshore Sited Wind Power Plants, 35–40.
12. DOE, Wind Power in America’s Future, 13–14.
13. Percentages derived from European Wind Energy Association, Wind Energy, 326, table V.1.2.
14. One of the earlier critiques of civilian nuclear power was published under this title. See Richard Curtis and Elizabeth Hogan, Perils of the Peaceful Atom: The Myth of Safe Nuclear Power Plants (New York: Doubleday, 1969).
15. See, e.g., Brit Liggett and Jill Fehrenbacher, “Stewart Brand Says Nuclear Power Could Save the World,” video interview, Inhabitat.com, February 19, 2011, http://inhabitat.com/.
16. See Adriana Petryna, “The Work of Illness: The Science and Politics of Chernobyl-Exposed Populations,” Osiris, 2d series, vol. 19, Landscapes of Exposure: Knowledge and Illness in Modern Environments (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004), 250–65.
17. See Behrens, Nuclear Power Plants, 4.
18. National Academy of Sciences, “Spent Fuel Stored in Pools at Some U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Potentially at Risk From Terrorist Attacks; Prompt Measures Needed to Reduce Vulnerabilities,” press release, April 6, 2005. The press release and a link to the full public report are available at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/.
19. Wald, “Resolved,” 52.
20. One of those isotopes, plutonium-239, takes 24,000 years to lose half its radioactivity. Plutonium-242 has a half-life of 376,000 years. See Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “Backgrounder on Radioactive Waste,” April 2007, and “Fact Sheet on Plutonium,” October 2003, http://www.nrc.gov/.
21. See U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “Fact Sheet on Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants,” April 2011, http://www.nrc.gov/.
22. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electric Power Monthly, table 1.1 accessed July 2011, reporting that petroleum liquids produced 23.4 gigawatt hours of electricity in 2010.
23. In 1973, petroleum products supplied to the U.S. market totaled 17.3 million barrels per day. In 2010, total U.S. oil consumption was 19.1 million barrels per day. U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Short-Term Energy Outlook,” March 8, 2011, http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
24. See Pew Center on Global Climate Change, “Transportation Overview: Transportation Emissions in the United States,” http://www.pewclimate.org/, accessed March 29, 2011.
25. DONG Energy Annual Report, 2009, 44–45, http://www.dongenergy.com/.
26. Knud Pedersen, vice president responsible for group R&D and regulatory issues, DONG Energy, Copenhagen, interview with author, October 9, 2009. See also Nelson D. Schwartz, “In Denmark, Ambitious Plan for Electric Cars,” New York Times, December 1, 2009; Clive Thompson, “Batteries Not Included,” New York Times Magazine, April 16, 2009.
27. EIA, “U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves,” table 9, released November 30, 2010, http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
28. In 2010, U.S. consumption of natural gas totaled 24.1 trillion cubic feet. EIA, “Natural Gas Consumption by End Use,” released March 29, 2011, http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
29. See, e.g., Natural Gas Supply Association, “Resources,” http://www.naturalgas.org/, accessed April 7, 2011. Among the sources cited here is the EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2010, which estimates that the United States has 2,349 trillion cubic feet of “unproved” technically recoverable gas resources.
30. See Sandra Steingraber, “The Whole Fracking Enchilada,” Orion, September/October 2010, http://www.orionmagazine.org/; Ian Urbina, “Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers,” New York Times, February 27, 2011.
31. See Ian Urbina, “Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush,” New York Times, June 26, 2011. In the immediate wake of these revelations, congressional leaders called on several federal agencies to investigate the industry’s possibly exaggerated claims of shale gas productivity and profitability. See Ian Urbina, “Lawmakers Seek Inquiry of Natural Gas Industry,” New York Times, June 28, 2011.
32. EIA, “International Gas Reserves and Resources,” updated March 3, 2009, http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
33. DOE, Wind Power in America’s Future, 154, appendix A.
34. Jon Wellinghoff, chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), interview with author, Washington, DC, April 15, 2010. Wellinghoff’s ideas for developing a smart grid substantially supported by renewable energy are explored further in chapter 9, “Greening the Grid.”
35. Pew Center on Global Climate Change, “Renewable & Alternative Portfolio Standards,” http://www.pewclimate.org/. This webpage, accessed on March 17, 2011, lists thirty-one states and the District of Columbia with renewable or alternative electricity standards.
36. H.B. 2369, Kan. Reg. Sess. (2009); Kan. State. Ann. Sec. 79–201 (Supp. 2008).
37. Todd Wood, “California Utilities (Just) Miss Renewable Energy Deadline,” Grist, March 8, 2011, http://www.grist.org/.
38. Yin, “Do State Renewable Portfolio Standards Promote In-State Renewable Generation?” 1144.
39. While not a direct indicator of the cost of a particular energy technology to consumers, wholesale prices—paid by utilities to wind power producers—are generally seen as a more accurate reflection of wind energy’s competitiveness than the retail price of power, which can vary widely depending on the generation sources in a utility’s portfolio, local distribution costs, the corporate structure of the utility (public- or investor-owned, regulated or deregulated), and the rate-setting policies of different states.
40. DOE, 2009 Wind Technologies, 36–42; Ryan H. Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “Tracking the U.S. Wind Industry: Update on Cost, Performance, and Pricing Trends,” PowerPoint presentation, AWEA Windpower Conference, Anaheim, CA, May 23, 2011, 13–14 (summarizing data forthcoming in the DOE’s 2010 Wind Technologies Market Report).
41. The monthly natural gas price for electric power reached $11.84 per thousand cubic feet in October 2005, dropped as low as $5.76 in 2006, and then spiked again in 2008, topping out at $12.41. In 2010, it dropped to $4.44 in October, but was back up to $5.66 by December. EIA, Monthly U.S. Natural Gas Electric Power Price, http://www.eia.gov/.
42. Nancy Rader, California Wind Energy Association, “Wind Energy Development in the Desert,” PowerPoint presentation, AWEA Windpower Conference, Anaheim, CA, May 23, 2011.
43. Lazard Ltd., Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis—Version 4.0, 2010, cited in National Conference of State Legislatures, Meeting the Energy Challenges of the Future: A Guide for Policymakers, 2010, 3, fig. 2, http://www.ncsl.org/.
44. Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, “Innovating China’s Wind Energy Market via Engineering Excellence & Supply Chain Integration.” PowerPoint presentation, China Wind Power Conference, Beijing, October 21, 2009.
45. Bloomberg New Energy Finance, “Wind Turbine Prices Fall to their Lowest in Recent Years,” February 7, 2011, http://bnef.com/.
46. Ibid., 32.
47. DOE, 2009 Wind Technologies Market Report, 27.
CHAPTER SEVEN:BIRDS AND BATS
1. Center for Biological Diversity v. FPL Group, Inc. et al., Complaint for Violations of California Business and Professions Code Section 17200 et seq., Case No. RG04183113, Superior Court of the State of California, Alameda County, November 1, 2004, paragraphs 46–59.
2. BioResource Consultants, Developing Methods to Reduce Bird Mortality, table
3. When Audubon reached a legal settlement with Alameda County in 2007, agreeing on a 50 percent mortality reduction goal, the Center for Biological Diversity strongly objected to the agreement’s failure to spell out enforceable means of achieving that goal. It registered its views in a letter addressed to the members of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, January 10, 2007, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/.
4. Elizabeth McCarthy, “Legal Battle over Altamont Windmill Bird Deaths Ends,” California Current, December 10, 2010, http://www.cacurrent.com/.
5. Scott Richardson, “Audubon Society Wants Invenergy Study Redone,” Wind Watch: Industrial Wind Energy News, October 25, 2006, http://www.wind-watch.org/.
6. Dr. Angelo Capparella, associate professor of zoology, Illinois State University, Bloomington, interview with author, May 10, 2009.
7. See National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Power Technologies Energy Data Book, Wind Farm Area Calculator, http://www.nrel.gov/, accessed August 1, 2011.
8. Paul Kerlinger, “Prevention and Mitigation of Avian Impacts at Wind Power Facilities” in Resolve, Inc., Proceedings of the Wind Energy and Birds/Bats Workshop, 84–85.
9. See Erickson, Summary and Comparison of Bird Mortality from Anthropogenic Causes, 1033–34. The Federal Aviation Administration calls for lighting, at a minimum, on towers that define the periphery of all wind farms with turbines taller than 200 feet. See FAA Advisory Circular: Obstruction Marking and Lighting, February 12, 2007, chapter 13, http://www.windaction.org/.
10. Capparella interview, May 10, 2009.
11. Karl Kosciuch, “Evaluating Whooping Crane Stop-over Habitat at Potential Wind Power Sites to Understand and Minimize Risk,” AWEA Windpower Conference, Chicago, May 7, 2009.
12. Diane Bailey, “Whooping Cranes Use Wind Corridor—Environmental Interests Clash,” Windpower Monthly, June 1, 2009, 52.
13. Don Furman, senior vice president for development, Iberdrola Renewables, phone interview with author, February 19, 2010.
14. AES Geo Energy, Saint Nikola Kavarna Wind Farm Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan; Darius Snieckus, “Early-Warning System Ensures the Safety of Millions of Migratory Birds,” Recharge, October 8, 2010, http://www.rechargenews.com/.
15. Erickson, A Summary and Comparison of Bird Mortality from Anthropogenic Causes, 1035–36.
16. National Research Council, Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects, 75. See also Wallace P. Erickson, “Bird Fatality and Risk at New Generation Wind Projects” in Resolve, Inc., Proceedings of the Wind Energy and Birds/Bats Workshop, 29–31.
17. See U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Draft Voluntary Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines; and Draft Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance. See also Comments of the American Wind Energy Association on Draft Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance, May 19, 2011, http://www.awea.org/.
18. Erickson, Avian Collisions with Wind Turbines, 7–12.
19. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Mortality: Many Human-Caused Threats Afflict Our Bird Populations, January 2002, http://www.fws.gov/.
20. Nico Dauphine and Robert J. Cooper, “Impacts of Free-Ranging Domestic Cats (Felis Catus) on Birds in the United States: A Review of Recent Research with Conservation and Management Recommendations,” Proceedings of the Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference: Tundra to Tropics, October 2009, 205–9, http://www.abcbirds.org/.
21. The Fish and Wildlife Service avoids giving numerical estimates of past and current sage grouse populations. See U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Questions and Answers for the Greater Sage-Grouse Status Review,” 8, website updated March 5, 2010, http://www.fws.gov/. However, when the Interior Department designated the bird as a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act (see discussion later in this chapter), press accounts reported total numbers of sage grouse as ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 today, down from 16 million a century ago. See, e.g., John M. Broder, “No Endangered Status for Plains Bird,” New York Times, March 5, 2010.
22. Hadassah Reimer, “A Small Bird with a Big Footprint,” Wyoming Lawyer 31, no. 1 (February 2008): 2, http://www.wyomingbar.org/.
23. State of Wyoming Executive Order 2008–2, Greater Sage-Grouse Area Protection, August 1, 2008, paragraphs 2–3, http://www.fws.gov/. The governor described the purposes of this order in a letter to State Senator Jim Anderson, chair of the legislature’s Task Force on Wind Energy, May 18, 2009, http://www.windaction.org/.
24. Freudenthal letter to Anderson, May 18, 2009.
25. For the 2011–12 biennium, mineral severance taxes and federal mineral royalties are projected to account for 51.4 percent of Wyoming’s total state revenues. Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, Wyoming State Government Revenue Forecast, Fiscal Year 2011–Fiscal Year 2016, October 2010, http://eadiv.state.wy.us/.
26. State of Wyoming Executive Order 2010–4, Greater Sage-Grouse Area Protection, August 18, 2010, Specific Stipulations, http://psc.state.wy.us/.
27. See Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, “Wildlife Protection Recommendations for Wind Energy Development in Wyoming,” April 23, 2010, 7–10, http://gf.state.wy.us/.
28. John M. Broder, “No Endangered Status for Plains Bird,” New York Times, March 5, 2010.
29. Erik Molvar, executive director, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Laramie, WY, phone interview with author, January 11, 2010. See also Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, Wind Power in Wyoming.
30. Natural Resources Conservation Service and Wildlife Habitat Council, “Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido),” Fish and Wildlife Management Leaflet No. 27, February 2006, 1–2, http://policy.nrcs.usda.gov/.
31. Robert J. Robel, professor of environmental biology (ret.), Kansas State University, phone interview with author, January 13, 2010.
32. Pitman, “Location and Success of Lesser Prairie-Chicken Nests,” 1267.
33. Stephanie Manes, Smoky Hills coordinator, Ranchland Trust of Kansas, phone interview with author, December 23, 2009.
34. Brian Obermeyer, Flint Hills project director, Nature Conservancy, interview with author, July 21, 2010.
35. Rick Plumlee, “Regulations Few in State’s Flint Hills Burning Plan,” Wichita Eagle, December 7, 2010, http://www.kansas.com/.
36. John M. Briggs, director, Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas State University, interview with author, July 21, 2010.
37. Robel, “Spring Burning.”
38. Rene Braud, director of permitting and environmental affairs, Horizon Wind Energy, phone interview with author, December 17, 2009.
39. See Kunz, “Ecological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats,” 316, 320–22.
40. Kunz, “Assessing Impacts of Wind-Energy Development on Nocturnally Active Birds and Bats,” 2450. Nationwide, three species of migratory, tree-dwelling bats—the eastern red bat, the hoary bat, and the silver-haired bat—make up almost 75 percent of fatalities from wind turbines. Kunz, “Ecological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats,” 316.
41. National Research Council, Environmental Impacts of Wind Energy Projects, 97–98.
42. Kunz, “Ecological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats,” 318.
43. Arnett, “Patterns of Bat Fatalities,” 64.
44. Judge Roger W. Titus, Memorandum Opinion, Animal Welfare Institute, et al., v. Beech Ridge Energy LLC, et al., Case No. RWT 09cv1519, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, December 8, 2009, 67, http://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/.
45. Judge Roger W. Titus, Order, Animal Welfare Institute, et al., v. Beech Ridge Energy LLC, et al., Case No. RWT 09cv1519, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, December 8, 2009, http://www.awionline.org/.
46. “Settlement Reached at Beech Ridge Industrial Wind Installation,” Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, January 27, 2010, http://alleghenytreasures.wordpress.com/.
47. Don Furman, senior vice president for development, transmission, and policy, Iberdrola Renewables, and AWEA president (2009–10), phone interview with author, February 19, 2010. See also “Iberdrola Renewables, BWEC Second Year of Ground-Breaking Bat Study Again Shows Large Reduction in Bat Mortality,” press release, November 11, 2010, http://www.iberdrolarenewables.us/.
48. Edward B. Arnett, “Reducing Bat Fatalities at Wind Energy Facilities by Changing Turbine Cut-In Speed,” Bat Conservation International, PowerPoint presentation, March 25, 2009, slide 23, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website, http://www.fws.gov/.
49. Kunz, “Ecological Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats,” 316–19.
50. See also U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Draft Voluntary Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines, February 2011, http://www.fws.gov/.
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE NEIGHBORS
1. Sylvia White, “Towers Multiply, and Environment is Gone with the Wind,” Los Angeles Times, November 26, 1984.
2. Paul Gipe, “Aesthetic Guidelines for a Wind Power Future,” in Pasqualetti, Wind Power in View, 195, photo caption referring to the Zond Victory Garden wind farm in Tehachapi.
3. A revealing account of this controversy appears in Williams, Cape Wind, 248–98. See also American Wind Energy Association et al., “Diverse Coalition Announces Campaign to Urge Congress to Reject Backroom Attack on Offshore Wind Power,” press release, April 20, 2006, http://www.capewind.org/; Philip Warburg and Susan Reid, “Wind Power with No Direction,” Boston Globe, February 27, 2006; Philip Warburg and Susan Reid, “Cape Wind Myths and Facts,” Cape Cod Times, May 16, 2006, http://www.capewind.org/.
4. The rapid return of porpoises to wind farm construction areas was documented at Horns Rev, Denmark’s other large offshore wind energy complex. Jakob Tougaard et al., Harbour Porpoises on Horns Reef—Effects of the Horns Reef Wind Farm, Annual Status Report 2004 to Elsam Engineering A/S (Roskilde, Denmark: National Environmental Research Institute, July 2005), 7, http://www.hornsrev.dk/.
5. E.ON Sverige, Rødsand 2 Offshore Wind Farm: Environmental Impact Assessment—Summary of the EIA-Report, E.On Sverige AB, June 2007, 12, www.dhi.dk.
6. Bjarne Haxgart, site manager, Rødsand 2 Offshore Wind Farm, E.ON Climate & Renewables, Rødbyhavn, Denmark, interview with author, October 5, 2009.
7. E.ON Sverige, Rødsand 2—Summary of the EIA-Report, 5, 9.
8. Frank and Sarah Diss, Robert and Ruth Widman, Ransom, IL, interviews with author, May 8, 2009.
9. Invenergy, Grand Ridge Easement Agreement Summary, provided to author by Andrew Downey, land agent for the Grand Ridge Wind Farm, May 8, 2009. These fees escalate by either the cost-of-living index or 2 percent annually, whichever is greater.
10. Bob Widman interview, May 8, 2009.
11. Rose Z. Bacon, coproprietor, RK Cattle, Council Grove, KS. This and subsequent quotes are from interviews with author, January 5, 2010, and July 20, 2010.
12. Rose Z. Bacon, “Statement in Support of the Flint Hills National Heritage Area,” undated, provided to author by R. Bacon.
13. Ron Klataske, executive director, Audubon of Kansas, phone interview, December 21, 2009. Quotations are from Audubon of Kansas, “Audubon of Kansas is a Leader in Efforts to Protect the Flint Hills,” Prairie Wings, Fall/Winter 2004, 4–7.
14. Garland P. (Pete) Ferrell III, rancher, Beaumont, KS, and principal, Energy for Generations, LLC, Tulsa. This and subsequent quotes are from interviews with author, January 19 and July 19, 2010.
15. Leslie Wayne, “Brothers at Odds,” New York Times Magazine, December 7, 1986.
16. Tim Doyle, “Koch’s New Fight,” Forbes, September 21, 2006, http://www.forbes.com/.
17. “Cape Wind Foes Spent $2 Million on Lobbying,” National Journal, February 23, 2009, http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/. The multiple steps taken by Koch to fund anti–Cape Wind efforts are documented in Greenpeace, Bill Koch: The Dirty Money Behind Cape Wind Opposition, July 22, 2010, http://www.greenpeace.org/.
18. Greenpeace, Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine (March 2010) and Koch Industries: Still Fueling Climate Denial (2011 rev’d. ed.), http://www.greenpeace.org/. See also Tom Hamburger et al., “Koch Brothers Now at Heart of GOP Power,” Los Angeles Times, February 6, 2011.
19. See Wind and Prairie Task Force, Final Report, 10, fig. 1.
20. See Ken Vandruff, “Governor Considers Making Kansas Flint Hills into a No-Wind-Farm Zone,” Wichita Business Journal, December 5, 2004, http://www.bizjournals.com/.
21. See Office of the Governor, State of Kansas, “Governor Announces Road Map for Wind Energy Policy,” news release, May 6, 2011, https://governor.ks.gov/; Associated Press, “Brownback Strikes Deal with Wind Farms,” Topeka Capital-Journal, May 8, 2011, http://cjonline.com/.
22. Rose Z. Bacon, e-mail to author, May 6, 2011.
23. Pete Ferrell, Grinnell Alumni Lecture, “Dances with Hooves,” June 4, 2010, http://loggia.grinnell.edu/. Ferrell attributes this timeline to Wes Jackson, founder of the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, and a longtime advocate for sustainable agricultural practices in the prairie.
24. See Gipe, Wind Power, 129–46.
25. See Clark, Energy for Survival, 541–45; Hills, Power from Wind, 274–75; and Righter, Wind Energy in America, 126–36.
26. “Mountain-Top Wind Turbine To Be Built by Rutland Corporation,” Rutland (VT) Herald, January 21, 1946.
27. Nina Keck, “Ira Struggles with Proposed Wind Farm,” Vermont Public Radio, June 9, 2009.
28. Vermont Community Wind press releases: “Vermont Community Wind Farm LLC Revises Project Scope,” June 18, 2009; “Vermont Community Wind Farm Removes Potential Susie’s Peak Turbines from Project Plans,” January 15, 2010, http://vtcomwind.com/.
29. Mary Pernal, assistant professor of English, Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT, interview with author, May 6, 2010.
30. Phil Bloomstein, “Living Next to a Wind Turbine,” July 1, 2009, personal account, on Industrial Wind Action Group website, http://www.windaction.org/.
31. Wendy Todd, testimony presented to Governor’s Task Force on Wind Power Development, State of Maine, September 26, 2007, http://www.maine.gov/. See also Resource Systems Engineering, Sound Level Study: Ambient & Operations Sound Level Monitoring, June 21, 2007, http://www.marshillwind.com/.
32. Stanley M. Shapiro, MD, “Can Wind Turbines Cause Heart Disease?” Heart Health News, Rutland Regional Medical Center, Winter 2010; “The Industrial Wind Health Impact Debate Rages on at the Rutland (Vermont) Herald,” February 6, 2010, on Allegheny Treasures website, http://alleghenytreasures.wordpress.com/.
33. Vermont Public Radio News, “Plan for Ira Wind Is Tabled,” April 27 and April 28, 2010, http://www.vpr.net/.
34. Colby, Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects.
35. Brett Horner et al., Wind Energy Industry Acknowledgment of Adverse Health Effects. The debate between Drs. McCunney and Nissenbaum, held on May 6, 2010, can be viewed on YouTube, RRMC Wind Health Forum, http://www.youtube.com/.
36. See Colby, Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects, sec. 3.4.1.
37. Among the group living three miles or more away from the wind farm, one person reported new or worsened chronic sleep deprivation, one reported new chronic headaches, and none reported persistent anger or new or worsened depression. See Michael A. Nissenbaum, MD, “Wind Turbines, Health, Ridgelines, and Valleys,” media release, May 7, 2010, Society for Wind Vigilance website, http://www.windvigilance.com/. Mars Hill residents have filed a civil lawsuit against the wind farm’s owner, First Wind, seeking compensation for emotional and physical distress, as well as for decreased property values. See Jen Lynds, “Mars Hill Windmills Prompt Civil Lawsuit,” Bangor (ME) Daily News, August 12, 2009, http://new.bangordailynews.com/.
38. See Industrial Wind Action Group website, http://www.windaction.org.
39. Government of Australia, National Health and Medical Research Council, “Wind Turbines and Health,” July 2010, http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/.
40. Pierpont, Wind Turbine Syndrome, 26, 48–103.
41. Geoff Leventhall, “Direct Testimony on Behalf of Wisconsin Electric Power Company,” Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Construct and Place in Service a Wind Turbine Electric Generation Facility Known as Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County, Wisconsin, Docket No. 6630-CE-302, October 20, 2009, R1.80-R1.87, http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/; and Geoff Leventhall, “Vibroacoustic Disease (VAD) and Wind Turbines,” presented as Exhibit 20 at the same proceeding, http://psc.wi.gov/.
42. Nina Pierpont, letter to Geoff Leventhall, January 14, 2007, Wind Turbine Syndrome book website, http://www.windturbinesyndrome.com/. In this letter, Pierpont quotes her own remarks at a previous public presentation.
43. See Tech Environmental, “Acoustic Study of Vestas V82 Wind Turbines—Fairhaven, Massachusetts,” 4, table 1; and Resource Systems Group, Inc. (RSG), Noise Impact Study for Georgia Mountain Community Wind, 4, fig. 2.
44. See RSG, Noise Impact Study for Georgia Mountain Community Wind, 6–7.
45. WHO, Night Noise Guidelines for Europe, 2009, xiv–xviii.
46. Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection, Chapter 375, “No Adverse Environmental Effect Standard of the Site Location Law,” sec. 10—Control of Noise, effective January 18, 2006, http://www.maine.gov/.
47. Here are a few examples: In Ashe County, North Carolina, wind turbines rated above 20 kilowatts cannot produce more than 5 decibels above the average noise level on adjacent properties and are barred from exceeding 45 decibels except on properties leased or owned by the wind company; Ashe County, North Carolina, An Ordinance to Regulate Wind Energy Systems, art. 6, sec. 2.7 (2007). In Chippewa, Minnesota, there is a 50-decibel daytime and nighttime noise limit at adjacent residences, but tighter limits may be imposed on pulsating and tonal sounds; Chippewa, Minnesota, Windpower Management, sec. 12.8 (2005). In Huron County, Michigan, turbine noise measured outside residences, schools, hospitals, churches, and public libraries cannot exceed 50 decibels or 5 decibels above ambient levels, whichever is greater, for more than 10 percent of any hour; Huron County, Michigan, Zoning Ordinance, art. X, sec. 3E (2009).
48. Colby, Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects, sec. 3.1.3.
49. See Pierpont, Wind Turbine Syndrome, 112–21; Colby, Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects, secs. 3–7.
50. Wendy Todd, testimony presented to the Governor’s Task Force on Wind Power Development, State of Maine, September 26, 2007, http://www.maine.gov/.
51. National Research Council, Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects, 157–58.
52. Robert Gardiner, cofounder and co-owner, Independence Wind, e-mail to author, February 13, 2011.
53. State of Wisconsin, 2011–2012 Legislature, January 2011 Special Session, Assembly Bill 9, 6–7, http://www.renewwisconsin.org/.
54. RENEW Wisconsin, “Walker Proposal Would Torpedo $1.8 Billion in New Wind Power Investments,” January 14, 2011, http://www.renewwisconsin.org/.
55. Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, “Modifications to the Wind Siting Rules Approved by the Public Service Commission on December 9, 2010,” PSC Docket 1-AC-231, 3, http://www.renewwisconsin.org/.
56. Jonathan Tilley, “Wisconsin Suspends Wind Siting Rules,” Windpower Monthly, March 2, 2011, http://www.windpowermonthly.com/.
57. See Affidavit of Michael A. Nissenbaum, MD, State of Maine Board of Environmental Protection, In Re: Record Hill Wind, LLC, September 17, 2009, http://www.wind-watch.org/.
58. See, e.g., State of New Jersey, 214th Legislature, Senate Bill 2374, introduced November 8, 2010, http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/. A stated purpose of this bill, which would establish a 2,000-foot turbine setback from residences and residentially zoned property, is to protect New Jersey residents from “the ill health effects associated with ‘wind turbine syndrome,’ ” whose symptoms it then enumerates. The bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Energy Committee for consideration.
CHAPTER NINE: GREENING THE GRID
1. Bob Whitton, rancher, Bordeaux Junction, WY, and chair, Renewable Energy Alliance of Landowners, interview with author, November 6, 2010.
2. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), “Wind Powering America: Wyoming Wind Map and Resource Potential,” http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/.
3. The Wyoming Infrastructure Authority has $1 billion in bonding authority for new transmission infrastructure. See http://wyia.org/. See also Wyoming Statutes 37–5-301 et seq.
4. Victor E. Garber, president, VeJay Energy & Land, Inc., and land agent for Pathfinder Renewable Energy, LLC, e-mail to author, November 19, 2010.
5. See http://www.powercompanyofwyoming.com. See also Associated Press, “Anschutz Corp. Has Wind Farm in the Works,” May 25, 2009, http://billingsgazette.com/.
6. Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, Zephyr Project (ZTP), 2011, http://wyia.org/.
7. American Electric Power, “Transmission Facts,” undated, 4, http://www.aep.com/, accessed June 19, 2011.
8. Electric Power Research Institute, “EPRI Finds Direct Current Power Uses 15% Less Electricity Than Alternating Current System at Duke Energy Data Center,” news release, November 16, 2010, http://my.epri.com/. A higher estimate of 20 percent loss reduction was cited in the summary of the EPRI High Voltage Direct Current & Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems Conference, October 28, 2010, http://www.cvent.com/.
9. See Bureau of Land Management, table 1–3: “Mineral and Surface Acres Administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Fiscal Year 2009,” http://www.blm.gov/.
10. Pacific Railway Act of 1862 (12 Stat. 489); Pacific Railway Act of 1864 (13 Stat. 356).
11. Walter E. George, national project manager, BLM, Wyoming State Office, Cheyenne, interview with author, November 8, 2010.
12. U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Order No. 3283, Enhancing Renewable Energy Development on the Public Lands, January 16, 2009.
13. Tom Lahti, renewable energy chief, BLM, Wyoming State Office, Cheyenne, interview with author, November 8, 2010.
14. In 2010 alone, the BLM held four public auctions for oil and gas leases in Wyoming, covering more than 300,000 acres. See Bureau of Land Management, Competitive Lease Sale Notices & Results, http://www.blm.gov/.
15. Lahti interview, November 8, 2010.
16. See Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109–58 (August 8, 2005), Sec. 368: Energy Right-of-Way Corridors on Federal Land.
17. See U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Defense, News Release: “Agencies Publish Final Environmental Impact Statement on Energy Corridor Designation in the West,” November 26, 2008, http://corridoreis.anl.gov/. These corridors have been legally challenged on a number of grounds by environmental groups. See Kate Galbraith, “Environmentalists Sue over Energy Transmission Across Federal Lands,” New York Times, July 8, 2009. Western Resource Advocates and fourteen other environmental and conservation groups registered their concerns about the corridors in Group Comments on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Designation of West-Wide Corridors, February 14, 2008, http://www.westernresourceadvocates.org/.
18. Holtkamp, Transmission Siting in the Western United States, 28. This report, in part, describes the state-local division of authority over transmission infrastructure siting in eleven western states.
19. See Wu Qi, “Projects Waiting as Grid Build Lags Behind,” Windpower Monthly, Special Report—China: Market Ambition Ramps Up a Gear, October 2009, 8–9.
20. See ITC website, http://www.itctransco.com/.
21. Howard Learner, executive director, Environmental Law and Policy Center, phone interview with author, March 18, 2010.
22. These plants include Antelope Valley Station (870 megawatts), Coal Creek Station (1,210 megawatts), Coyote Station (450 megawatts), R.M. Heskett Station (115 megawatts), Leland Olds Station (656 megawatts), and Milton R. Young Station (734 megawatts). See SourceWatch website, http://www.sourcewatch.org/.
23. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open Access Non-Discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities; Recovery of Stranded Costs by Public Utilities and Transmitting Utilities, Order No. 888, Final Rule, April 24, 1996, 75 FERC 61,080, Docket Nos. RM95-8-000 and RM94-7-001, http://www.ferc.gov/.
24. John Rogers et al., Importing Pollution: Coal’s Threat to Climate Policy in the U.S. Northeast, Union of Concerned Scientists, December 2008, http://www.ucsusa.org/.
25. Edward J. Markey, U.S. rep. (D-MA), Washington, DC, interview with author, April 16, 2010.
26. See Beth Daley, “Markey Urges Federal Cape Wind Approval,” Boston Globe, November 9, 2009.
27. See, e.g., Wellinghoff, “Federal Transmission Initiatives for Renewables.”
28. Jon Wellinghoff, chairman, FERC, interview with author, Washington, DC, April 15, 2010.
29. The Waxman-Markey bill would have required retail electric distributors to provide an increasing percentage of power from renewable sources and electricity-saving measures, reaching 20 percent of all power sold in 2020. See H.R.2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, 111th Congress, approved by the House of Representatives, June 26, 2009, Sec. 101, http://www.govtrack.us/. The bill’s summary can be found at the same site.
30. See Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, “ARRA Appropriations Provisions Table,” http://baltimore.uli.org/.
31. Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President on Clean Energy,” Newton, IA, April 22, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/.
32. DOE, National Transmission Grid Study, May 2002, 53–59, http://www.ferc.gov/.
33. See Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109–58 (August 8, 2005), 16 U.S. Code Annotated Sec. 824p(i)(1), 824p(a), and 824p(b).
34. See Regulations for Filing Applications for Permits to Site Interstate Electric Transmission Facilities, 71 Fed. Reg. 69,440, 69,444 (December 1, 2006).
35. Piedmont Environmental Council et al. v. FERC, 558 F.3d 304 (4th Cir. 2009), cert denied, 130 S.Ct 1138 (2010). An enlightening analysis of this case appears in Dorsi, “Case Comment.”
36. American Wind Energy Association, Green Power Superhighways, 20–21.
37. Don Furman, senior vice president for development, transmission, and policy, Iberdrola Renewables, and AWEA president (2009–10), phone interview with author, February 19, 2010.
38. Chris Miller, president, Piedmont Environmental Council, Warrenton, VA, interview with author, April 14, 2010.
39. DOE, Wind Power in America’s Future, 98.
40. See Illinois Commerce Commission et al. v. FERC et al., 576 F.3d 470, 476 (2009).
41. See FERC, Order Accepting Tariff Revisions, June 17, 2010, 131 FERC 61,252, Docket No. ER10-1069-000, http://www.ferc.gov/. See also Southwest Power Pool, “FERC Approves New Cost Sharing Method for Expanding SPP’s Transmission Grid,” June 17, 2010, http://www.spp.org/.
42. Tierney, A 21st-Century “Interstate Electric Highway System,” 44–45.
43. See the discussion of DONG Energy’s emerging plug-in vehicle network in chapter 6, “The Path to Cleaner Energy.”
44. Wellinghoff interview, April 15, 2010.
45. See Beacon Power, “Smart Energy 25 Flywheel,” http://www.beaconpower.com/. See also Business Wire, “Beacon Power Integrates Additional Megawatt of Flywheel Energy Storage on New England Power Grid,” December 17, 2009, http://www.businesswire.com/.
46. Throop Wilder, president, 24M Technologies, phone interview with author, February 13, 2011. See also Gregory T. Huang, “A123 Spinoff, 24M Technologies, Raises $10M to Develop Energy Storage Systems for Utilities, Electric Vehicles,” Xconomy-Boston, August 16, 2010, http://www.xconomy.com/.
47. Tom Wind, Wind Utility Consulting PC, Jamaica, IA, interview with author, February 4, 2010. See also, “Wrong Geology Sinks Iowa’s $400m Wind Storage Dream,” Recharge, July 29, 2011, http://www.rechargenews.com/.
EPILOGUE
1. See National Priorities Project, “Cost of War,” http://costofwar.com/, accessed June 20, 2011.
2. See, e.g., U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance, “Prospective 2010–2012 Tax Equity Market Observations,” July 2010, http://www.uspref.org/.
3. George P. Shultz, “Viewpoints: Clean Air Law Is Key to Our Future,” Sacramento Bee, September 12, 2010, http://www.sacbee.com/. Proposition 23 sought to freeze implementation of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act until the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent or below for four consecutive quarters. The state’s jobless rate at the time stood at over 12 percent.