Wind Faces Changing Political Climate

Even as Wind Power Rises, It Falls Under a Political Cloud As utility operations increasingly avail themselves of wind, the Trump administration looks at whether conventional sources have been placed at a disadvantage.

Diane Cardwell, May 30, 2017 (NY Times)

“Wind farms, with their rapid geographic spread and technological advances, are reshaping the electric system, defying skepticism that they are steady or reliable enough to displace conventional power plants…Now politics, not skepticism, may be wind power’s biggest barrier. Under new leadership with ties to conventional energy interests, the Energy Department is scrambling to complete an internal study in the next month that could lead to an upending of the policies that fostered the rapid spread of solar and wind…In ordering the study, Energy Secretary Rick Perry directed his department to determine whether federal subsidies that encourage wind and solar energy — and the way wholesale markets value different energy sources — are putting conventional power plants at a disadvantage and threatening the stability of the grid…The study has been praised by trade groups representing the nuclear and coal industries. But it is being conducted without including many of those potentially affected. And clean ¬energy executives and advocates, as well as some lawmakers, have expressed concern that it will be grounded more in ideology than in evidence…” click here for more

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