The small wind developers’ concern on being required by NorthWestern Energy to acquire regulation and reserves for their projects is misplaced. I’d like to remind the wind developers they are supported with production energy credits, in other words, our federal tax dollars, and profits go into their pockets – not the taxpayers’ nor energy rate payers’ pockets.
Energy prices have not decreased with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s deregulation efforts. They have increased by adding middlemen costs! Without the wind production energy credits, the wind developer projects are not viable and too costly; ask any wind developer.
To require NWE to subsidize the reserves and regulation requirements of these wind developers would unfairly require these costs to be paid by NWE’s consumers. Wind generation only saves fuel costs. The capital cost of additional generation to support the system load when the wind is not blowing is a huge cost wind producers are looking to place on someone else’s back. Few owner/operators of generators want to hold back their generators in reserve for this costly service, and the wind power producers know this.
Sam Miller
Roberts
16 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/16/hold-your-complaint-wind-power-developers/