Flawed energy policy
Tri-City Herald, www.tri-cityherald.com 30 March 2012
The ugly, inefficient and unpredictable wind farms in the Northwest, built with big government subsidies and maintained with generous tax credits may well get paid again to shut down as the Bonneville Power Administration says there’s an oversupply of renewable power at certain times of the year.
Last spring, the Northwest had both high snow melt and high spring winds, leading to both maximum hydropower and maximum windpower production.
Electrical demand could not keep up with supply, so BPA was forced to shut down the wind farms over fish issues, since they couldn’t spill the extra water over the 31 Northwest hydro dams run by BPA.
The wind farm promoters and the politicians who voted them the tax credits don’t understand the simple concept of a live power grid and supply vs. demand.
Now for 2012, BPA is offering to compensate wind companies for half their lost revenue because of spring high winds and high water runoff. The estimated bill according to BPA could reach up to $50 million.
The extra payout means energy users will eventually have to pay even more.
The government requires taxpayers to subsidize the production of loser renewable energy, and now the ratepayers have to pay those losers a second time. When will the stupidity end?
MICHAEL SCRIMSHER, Burbank
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/30/flawed-energy-policy/