CITnumbers0704

One gentleman asked for published, peer-reviewed information on wind power. He was told, correctly, that such information can be hard to get, although there is of course published work showing serious effects on bird and bat populations. However, one source does come to mind: the US Energy Information Administration. They publish information about how much money we spend as taxpayers to support various forms of energy, and it can be quite interesting. For instance, natural gas gets $0.25 per MWh; coal gets $0.44. The owners of industrial wind turbines get $23.37/MWh.
Does that answer anyone's questions about why Angus King et al are working so hard to get in on this racket?
If the SJ thinks that windpower is a valuable part of the mix, and that subsidies are important, perhaps the answer is to have a level playing field here. And incidentally, according to the head of ISO-New England, wind turbines are so spread out over the landscape as to require a massive investment in transmission lines with an estimated cost of $19-25 Billion.... we would be paying for that, of course, on our electric bills. And paying again in terms of lost tourism revenue.
Another item that has come up here is the usual accusation about anti-windpower people just being a bunch of NIMBYs. Well, I can't speak for others but I sure hope I'm one! Love, charity, and caring for one's neighborhood are virtues that begin at home, and then hopefully go out to encompass more and more of the world and its people. I think it's high time people quit using this as an insult-- it's like sneering at someone for loving his mother.
However there is a kind of NIMBY that deserves the perjorative use of the term, and that is one who supports an activity as long as it's in someone else's backyard, not his. Thinking of the Natural Resources Council of Maine here... I'm not a member any more!
I've read a lot of words from Maine people who are fighting industrial wind, but have never heard one say it was fine as long as somebody else had to suffer, not them. So please, if you want to use the term make sure you use it wisely.