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 M¢25  Funded By Mahalo ? |  November 12, 2009 05:11 PM

Did Spanish wind power really top 50%? How is this possible & why isn't America capable of hitting 10%? http://bit.ly/4jsKdv

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November 12, 2009 05:47 PM | view on twitter
Yes it did. The reason Spain has developed so much wind power is because the Spanish government heavily subsidizes wind power.

"For wind power, the subsidy consists of the market price (regulated by the government with the added requirement that the energy companies must buy wind power) plus 90% of the market price for a period of fifteen years, at which time it drops to 80%."

from http://www.troymedia.com/?p=517

Another interesting quote I found

"The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in 2008, on a dollar per MWh basis, the U.S. government subsidizes wind at $23.34 — compared to reliable energy sources: natural gas at 25¢; coal at 44¢; hydro at 67¢; and nuclear at $1.59, leading to what some U.S. commentators call “a huge corporate welfare feeding frenzy.” The Wall Street Journal advises that “wind generation is the prime example of what can go wrong when the government decides to pick winners.”"

from http://tapc.ca/2009/04/wind-power-is-a-complete-disaster/


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November 12, 2009 08:00 PM | view on twitter
Subsidies is one reason why alternative energies in this country haven't taken off as much as other countries (Germany's heavy subsidy of the solar industry comes to mind) but another reason is this:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/21/MNG5H9V40D1.DTL

People don't want this stuff in their back yard (or in their view in this case). This kind of stuff just slows the adoption, me I'd put is solar on my roof, a windmill in my back yard, and by an all electric car, if I could afford it, anything to reduce the dependancy on foreign oil.

The other thing that I think effects people on converting to other forms of energy is that people think that 1 thing will replace oil, so because solar isn't effective everywhere, it's not a solution. Well it is part of the solution, as is wind, and hydrogen, and better batteries, energy conservation, and a whole host of other things. Until people realize this, the US will continue it's dependance on foreign oil, and all the instabilities that this brings us.

Tags: energy, conservation, green, wind

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Voted as best: katey
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