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- AWEA welcomes Obama's clean-energy push
The American Wind Energy Association and other clean-energy groups welcomed President Barack Obama's call to boost renewable-energy production and make the industry's tax incentives permanent. "Because the administration and Congress wisely extended the federal production tax credit and investment tax credit at the start of the year, tens of thousands of workers in U.S. wind manufacturing facilities can get back to building wind projects and wind turbines," said AWEA interim CEO Rob Gramlich. Electric Light & Power online
(2/13)     
- Political unrest to hurt EU's wind power sector, EWEA says
The EU's total wind power capacity reached 105.6 gigawatts in 2012 after the industry added 11.6 GW, according to a report by the European Wind Energy Association. The amount installed in 2012 was bigger than the 9.4 GW in 2011, but the "2012 figures reflect orders made before the wave of political uncertainty that has swept across Europe since 2011," said EWEA CEO Christian Kjaer. The turmoil's impact will be "far more apparent in 2013 and 2014 installation levels." Transmission & Distribution World online
(2/13)
- Judge rules in favor of GE in patent-infringement case
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District Florida upheld a ruling that General Electric did not infringe on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries patent regarding technology that adjusts the angle of wind-turbine blades to prolong their lifespan. In reaction to the ruling, Mitsubishi said the scope of the patent was "too narrowly interpreted" by the court. Bloomberg Businessweek
(2/13)
- Group extends final price offering for Western Wind shares
WWE Equity Holdings, a subsidiary of Canada-based Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners, extended to Feb. 21 the deadline of its final offer to buy common shares of Western Wind Energy at $2.60 apiece. Brookfield said it is "very encouraged" by the response to its offer ever since the Ontario Securities Commission rejected Western Wind's petition for a formal valuation. SNL Financial (free content)
(2/12)
| Project Focus | | |
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- Cape Wind's loan guarantee application gets another look
The Department of Energy is reportedly taking another look at the Cape Wind offshore wind project's request for a loan guarantee, albeit for a smaller amount than the $2 billion it asked for in 2011 to fund construction of 130 wind turbines in Massachusetts' Nantucket Sound. The agency had rejected the project's original request because of lack of progress. The project has secured buyers for 77.5% of its expected output and is hoping to begin construction by the end of this year. Boston Herald
(2/13)
| Economy, Energy & Trends | | |
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- Opinion: More wind power improves overall grid efficiency
A recent op-ed by Rolf Westgard brings up myths about wind power that have already been debunked, according to Michael Goggin, manager of transmission policy at the American Wind Energy Association. Analyses by utilities, government agencies and system operators show that increasing the amount of wind power in an electrical grid displaces the output of the least-efficient power generators, Goggin notes. "Grid operators accommodate the gradual and predictable changes in wind output with the same tools they use to deal with fluctuations in electricity demand as well as the sudden failures of large fossil and nuclear power plants, which are far more costly to address," he writes. St. Cloud Times (Minn.)
(2/12)
- Minn. AG sues small-wind turbine supplier
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of farmers to shut down small-scale wind turbine supplier Renewable Energy SD. The farmers are accusing the company of supplying them with faulty equipment that the company refuses to fix. Minnesota Public Radio
(2/13)
| Policy Watch | | |
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- Md. governor makes personal plea for offshore wind proposal
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley defended his offshore wind power proposal during a hearing of the state Senate Finance Committee, which has rejected previous versions of the bill in the past two years. An offshore wind project meeting the bill's conditions could generate nearly 850 construction-related jobs and 160 permanent jobs, O'Malley said. "This legislation is important to our jobs future, to our energy future, and it's important, therefore, to our children's future," O'Malley said. SeattlePI.com/The Associated Press
(2/13)
- Okla. lawmaker urges clarity on wind-energy tax incentive
Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., chairman of a subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements Subcommittee, vowed to increase scrutiny on the wind-energy Production Tax Credit. The extension passed in January includes modified language that may allow projects to qualify if they start construction by Dec. 31, 2013, rather than begin operating by that date. "We are going to look at that as a committee because that is undefined area that in the hands of a regulator and we want to be sure we bring some clarity to that," said Lankford. The Hill/E2 Wire blog
(2/13)
| AWEA News | | |
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WINDPOWER 2013: Early, Early Registration Rates This Month
The business solutions for wind energy can be found in the people and educational programming at AWEA WINDPOWER 2013 in Chicago. WINDPOWER has never been more relevant to the wind energy industry than right now, and registration is open for business. For Business Members of AWEA only: Register in the first 30 days, by Feb. 28, and receive an additional discount on top of the early registration rates. Learn more about redeeming this offer.
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 | Mistakes are part of the dues that one pays for a full life."
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These stories were selected and summarized by independent editors at SmartBrief Inc., not by AWEA's staff, and do not represent AWEA positions. They reflect the variety of daily coverage of American wind power.
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