AWEA Welcomes Transmission Legislation

I would like AWEA Denise Bode to know that there is a new (patent pending) technologies for installing and servicing wind turbines offshore on a fixed and floating platforms, which would open vast areas in depth from 20 to 1,000 meters for harvesting wind near the heavy populated States along the US coastal lines. This would be more efficient way to deliver wind powerd energy to consumers along the ocean shores instead of building thounsands miles transmission lines from the middle of the country.
sidbel@msn.com.

NREL has made a good case for offshore wind in the US because of its proximity to key load centers and I look forward to progress in the deployment of fixed and floating turbines but the potential for this option should not be used as an excuse not to monopolize on the more easily exploited land based opportunities that are in full bloom now. We use a lot of energy in this country and need multiple solutions - well planned transmission lines which bring wind, solar and other sources of power to the big load centers, while indirectly ensuring good jobs in the rural areas of the country seem like a pretty good near term step in the right direction to me.

Energy Highways

Energy highways, transmission byways,
Electrical power flowing in streams,
Over rivers and mountains, powering fountains,
Where energy's needed, much more now it seems.

Electrical power passed by each tower,
Clay insulators buzzing their tune,
To a vacation, and celebration,
Motors and lights to be ever in bloom.

adrianakau2aol.com

The wind industry is by far the biggest enemy of other forms of renewable energy, including solar, geothermal and biomass. No doubt the renewable energy industry needs transmission legislation. But the wind industry refuses to support feed-in tariffs, the only major regulatory mechanism that offers non-discriminatory prices to all renewable energy technologies and companies. Their support of renewable portfolio standards will allow utility monopolies to retard the development of other renewable energies. The American Wind Energy Association sold out to the utility monopolies long ago. Just look at their membership. The wind industry gets renewable portfolio standards and the discriminatory token contracts awarded to them from their utility friends (at least until utility monopolists are ready to take over the industry). Moreover, utilities prefer wind energy because the intermittent production at the wrong time of the day becomes a token excuse to build more fossil and nuclear fueled power plants. Of course, environmentalists go along since they love wind energy. The other forms of renewable energy have no chance against the unholy political alliance of the utilities, wind industry and environmentalists. Just look at the way the Democrats even mandate wind over other forms of renewable energies.