*It's never good to hitch your infrastructure to a particular administration. Ideally, in infrastructure, you want to go unquestioned. Be "just the way things are."
*Nobody in the energy business is gonna be that lucky for quite a while.
**********************************************
"American wind power has more than tripled in size and costs one-third as much as it did than when the president took office in 2009.
"Did you catch President Obama’s State of the Union address last night?
"We were excited to hear him give a shout out to wind power: “Seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history,” he said. “Here are the results. In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power.”
"It’s true. American wind power has more than tripled in size and costs one-third as much as it did than when the president took office in 2009. With credit to his leadership, and to the tremendous dedication you and other wind power supporters have demonstrated by consistently making your voices heard, U.S. wind energy is stronger now than it's ever been. Of course, we can’t stop here. Wind is powering nearly 5% of our country’s electricity today, and we are working to double that number in the next four years. As we get started in 2016, I wanted to share with you an excerpt of a blog by Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, listing the top five things Americans should know about wind power:
With over 70 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, there's more than three times as much wind power in the U.S. as there was in 2009. To put that into context, that's enough energy to power 19 million typical American homes with low-cost electricity each year.
Wind is also 66 percent less expensive than it was just six years ago, when President Obama took office. This cost-cutting was possible because of technological advancements spurred by American ingenuity and improvements in domestic manufacturing.
Building U.S. wind farms has built a brand new domestic manufacturing supply chain in the U.S., spurring well-paying jobs in all 50 states. That includes over 500 factories in 43 states building wind turbine parts and supplies. The U.S. Department of Labor recently identified wind turbine technician as the fastest growing occupation in the country, while the Department of Energy's Wind Vision report says wind could support 380,000 jobs by 2030.
Wind energy is the biggest, fastest, cheapest way for states to cut carbon pollution and comply with the Clean Power Plan. It already eliminates carbon emissions from the equivalent of 26 million cars. The Energy Information Administration found that wind could generate 57 percent of the new energy needed to comply with the plan under the lowest-cost scenario.
New customers are helping fuel wind's growth. Major companies and entire cities are recognizing that wind power helps them save money while also achieving their sustainability goals. Google, Amazon and Procter & Gamble all recently made large wind energy purchases, while cities from San Diego to Washington, D.C. are increasing their share of renewable energy. They appreciate the protection from price spikes in the cost of conventional fuels.
"If you have friends and family who might be interested in learning about the great strides we’re making in powering America with wind, please forward this message along to them, or share it on social media:
SHARE ON FACEBOOK
SHARE ON TWITTER
"We look forward to working with you in 2016 to build on this momentum! We will be in touch about more ways in which you can play a crucial role in unleashing the power of wind."
Sincerely, Director, Community Engagement
