On August 1, amid country-wide concern of a potential default, Congress voted to pass a Debt package along with an agreement to raise the debt limit. While the passage of this deal may have averted a U.S. default, examination of the deal is concerning to many. The wind & solar industries may negatively be effected by the deal according to a recent Bloomberg article.

The 2009 stimulus bill included many incentives for solar & wind farms. Specifically $65B was set aside for the clean energy industry – including loan guarantees for solar & wind power, funding for home energy efficiency state programs, battery research & carbon capture projects.

Also included in this bill, wind developers were offered tax grants from the Treasury following Lehman Brother’s collapse in 2008. Since the debt deal was only focused on increasing cuts rather than increasing revenue, without Congressional intervention, these incentives will expire in 2012.

Expiring subsidies & grants will not only reduce the amount of solar & wind projects but also create additional job losses for the U.S.. As we mentioned in last Thursday’s post, 10 little known facts about wind energy, wind power creates more jobs (dollar for dollar) than any other energy technology.

Run by the Sun

1 In 2010, wind turbines in the United States created enough electricity to power 8.7 million households! But that was only 2% of the total US electricity generated. Denmark uses wind power for over 20% of their total electricity generated.
2 The world’s windiest location is Port Martin, Antarctica. Average daily wind speeds are 40 mph (64 km/h).
3 Horizontal turbines are the more commonly seen turbines with 3 blades. Vertical turbines (pictured on right) produce 50% more electricity than horizontal turbines of the same size. And vertical turbines can be constructed to more aesthetically fit into neighborhoods & areas of business.
4 As long as the sun shines on the earth and creates uneven heating, wind will exist.
5 The largest wind farm in the world is in Roscoe Texas.
6 A Canadian company invented a street light which is powered by both a small wind turbine & solar panel.
7 If the US constructed a wind farm one tenth the size of Nevada, the use of fossil fuels in America could be eliminated entirely!
8 A typical home wind turbine costs less than half the price of a similar sized solar panel system.
9 The top 5 States with the most installed wind power are in the following descending order: Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota & Washington.
10 Dollar for dollar, wind power creates more jobs than any other energy technology.

Tom created this electrical system for his shed – entirely homemade, right down to the wind turbine shaft. It’s certainly a concept project which could be expanded to really capture a good deal more electric. Kudos to Tom!