A tax credit on wind energy was extended for one year as Congress rushed to adjourn last week.

Wind-energy advocates, including Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, applauded the congressional action and said extension of the tax credit would act as a catalyst for the development of additional wind farms in Kansas and the U.S.

Though wind energy supporters cheered, some critics said, in the long run, consumers will be less than enthusiastic about a form of heavily-subsidized energy that will lead to a spike in their electricity bills.

Detractors also contend that, regardless of the number of wind plants that are developed in the wake of the one-year tax credit extension, wind energy will never be able to replace more traditional forms of electricity generation, nor will it reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil.

Kansas Wind Alert, a grassroots group that denies any ties to the traditional power industry, has created a website http://www.kansaswindalert.org/kwa/home.html that includes a critique of wind power.

Its conclusion: “To think that modern civilization can be powered by the intermittent wind, is absurd on its face - an exercise in wishful-thinking that would have the effect of turning us into a windmill-driven, pre-industrial society with a third-world electrical grid. To paraphrase Richard S. Courtney, PhD, a member of the European Science and Environment Forum and an expert on Energy and Climate Change, “if wind power really worked, oil tankers would be sailing ships.”

The basic problem with wind is that it is intermittent and therefore, every wind plant requires back-up from more traditional power sources, usually gas fired turbines. The analysis also points out that, although wind is an inefficient source of power, it also is grossly expensive to generate and transmit.

It estimates the cost of generating an hour of wind power is more than four times higher than the cost of generating the same amount of power by coal or nuclear plants.

The extension wasn't as much of a vistory as wind enthusiasts had hoped. As Kansas Liberty reported last month, the one-year extension has been in the plans for some time. However, wind power advocates had hoped for a longer extension than the one-year approved by Congress. Sebelius has encouraged members of Kansas’ Congressional delegation to support a three-year extension. The credit provides a 1.9-cent credit to wind energy producers for every kilowatt-hour produced.

“Extending the PTC for at least three years will allow manufacturers and developers time to plan, which will benefit our statewide growth in wind,” Sebelius and Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson wrote in a letter to the congressional delegation.

Kimberly Gencur-Svaty, a spokesperson for Lenexa-based TradeWind Energy, also recently told Kansas Liberty that when the credit had been allowed to expire in the past, wind energy development slowed dramatically. In fact, when the tax credits were last allowed to expire in 2004, investment in wind energy projects fell by 77 percent the following year, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

But the AWEA says it will attempt to persuade Congress to adapt a longer-term extension next year.

“We look forward to working next year with a new Congress and Administration to fashion a serious long-term clean energy policy that increases domestic energy, increases our reliance on clean renewable energy, and creates jobs for Americans,” said Greg Wetstone, senior director of Governmental and Public Affairs, in a statement issued following congressional action.

The Week in Review