Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act). his strategy of subsum-
ing PTC extensions under other acts would become standard practice and is
indicative of the pork barrel politics under which the PTC (and other gov-
ernment programs) is renegotiated.
In 1999, even though oil prices had returned to the historic trading range
of US$20-30 per barrel, Texas, which had 184 MW of wind power capac-
ity, announced a new strategy to help abate greenhouse gas emissions. It
announced the Renewable Portfolio Standard (Senate Bill 7), which required
utilities (based on respective market share) to jointly incorporate 2000 MW
of renewable energy by 2009. Overnight a wind industry was born in the
state. hese laudable state-level initiatives notwithstanding, by the end of
1999, there was still only 2490 MW of installed wind power capacity in the
nation and 94% of these facilities were in California (1616 MW), Minnesota
(273 MW), Iowa (242 MW), and Texas (184 MW).
31
In 2001, more state level initiatives were announced. Minnesota
announced the Renewable Energy Objective, which legally mandated utili-
ties to make a good faith efort to ensure 10% of retail sales came from
renewable sources by 2015. his initial policy would eventually catapult the
state of Minnesota to the fourth spot in national wind power capacity.
32
In the same year, the irst US ofshore wind farm proposal—the Cape
Wind farm—in Massachusetts was tabled. From its inception the project
ran into opposition from Indian tribes, business interests and homeown-
ers. It would take nearly a decade before the opposition could be thwarted.
Completion of the project is now slated for 2015-2016, making it poten-
tially the irst ofshore wind farm in the United States.
33
On September 11, 2001 (9/11), terrorist attacks on New York's World
Trade Center complex and the Pentagon thrust the national security dimen-
sion of energy to popular attention. Suddenly, backroom discussions on the
importance of enhancing domestic energy security became a main stream
media topic. Amidst this backdrop, debate once again resumed in congress
over whether or not to extend the PTC, which was set to expire on December
31 of that year. Spurred on by oil prices averaging US$37 a barrel and the
declining cost proile of wind power, 2001 was already proving to be a ban-
ner year despite the turmoil of 9/11. By year end, 1695 MW had been added,
increasing national installed wind power capacity by 66% to 4261 MW.
Opponents to the extension argued that the PTC represented an excessive
subsidy to wind power providers. However, in March 2002 arguments for
enhancing domestic energy security prevailed, and the PTC was extended
to December 31, 2003 by the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of
2002. he extension was made retroactive to include projects started after
December 31, 2001.
34
However, extension delay and a general economic
