Production of Inefficient Wind Energy Linked to Government Subsidies, Costly Mandates
IER Prez: Picking winners and losers in the market—the cornerstone of this Administration’s energy agenda—is the quickest path to increasing our dependence on imported energy and driving costs up even further.”
Washington, DC – Thomas J. Pyle, president of the non-partisan market-oriented Institute for Energy Research (IER) issued the following statement today on wind energy and the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) year-end report:
“Using taxpayer subsidies and mandates, the Obama Administration and its allies on Capitol Hill have all but guaranteed that wind energy will be part of our nation’s energy portfolio. But to force the use of technologies that have yet to pass the market test is shortsighted and will lead to increased electricity costs across the board.
“AWEA announced today that installed wind generating capacity in 2009 broke previous records. But big wind misses the point. As much as proponents of wind energy want to ignore the facts, wind is an inefficient and unreliable power source. And, even more importantly, wind is unable to deliver the affordable and reliable electricity this nation needs to drive economic growth.
“The government can waste taxpayer resources to cover the United States with windmills if it so chooses, but it cannot force mother nature to turn those turbines. And while replacing coal or natural gas with the power of the wind might make for a good talking point, this industry will fail in the marketplace as soon as government subsidies dry up.
“That said, I look forward to the day when renewable energy plays a meaningful role in helping to meet our nation’s energy needs. But in the meantime, the government should not prohibit exploration for homegrown fossil fuels and increase the regulatory burden on domestic energy production. Picking winners and losers in the market – the cornerstone of this Administration’s energy agenda – is the quickest path to increasing our dependence on imported energy and driving costs up even further.”
Read more about wind energy:
- IER Fact Sheet: Facts on Energy: Wind
- IER Fact Sheet: Wind, A Historical Perspective
- New York Times (1/15/10): Fossil Fuel Use in 2034? Not Much Different
#####
For additional information, please contact Patrick Creighton, 202-621-2947, or Laura Henderson, 202-621-2951.
