Study Questions Real Cost of Wind Power in US

摘要

The wind industry breathed a collective sigh of relief Jan. 1 after Congress passed a one-year extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind power as part of its broader deal on taxes. The extension of the PTC, which had been in serious doubt, means 10 years of subsides for wind operators that begin construction in 2013. But the direct estimated cost to US taxpayers of more than $12 billion is not the only cost they are likely to bear, according to the American Tradition Institute, which studied how the cost of wind power is being calculated — or it says miscalculated — by the US Energy Information Administration.