Dear Editor: As you may know, the comments of Ms. Calley Hastings, "Wind power data wrongly presented," in your July 29, 2005, issue show clearly that Ms. Hastings does not understand electricity or wind energy. I'm sure she is really quite a nice person, so I hope you will pass along to her some information that I'm sending in this and 2 or 3 other emails so that she can avoid again showing publicly her lack of understanding. I would provide it directly to her but I don't have an email or other address or phone number for her. For your information, her faulty understanding includes the following: a. She apparently doesn't understand "dispatchability" of generating units and, therefore, falsely suggests that electricity from wind and electricity from hydropower are similar. In fact, electricity from hydropower is dispatchable and valuable. Electricity from wind is intermittent, highly volatile and largely unpredictable -- and most likely to be available at night and in winter when it is least needed to meet electricity demand. b. She apparently isn't aware that wind energy is, in fact, rapidly becoming a disappointment in Europe. It is a major contributor to German and Danish positions as having the highest in residential electricity prices in industrialized nations. Wind energy has created major transmission system problems and required spending billions for new capacity that is not used efficiently. Wind has not made a significant contribution in meeting Kyoto commitments. c. She apparently has not looked correctly at energy tax breaks and subsidies. In fact, when considered in light of either current or potential contribution in supplying US energy requirements, tax breaks and subsidies for wind energy are among the highest -- if not THE highest -- of any us energy source. All these facts are well documented. They are summarized and explained in letters and papers I will send to you. As you will see, she is not the only person who has not understood the facts about wind energy. Please relay them to Ms. Hastings. The first installment appears below and in the attachment. Others will follow. Thanks for your help. Sincerely, Glenn R. Schleede 18220 Turnberry Drive Round Hill, VA 20141-2574 540-338-9958 ****************************************************************** May 30, 2005 The Honorable Casper W. Weinberger Chairman Forbes, Inc. 60 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10011 Dear Secretary Weinberger: Having worked at OMB when you were Deputy Director and Director and long admired your role in ending the “evil empire,” I was dismayed to see the statement in your “Quest for Energy” comment in the June 6, 2005, issue of Forbes[1] that you believe that "Wind power is clean and can be generated at a reasonable price." That statement is wrong! For years, the wind industry (including GE) has been successful in misleading the public, media and government officials about the benefits and costs of wind power. In fact the wind industry and officials at DOE and NREL have: · Greatly overstated the environmental and energy benefits of wind energy, and · Greatly understated or ignored its adverse economic, environmental, ecological, scenic and property value impacts. So-called “wind farms” are being built in the US primarily for tax avoidance purposes, not for their environmental or energy benefits. One expert recently pointed out that two-thirds of the economic value of wind projects comes from tax benefits.[2] FPL Group, parent of FPL Energy, LLC (largest owner of “wind farms” in the US) apparently paid no income tax in 2002 or 2003, despite reporting over $2 billion in profits,[3] due heavily to “wind farm” tax benefits (e.g., 5-year double declining balance accelerated depreciation and the wind Production Tax Credit). Huge wind turbines, taller than the US Capitol, produce very little electricity and that electricity has less value because it is available only when the wind is blowing in the right speed range. The electricity is unreliable because it is intermittent, highly volatile and largely unpredictable and it must be backed up by reliable, dispatchable electric generating units. The huge federal and state tax breaks and other subsidies for wind energy are policies that you and George Shultz would have worked to kill when you were at OMB! The fact that the Bush Administration supports extension of the federal tax breaks suggest that either OMB has “lost its teeth” or no longer works to eliminate costly, inefficient Federal policies. As a direct result of unwise federal and state tax breaks and other subsidies for wind energy: · Hundreds of millions of dollars are being transferred annually to “wind farm” owners from the pockets of ordinary taxpayers and electric customers; and · Billions of capital investment dollars are being wasted on wind energy projects that produce very little electricity -- and the electricity that is produced is low in value. It is shameful that GE, a highly profitable company, has decided to take advantage of faulty federal and state wind energy policies by producing turbines for “wind farms.” As Thomas G. Donlon pointed out in his column in the May 16, 2005, issue of Barrons: “In addition to environmental damage…, wind power has an economic flaw that any GE engineer ought to be able to imagine: Since no human power can turn the wind on and off when it's wanted for electricity, every bit of wind power capacity must be backed up by another generating source…Immelt, an engineer, understands this but he provided the executive's counter argument: The customers want it, so it's GE’s job to produce it.” Unfortunately, utility executives cannot be exempt from blame for faulty federal and state wind energy policies. Certainly, they know of wind energy's inherently high costs, its inefficient use of transmission capacity, and the difficulty and cost of integrating its unreliable output in electric grids. But, instead of defending electric customers’ interests, many have chosen to quietly go along with unwise policies and demands from regulators, legislators and governors and hope that their “environmental image” is enhanced among those who have been misled about wind energy. While many in the public, media and government still believe the false and misleading claims made by the wind industry, the truths about wind energy have begun to emerge from around the US and the world where "wind farms" have been proposed or built. Unfortunately, it will take some time before the facts penetrate the Administration, Congress and state governments. Thus far, among members of the US Congress, only Senator Lamar Alexander has had the wisdom and fortitude to speak out forcefully on the problems with wind energy and call for stopping the $0.019 per kilowatt-hour Production Tax Credit that is shifting millions of dollars in tax burden annually from “wind farm” owners to ordinary taxpayers.[4] Undoubtedly he will be opposed by Senate Finance Chairman Grassley who had difficulty two years ago in finding room for tax cuts for ordinary taxpayers, but has no problem in finding room for billions in tax credits for favored lobbyists and special interest groups like the wind industry. You should also note that wind energy has NOT been the great success in other countries that the wind industry and other wind advocates often claim. A growing body of literature describes problems and huge costs resulting from wind energy in Denmark and Germany.[5] Both countries have residential electricity prices that are among the highest in the world, thanks in part to wind energy subsidies. Opposition to wind turbines is also growing in the UK, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. Further, claims that wind energy will make significant contributions towards meeting European countries’ Kyoto goals have been discredited.[6] Clearly, it's time for the return of “Cap the Knife” to help end undesirable federal and state wind power policies as well as those insidious “Renewable Portfolio Standards” that are being used to force greater use of costly, environmentally damaging wind energy – while robbing America's taxpayers and electric customers -- for the benefit of a few big companies that promote this unreliable energy source. Respectfully, Glenn R. Schleede 18220 Turnberry Drive Round Hill, VA 20141-2574 540-338-9958 P.S. I'm attaching a paper that provides more details on the above points: “Big Money” Discovers the Huge Tax Breaks and Subsidies for “Wind Energy” While Taxpayers and Electric Customers Pick up the Tab, April 14, 2005. I will follow up with a second, more comprehensive paper, entitled, “Misplaced State Government Faith in Wind Energy,” March 1, 2005. If your staff has questions about the subject, I would be pleased to answer them. If you wonder why I spend time on self-financed, analysis and writing about wind energy, see page 11 of the attachment.