Is Your Area Worthy of Creating Wind Energy?

Wind Powering America (a DOE program initiative) publishes an onshore wind resource map for the United States, at 80 meters above ground and with resolution down to 2.5 meters. This map was updated in March 2010, the first comprehensive update of U.S. wind energy potential since 1993.

The 2010 update to the wind resource map raised the height at which the measurements were taken from 50 to 80 meters above ground, addressing updates in turbine technology and showing an increase in the total wind capacity resource of the continental United States.

Areas with annual average wind speeds around 6.5 meters per second or greater, and at 80 meters above the ground, are generally considered to have suitable wind resource for wind development (orange, red, and purple on the map above). Utility-scale wind turbine towers range in height from 60 to 120 meters; 18-60 meter turbines can be used for community or residential scale electricity generation.

 

Much of the high-potential onshore wind resources are located in low population density areas (i.e., the Great Plains). Many recent transmission investments, as well as proposed transmission projects, focus on delivering electricity generated from wind power to load centers where there is strong electricity demand.
Factors other than wind resource availability will likely play a dominant role in determining how much of the wind resource illustrated in the map will ultimately be developed. A slow rate of projected electricity demand growth limits the amount of new generating capacity that is needed. At the same time, the economic competitiveness of wind generation is sensitive to the future availability of incentives, such as the project tax credit, and to the cost of natural gas and other competing technologies.

The siting of transmission lines needed to move wind power from high-resource areas to major load centers and the allocation of costs for new transmission capacity are also significant issues under consideration by the Administration, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the States. On the other hand, capacity retirements and Renewable Portfolio Standards at the State level may work to spur growth in wind capacity.

A large pdf of the U.S. map and individual State maps are available at the Wind Powering America website.

Note: Click on a state to view the wind map for that state. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not have 80 meter wind maps available but have 50 meter wind maps. 

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PG&E’s Offer of Analogs Comes at a High Cost

Having been forced by bad press to throw sickened customers a meager bone the option to keep an analog on an individual basis only, at an inflated cost–PG&E CEO Anthony Earley made this astonishing remark: “Why should we be fighting with our own customers over something like this?”

Why fight indeed? Over something as petty and inconsequential as the right to be safe in one’s home? The right to privacy behind closed doors? The right to be safe from electrical fires? The right to not live in a low level microwave oven for the rest of our lives. Let’s all just get together, roast some chestnuts and pretend there’s nothing wrong.

We think Mr. Earley may be a little late grasping the facts:

The US government says ‘smart’ meters are NOT mandatory as per the Federal Energy Act of 2005. This letter from a US Representative clarifies the matter. OPT-IN is the only legal way this program could have been implemented.

“Smart” meters emit a Class 2B carcinogen into people’s homes. ‘Smart’ meters are toxic–adding 10,000+ strobing pulses of radio-frequency microwaves into customers’ lives. The RF peaks inside a ‘smart’-metered home exceed what a nearby cellphone antenna array would contribute, an RF source already known to harm humans.

“Smart” meters are making many, many people sick. Accounts continue to pour into SmartMeterHelp.com, and EMFSafetyNetwork.org.

“Smart” meters are not safe. They have caused fires and explosions, shocks, arcing, appliance damage, and interference, and continue to do so. These devices lack UL certification. No utility has the right to endanger people and property.

“Smart” meters do not save energy. They are green-wash of the deepest dye. They use energy themselves, and studies have not shown any significant energy savings, or customer savings. The savings (that is, no meter readers to pay) goes straight to the utility. The PG&E program cost $2.3billion, which came out of our pockets. Deployment of ‘smart’ meters is picking low-hanging fruit–meanwhile the real work of updating the grid is delayed.

“Smart” meter data is not well protected. Privacy in the home is threatened by detailed information being broadcast wirelessly. Some utilities believe they OWN that data.

We know who PG&E cares about pleasing, and it is not customers: PG&E spent $79M in the last couple of years lobbying congress only one other company in the US outspent PG&E, and that was General Electric. They are a huge contributor in California politics.

So, Mr. Earley, that is why we will continue to fight your toxic, expensive, extortionate, environmentally harmful, dangerous surveillance meters. With all this evidence piling up, why would anyone want to opt IN?

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Opt out is a cop out. Smart meters are bad policy period. Time to wise up and *Pull the Plug* on the ‘Smart’ Meter debacle for good.

Posted courtesy of  "Stop Smart Meters.org"

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