Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

EDITORIAL: Is wind the next ethanol?

Energy Current
From the Web via YellowBrix 5/8/2009 11:17:09 PM GMT

WASHINGTON D.C.: Repeating past mistakes has long been a part of Washington's energy policy, but Congress used to wait a while before making the same blunder again. Not anymore. New legislation requiring wind energy closely resembles the ethanol mandate that sparked a backlash just last year.

For many years, wind has benefited from generous tax credits and subsidies, but it still provides less than 2 percent of the nation's electricity. By comparison, coal supplies around 50 percent (and with considerably fewer federal incentives). Natural gas and nuclear, meanwhile, account for about 20 percent each.

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