Letter: Homegrown wind energy saves money

Wind energy is a homegrown electricity source that saves Americans money and is compatible with wildlife conservation, despite the inaccurate statements in Terry McGovern's Nov. 20 commentary ('Are large-scale wind energy projects ethical?”).

The price consumers pay for wind power has fallen by two-thirds in recent years, driven down by American innovation and improved domestic manufacturing spurred by the performance-based Production Tax Credit, wind's primary incentive. Wind energy is now the cheapest source of new electric generating capacity in places like Iowa and Texas, and it's cost-competitive in many more.

Nor does wind power receive more government incentives than conventional energy sources, which have received 86 percent of all federal energy incentives since 1950. Wind has received less than three percent. McGovern overstates the value of wind's incentives by a factor of over 750 by using a data set where 99.9 percent of line items have nothing to do with wind power.

McGovern's commentary also vastly overinflates wind power's effects on birds. Wind is responsible for less than 0.01 percent of all human-related bird deaths. According to the National Audubon Society, exponentially larger sources include tall buildings, cars and communication towers. While it is true that all energy sources have some impact on wildlife, studies have repeatedly shown wind has among the lowest impacts on wildlife and their habitats of any way to generate electricity.

The reality is wind power is creating tens of thousands of well-paying jobs and boosting rural economies across America.

Tom Vinson

Vice President, Federal Regulatory Affairs

American Wind Energy Association

Washington, D.C.