ARIZONA WIND, THE SUPERBOWL’S POWER

Wind: Arizona's overlooked energy source

Amanda Ormond, January 30, 2015 (The Arizona Republic)

“The Super Bowl [was] powered by wind energy…It shows that [the wind industry has] arrived. Wind power costs have come down more than 50 percent in the past five years, and nine states generate over 10 percent of their electricity from wind…The wind normally dies down at night, when the game is played. How does this work? Wind energy is just one energy source in a diverse utility portfolio…The Super Bowl at night in the winter is not a period of high demand for electricity, like hot summer afternoons. During low demand a utility has many resource options. They choose wind and other renewables first because they are low-cost and clean…Arizona's best wind sites are in some of our most economically distressed counties, where wind provides needed tax revenues to local governments and payments to land owners…Wind turbines use very small amounts of land so…can be built on farms and ranches without displacing agriculture or cattle. It's another cash crop…[N]ew, low-speed wind technology that can produce more energy from lesser-quality wind is creating new opportunities...[Unfairly, wind’s] federal tax incentive, which is based on energy production, expires every year or two…[w]hile, for more than 40 years, the coal, natural gas, petroleum and nuclear industries have received government subsidies that never expire…” click here for more

Beating climate change is really The Big Game. (click to enlarge)

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