The wind power industry is predicting massive layoffs and stalled or abandoned projects after a deal to renew a tax credit failed Thursday in Washington.
Even if the tax credit is somehow revived, it won’t be until November, which is far too late for construction in 2013. Projects will either be cancelled or rushed so they are completed in 2012 and thus still get the tax credits.
In Illinois, almost 14 GW of wind power waits to be connected to the grid. Now many of those projects may be cancelled or delayed.
This is really bad for wind power.
We need permanent magnetic generators so that the government doesn’t need to finance renewable energy with tax credits. The benefit will be the cost of not having to build more grid capacity or overhaul the grid we currently have, or build big expensive wind turbines which take years to recoup the cost of investment. Not to mention that these magnetic generators would work if the wind was not blowing, or if it was blowing too much (hurricanes anybody?). Imagine not having to pay for electricity ever again and it costing next to nothing to implement. The days of the internal combustion engine are over.