"North Carolina’s contentious $400 million wind farm, run by a unit of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola SA, was built to provide power to an Amazon.com Inc. data center. State lawmakers have renewed a push against the project, citing risks to nearby military operations. The company says it wants to build more wind farms in North Carolina, but has put its plans on hold because of the political uncertainty. Another planned project is currently stalled: Apex Clean Energy of Charlottesville, Va., is scaling back its 105-turbine project after county commissioners denied a necessary zoning permit.
Other developers say they are staying away as the state legislature weighs tighter permitting guidelines.
“Until we get to a stable policy climate, we’re going to continue to see a lot of unknowns, and that is never good for multimillion-dollar investments,” said Katharine Kollins, president of the Southeastern Wind Coalition, a trade group."
Federal tax credits for wind and solar power were extended by Congress in December 2015, but energy companies say they don't expect much in the way of new renewable-energy incentives from the Trump administration. Without subsidies, renewable energy is not competitive with traditional fossil fuel energy plants.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete