Blustery States Boost Wind Power Over Gas With U.S. Tax Break

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/blustery-states-boost-wind-power-over-gas-with-u-s-tax-break.html

A U.S. tax break has helped wind power stem the growth of natural gas as a power-plant fuel in blustery states.

The natural-gas share of electricity generation increased by less than 1 percent over the past decade in states such as North Dakota that have strong winds to drive turbines, a Bloomberg Government Study found. It grew 17 percent in states such as Florida, where there was no wind to compete with gas.

A production tax credit valued at 2.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour of wind energy has encouraged the growth of the alternative energy source. Natural gas accounted for 16 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2000 and grew to 24 percent in 2010, according to the study.

“With the benefit of the federal and state subsidies, wind-generated electricity has tended to push out the more expensive sources of electricity generation,” Paul Hughes, a senior economic analyst for Bloomberg Government, wrote in the study. “In many cases that displaced energy has been generated from natural gas.”

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