IF Wind Energy Works Challenge

The American Wind Energy Association is launching a media campaign called "Wind Energy Works" to fight the numerous number of critical and negative articles that are appearing across the US about industrial wind's shortcomings.

The bottom line is while the AWEA continues to counter with "it does so", and site survey and "suggestions" on the effectiveness of industrial wind, it has yet to provide one shred of evidence that wind energy actually has reduced fossil fuel use, or carbon emissions in Europe or the US. For if it had this evidence, certainly it would plaster it all over it's websites and publications. It doesn't and so we only see the same tired "a study by ... suggests that wind could ...".

So, here's a challenge to the AWEA, UPC, YESWindPowerCohocton and anyone else out there. Provide *evidence* with data that installed industrial wind developments have reduced fossil fuel and carbon emissions. Before the wind turbines and after. No theory, not in the future, no speculation, no modeling, no opinion, no "avoidance", no "when", no "if", no "estimate", no "could", no "predicted". We need historical evidence with supporting data. Data from 2000-2006 operation of major transmission grid tied wind "farms" across the world.

This should be easy for Europe with 40,000MW nameplate installed. It should be easy for California, who has years of operating the largest single wind "farm".

Why won't we accept "avoidance" figures? Because avoidance is not reduction. The EWEA knows this, and that's why they chose to use the words "avoidance" rather than "reduction" when they discuss carbon emissions or fossil fuel use with industrial wind. AWEA is very fond of the word "estimate" which is little more than a "guess".

We will publish this evidence of reduction here and donate $1,000 USD to the town of Cohocton for community public works projects. We will take out a full page ad in the Valley News and show our support for the UPC project in Cohocton.

Formosa