Wind power bailout coming?

By Ed Lasky

Science and economics show claims that wind energy can substitute for fossil fuels to be just so much hot air. Wind power installations have plummeted in the reality-based world. In a story headlined "wind installations drop 71% in the first half and the forecast past 2010 looks dreary," the Los Angeles Times reports:

The U.S. wind industry is in distress," a top renewable energy advocate said Tuesday, and the situation appears as though it could get worse.

Denise Bode, chief executive of the American Wind Energy Assn., said that without a national renewable energy standard, investment and interest in wind projects past 2010 would be headed for a free fall.

Despite more than 5.5 gigawatts under construction, the number of installations this year will still end up 25% to 45% below 2009 levels, according to a new report from the group. And beyond that, there's a yawning hole in the queue for planned projects.

The first half of the year saw just 1,239 new megawatts come online, a 57% plunge from the same period in 2008 and a 71% drop from last year. Only two new manufacturing plants were built, compared to seven in 2008 and five in 2009.

Here is my forecast: expect a huge Obama and Democrat bailout of the wind industry. Expect the Energy department -- and its cheerleaders at the Center for American Progress and Democratic donors in the green scheme movement -- to angle for billions more of taxpayer dollars to be given for this delusional Don Quixote quest to harness the power of the winds, regardless of study after study, example after example showing wind energy to be a waste of time and our money.