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American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode on the outlook for wind energy growth and costs.
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The American wind energy association gave the -- to energy giant Exxon corporation -- on.
Is pushed hard to kill a tax credit the wind industry claims is crucial to its survival we had on Tom -- he is president of the American energy alliance.
He sided with Axel on take a listen to what he had to say.
The organization is about -- the federal boxes -- as opposed and positioning mean in the best possible light.
So was -- right is this wind energy tax credit just distorting the market with me now to respond -- Denise bode American wind energy association.
CEO thank you so much for coming on I want you to go ahead right away and respond to those arguments forty -- Thank you so much Melissa if I can take my wind had often put on my.
Had as a former public utility -- a regulator.
I'm let me just tell you the story what's going on out in the market there's intense competition in the market in on the bread.
And that is driving down consumer prices for electricity.
What happened what has happened is in fact there's been to new major additions to electricity generation in the last five years.
Natural gas is that in 45 right in -- -- new generation wind is adding about 35%.
When it when you look at the new transmission being built there's some being built.
But in some areas there is.
An overload.
Rules expense says.
In flexible generation that mostly nuclear and coal.
And they have to run all the time they can't scale upper scale day -- Yeah -- I saw that there's an overload of expensive energy that's coming from nukes I mean when you look at the price per kilowatt hour.
And we have this -- bring -- -- chip for us its from the Department of Energy.
You can see that natural gas is -- by -- the -- busy -- for about six point six cents per kilowatt hour.
And that's -- -- which they had at nine point six cents per kilowatt hour and I'm not sure that includes some subsidies because even though it's 50% more than natural gas is still seems -- to me.
I'm -- was up there with wind as well by this calculation but it seems like the real -- -- just that natural gas is very very cheap and cheaper than everything else.
That's winds problem.
Well I.
Don't think that's sure I think what's happened is that you know we've -- new flexible affordable generation coming on like natural gas and land.
And you've got some very inflexible generation I have to run all the time can't scale up and day -- to meet the new competition that's out there in the market place.
Consumers are benefiting tremendously by much lower electric prices just when we need those prices that day -- And then then big concern is by some of the utility is is that -- Not being able to make it's much from consumers on there in.
Excellent generation but -- and did you not -- gets 50% more on the top of that it's getting.
What it -- so -- is -- is that sitting well if it's so cheap why are we subsidizing it mean if your point is correct and I'm not even buildings that but if it is so much.
Then that why in the world would you want a subsidy let's get rid of the subsidy.
Well first of vol it that then the number that you're looking at is I'm an old number it actually is lower than that and comment even back -- is that really shouldn't have a subsidy and it's even cheaper than that they knew for sure don't need a subsidy.
We'll.
Explain what's happened yeah yeah he's you made two statements let me respond to them the first one.
Is the the misperception.
That we've had this for twenty years.
Then only in the last five years have we have that tax in -- and then we only have one.
That's and that only allows us to get a tax -- keep more of our tax dollars when we're producing electricity.
I in the last five years.
That we have been able to scale up from overt from only 20%.
Are manufactured parts here in the US can now.
All over seventy almost 70% is made in America.
Prior to that every other year we would have dead justified -- extension of the credit.
It provided no certainty for manufacturers because we're in fact congress let whatever I or topic that clearly -- -- want you -- subsidy.
-- -- -- What I'm getting there I'm trying to explain -- that what's bride down the cost of electricity in the last five years from land.
-- in sourcing -- manufacturing which is lower the cost eighteen to 20%.
But we still have to continue that pace.
For a couple of years longer in order to scale up the manufacturing here for the manufactures to have certain need to build here so that we can actually.
-- -- -- -- -- -- An influx of cheap power that's coming from -- if we have too much cheap power from wind why would we put one more tax subsidy towards -- -- it's so cheap we have an abundance of energy that doesn't make any sense.
I -- it's becoming more affordable you said it was she buys it more affordable -- you and that and we feel that cheap energy on the on the grid that's cheaper than nuclear.
That continues to generate that was your argument from the beginning so -- that's true we don't.
Need a subsidy.
That's not true what I'm saying is that we have to scale up in manufacturing.
City you can have a diversified portfolio of electricity.
And all of its benefits consumers so we've -- folks here complaining because consumers have low prices so would you advocate of reducing -- increasing electric prices.
To consumers just at a time when we need to have lower electric prices to make it more affordable know.
You want to have this industry scale up to become part of the diversified portfolio that uses an.
-- I -- to deliver the cheapest possible energy to consumers who need a break right now in this economy and that's natural gas of solar and wind energy is as cheap as you said it was at the beginning of this segment that it wouldn't need that subsidy.
Denise bode thanks for coming on it -- you argued both sides of the argument there.
I think you did you but that's no thanks for having me I I I didn't I said that windy it's too expensive we don't meeting you're the one that -- it was cheap and you wanna keep the subsidy anyway.
I think we want to keep it long enough to get the manufacturing here.
So that we don't need it anymore and see you got a whole -- manufacturing sector.
Here -- -- -- -- that's delivering over 500 new manufacturing plants and over 30000 new jobs.
You know what will -- on commercial play back the tape from the beginning and see what you said Denise thanks for coming on back.
