By Jennifer McDermott
President Donald Trump Hand out his contempt for wind energy during a meeting with his cabinet recently and it mentioned an expensive form of energy that ‘smart’ countries do not use.
His comments on Tuesday contain false and misleading information about the use of wind energy in the United States and all over the world, and came up with the heels of an executive order that he signed on Monday that would put an end to the subsidies on “green” energy.
Here is a look at the facts.
Claim: “Wind is a very expensive form of energy.”
The facts: Onshore Wind is one of the cheapest sources of generating electricity, with new wind farms expected to produce electricity around $ 30 per megawatt hour. This can be compared with a new natural gas factory, around $ 65 per megawatt hour, or a new advanced nuclear reactor, which lasts more than $ 80, according to estimates from the Energy Information Administration. Wind farms on the coast cost less to build and work than natural gas factories on average in most regions of the United States, even without tax credits. Although natural gas plants are available to produce electricity at any time of the day, in contrast to wind. Offshore Wind is one of the sources of new power generation that costs the most to build and work, according to $ 88 per megawatt hours, according to the EIA.
Although electricity rates have risen nationwide in the past decade, states that have added a considerable amount of onion energy, such as Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, have prevented rates from rising as quickly as other statessaid Brendan Pierpont, director of electricity modeling at the non -party -related think tanker -innovation. For example, the share of electricity generated by wind in Iowa rose from 15% in 2010 to almost 60% of the state’s electricity generation in 2023, while the state’s electricity percentages grew at a speed that was slower than that of 42 other states, his research showed.
Wind energy can be expensive if it is built where winds are weaker, but the United States adds it to places with strong wind sources, he added.
“Wind must be seen as part of a general portfolio of means for electricity systems and is an important part of keeping the costs low,” he said Wednesday.
Trump is committed to increasing American energy production, in particular fossil fuels. He signed an executive order Monday Focused on gradual tax credits for wind and solar facilities.
Claim: wind turbines are “almost exclusively” made in China, but President Xi Jinping told Trump that they have “very, very little”.
The facts: China is the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines and produces more than half of the offer. It also installs them in a record pace in China. In total, China has 1,3 terawatt of utility scale wind and solar capacity in development, which could generate more electricity than the neighboring Japan used in the whole of 2023, according to a Report from the Global Energy Monitor Released on Wednesday. The report emphasized China’s offshore wind development and called China the undisputed leader in the offshore wind sector, although it also said that coal and gas are still In the course of the turnout Throughout China.
“The whole story that we are led in the West is that China is building coal -fired power stations and that it does nothing for his CO2 footprint,” said Tom Harper, partner at the global consultant Baringa, Tuesday. “The surprising thing is that China builds a portfolio of zero-carbon sources that are designed not to perfectly supplement each other, but to work together to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.”
Claim: “If you look at smart countries, they don’t use it.”
The facts: at least 136 countries around the world use wind energy to generate electricity, According to the EIAWith many countries that grow the amount they produce. The top five markets for wind energy in 2024 were China, the US, Brazil, India and Germany, while Uzbekistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia represent the next wave of wind energy growth, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.
CEO Ben Backwell said that 2024 still marked a record year for the growth of wind energy, with the “industry pushing more and more in new regions.”
Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, disputed that smart countries do not use wind energy. China increases ahead of building an enormous amount of wind energy, while Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, Sweden, France and many other countries in Europe have large wind construction programs, he said on Wednesday.
“By cutting back on the development of wind energy, the US takes the lead to China in this important technology and killing many American jobs,” Gerrard said in an e-mail.
Claim: In New England, two whales were rinsed for more than 50 years, “and last summer they had 14 washed. Now I don’t say this was the wind farm that it might be right.”
The facts: there are no well -known connections between large whale deaths and continuous offshore wind activities, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Noaa says that it analyzes the causes of death where possible, according to science and data. Unfounded claims about offshore wind -threatening whales have surfaced as a flash point in the fight for the future of renewable energy.
The first offshore wind farm of the country on the commercial scale Officially opened in 2024 east of Montauk Point, New York. The second largest offshore wind farm in the nation is under construction off the coast of Massachusetts. A pilot project with five turbine has been active since 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island.
Claim: “The birds die everywhere.”
The facts: like all infrastructure, turbines can pose a risk for birds. The National Audubon Society, which is devoted to the preservation of birds, thinks that developers can manage these risks and climate change is a greater threat. An Audubon report Discovered that two-thirds of the North American bird species die out due to the rising temperatures.
In January, the non -profit organization said that responsible offshore wind development is a clear victory for birds, the American economy and the climate.
“Although persistent myths claim that widespread and devastating effects of offshore wind turbines on wildlife animals, science tells a different story. Our findings clearly indicate that we can use offshore wind in a way in a way that still protects birds and their habitats,” Sam Wojcicki, senior, senior, senior, senior, senior, senior, senior, s wrote in a January post. The organization also supports wind energy on land when it is placed and is operated correctly to minimize the impact on birds and other animals in the wild.
Claim: “You can’t take them down because the environmental activists don’t let the knives bury.”
The facts: wind turbine sheets are a challenge to recycle. They are designed for sustainability to withstand hurricane winds. However, the US already has the opportunity to recycle the most wind turbine materials, according to the Ministry of Energy. It has spent A report in January This turned out that 90% of the wind turbines can be recycled with the help of existing infrastructure, while new strategies and innovative recycling methods will be needed to tackle the rest.
The Wind Energy industry acknowledges that the removal of wind turbine sheets is a problem. Danish Wind Energy -Developer Ørsted committed in 2021 To never send turbine magazines to landfills, reuse, recycle or otherwise recover.
Search here AP Fact checks: https://apnews.com/apfactcheck.
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