Enviros Fear Fracking will Foil Wind Power

They really don't want it do they?  Even the idea that fracking will bring cheaper gas and oil to us is anthema to them.

Nearly two thirds of Maryland voters polled support the construction of offshore wind power, even if it means paying a dollar or two more per month, according to a new survey released today by advocates of an offshore wind farm east of Maryland's Eastern Shore.

A couple of dollars more a month?  We should be so lucky.  To make wind power financially viable without enormous subsidies would cost a lot more than that. 

The question of whether Maryland’s utilities should help subsidize the construction of a billion-dollar-plus offshore wind farm will be one of the subjects debated in the General Assembly session that starts today in Annapolis.

Yep, there's that subsidy; and who's going to pay that?  Do you imagine the utilities are going to pay it out of their profits?  Think again, it will just come back to us in the power bill.

And then, how do you make power when the doesn't blow.  Hey, I know, how about some nice gas powered peaking units, burning all American gas extracted from American soil by fracking?

Although public support for offshore wind appears strong, the economics of this kind of development -– which would be the first offshore wind farm in America –- is fragile, in part because of competition from natural gas.

Oh, I think I see where this is going...

The economic waves from this second source of energy could sink potentially Maryland’s offshore wind farm before it is even built, according to Matt DaPrato, an analyst with IHS Emerging Energy Research. DaPrato said the flood of increasingly cheap natural gas from the Marcellus has driven down the price of electricity over the last three years.

These lower prices and the scheduled expiration of federal tax incentives for wind are making it harder for proposed wind farms to secure financial backing, because wind is increasingly expensive by comparison to natural gas, DaPrato said.

“Alternative energy, like offshore wind right now in particular, is a little bit at a price premium,” DaPrato said. “And when the cost of electricity goes down, fuelled by the decline in cost of natural gas, what you see is that premium gap widen. And especially in these hard economic times, it can be a little bit harder for rate payers and tax payers to handle.”

So, basically, the Chesapeake  Bay Foundation is all in for making electricity more expensive for us.  Because they think it's good for us.