Washington, D.C. - Marking a major milestone in the effort to spur private sector investments in clean energy and create new jobs for America's workers, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $502 million in the first round of awards from an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) program that provides cash assistance to energy production companies in place of earned tax credits.

Wind energy use increases most among renewables

In the first four months of 2009, wind energy expanded 34.5 percent compared to the same months of 2008, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's most recent Monthly Energy Review.

The city of Chaska, Minnesota, will soon have an 80-foot-tall wind turbine generating clean, renewable electricity for local residents and businesses. The Pioneer Ridge Wind Turbine is just one of the eleven turbines that will be installed through the Hometown WindPower program created by the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA).

Washington, DC, August 13, 2009 - The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and its regional partner Wind on the Wires (WOW) have filed a protest with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) urging rejection of a proposal from the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO).

"Wind energy works and makes environmental sense—more so today than ever before—but consumers have to be on their guard," writes wind energy pioneer, expert, and advocate Paul Gipe in his newly revised Wind Energy Basics, Second Edition: A Guide to Home- and Community-Scale Wind-Energy Systems. Gipe has worked for over three decades in renewable energy, has authored seven books, and has lectured widely on wind energy and how to minimize its impact on the environment and the communities of which it is a part.

Duluth, MN - The Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) and the Northland Foundation have partnered to provide a revolving loan fund that will provide early-stage project development and feasibility analysis for community-based wind energy projects. The revolving loan fund will be available in Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake and St. Louis counties.

The United States Treasury is now accepting applications for the cash grant in lieu of tax credits that was established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Applications will be accepted online at https://treas1603.nrel.gov/

The statutory deadline for applications is October 11, 2011.

The State of Minnesota has a legislative mandate that utilities purchase or generate 25 percent of their electric power from renewable resources by 2025; and in the case of Xcel Energy, 30 percent by 2020. The majority of this new renewable energy is expected to come from wind energy, and a new study by Minnesota 2020 Fellow Nathan Paine outlines what some of the benefits of this expansion of wind power would mean for the state.