Documents filed by Xcel Energy for it’s Nobles Wind facility, 134 turbines. The wind turbines lasted 12 years. Cost to decommission $85,533,609. Cost to refurbish $204,000,000.
Repowering wind projects allows them to requalify for the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC), a lucrative federal subsidy that expires after the first 10 years of a project’s life.
In essence, the lucrative federal subsidies paid to wind turbine operators are creating a perverse incentive to prematurely refurbish or replace wind projects long before the end of their useful lifetimes, including the Nobles wind project in Minnesota.
As Warren Buffet said, "For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That's the only reason to build them. They don't make sense without the tax credit."
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Repowering wind projects allows them to requalify for the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC), a lucrative federal subsidy that expires after the first 10 years of a project’s life.
In essence, the lucrative federal subsidies paid to wind turbine operators are creating a perverse incentive to prematurely refurbish or replace wind projects long before the end of their useful lifetimes, including the Nobles wind project in Minnesota.
As Warren Buffet said, "For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That's the only reason to build them. They don't make sense without the tax credit."
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@JohnLeePettim13: Documents filed by Xcel Energy for it’s Nobles Wind facility, 134 turbines. The wind turbines lasted 12 years. Cost to decommission $85,533,609. Cost to refurbish $204,000,000. But wait, let me sho...…
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