"Even as Wind Power Rises, It Falls Under a Political Cloud"

"As utility operations increasingly avail themselves of wind, the administration looks at whether conventional sources have been placed at a disadvantage."

"Wind farms, with their rapid geographic spread and technological advances, are reshaping the electric system, defying skepticism that they are steady or reliable enough to displace conventional power plants.

“The fuel of choice right now, certainly for us, is wind,” said Ben Fowke, the chief executive of Xcel Energy, which shut down a large natural-gas plant in Colorado for two days in January and let wind fill, on average, half of its customer demand.

Now politics, not skepticism, may be wind power’s biggest barrier. Under new leadership with ties to conventional energy interests, the Energy Department is scrambling to complete an internal study in the next month that could lead to an upending of the policies that fostered the rapid spread of solar and wind."

Diane Cardwell reports for the New York Times May 30, 2017.

Source: NY Times, 06/01/2017