FACT FOCUS: Trump misrepresents facts about wind power during Cabinet meeting

President Donald Trump expressed his disdain for wind power during a meeting with his Cabinet lately calling it an expensive form of vitality that smart countries don t use His comments on Tuesday contained false and misleading information about the use of wind power in the United States and around the world and came on the heels of an executive order he signed Monday that would end subsidies around green capacity Here s a look at the facts CLAIM Wind is a very expensive form of force THE FACTS Onshore wind is one of the cheapest sources of electricity generation with new wind farms expected to produce electricity around per megawatt hour This compares to a new natural gas plant around per megawatt hour or a new advanced nuclear reactor which runs over according to estimates from the Vitality Information Administration Onshore wind farms cost less to build and operate than natural gas plants on average in greater part regions of the United States even without tax credits Though natural gas plants are available to produce electricity at any time of the day unlike wind Offshore wind is among the sources of new power generation that will cost the majority of to build and operate at per megawatt hour according to the EIA While electricity rates have risen nationwide over the past decade states that have added a vital amount of onshore wind power such as Iowa Kansas Oklahoma and New Mexico have kept rates from rising as fast as other states declared Brendan Pierpont director of electricity modeling at the nonpartisan think tank Capacity Innovation For example the share of electricity generated from wind in Iowa increased from in to nearly of the state s electricity generation in while the state s electricity rates grew at a rate slower than that of other states his research unveiled Wind power can be expensive if it s built where winds are weaker but the United States is adding it in places with strong wind guidance he added Wind should be seen as part of an overall portfolio of electricity system tools and is an crucial part of keeping costs down he reported Wednesday Trump has committed to increasing U S vigor production particularly fossil fuels He signed an executive order Monday aimed at phasing out tax credits for wind and solar facilities CLAIM Wind turbines are almost exclusively made in China but President Xi Jinping communicated Trump they have very very minimal THE FACTS China is the world s largest manufacturer of wind turbines producing more than half of the supply It is also installing them in China at a record pace In total China has terawatts of utility-scale wind and solar maximum in rise which could generate more electricity than neighboring Japan consumed in all of according to a document from the Global Vigor Monitor issued Wednesday The review highlighted China s offshore wind rise calling China the undisputed leader in the offshore wind sector though it also declared coal and gas are still on the rise across China The whole narrative that we re led to believe in the West is that China is building coal plants and that it s doing nothing for its carbon footprint Tom Harper partner at the global consultant Baringa revealed Tuesday So the surprising thing is China is building a portfolio of zero-carbon guidance that are designed to not perfectly complement each other but to work alongside each other to reduce reliance on fossil fuels CLAIM If you look at smart countries they don t use it THE FACTS At least countries around the world use wind power to generate electricity according to the EIA with several countries growing the amount they produce The top five markets for wind power in were China the U S Brazil India and Germany while Uzbekistan Egypt and Saudi Arabia represent the next wave of wind potential enhancement according to the Global Wind Force Council Council CEO Ben Backwell revealed marked yet another record year for wind potency upsurge with the industry increasingly pushing into new regions Michael Gerrard director of the Sabin Center for Circumstances Change Law at Columbia University disputed the idea that smart countries don t use wind power China is soaring ahead in building a massive amount of wind power while Germany the United Kingdom Finland Spain Sweden France and a multitude of other countries in Europe have large programs of wind construction he explained Wednesday By cutting back on wind power expansion the U S is ceding the lead to China in this pivotal equipment and killing a lot of U S jobs Gerrard mentioned in an e-mail CLAIM In New England two whales washed up over years and last summer they had washed up Now I m not saying that s the wind farm that was built that maybe it is right THE FACTS There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind engagements according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA says it analyzes the causes of death whenever manageable following the science and content Unfounded asserts about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in the fight over the future of renewable ability The nation s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm officially opened in east of Montauk Point New York The nation s second-largest offshore wind farm is under construction off the coast of Massachusetts A five-turbine pilot project has been operating since off the coast of Rhode Island CLAIM The birds are dying all over the place THE FACTS Turbines like all infrastructure can pose a jeopardy to birds However the National Audubon Society which is dedicated to the conservation of birds thinks developers can manage these risks and situation change is a greater threat An Audubon account detected that two-thirds of North American bird species could face extinction due to rising temperatures In January the nonprofit mentioned responsible offshore wind expansion is a clear win for birds the U S market and the situation While persistent myths claim widespread and devastating effects of offshore wind turbines on wildlife the science tells a different story Our findings clearly indicate that we can responsibly deploy offshore wind in a manner that still protects birds and their habitats Sam Wojcicki Audubon s senior director for atmosphere program wrote in a January post The organization also supports wind vigor on land when it is sited and operated properly to minimize the impact on birds and other wildlife CLAIM You can t take them down because the environmentalists don t let you bury the blades THE FACTS Wind turbine blades are challenging to recycle They are designed for durability to withstand hurricane-force winds However the U S already has the ability to recycle majority of wind turbine materials according to the Department of Power It issued a description in January that identified of wind turbines can be recycled using existing infrastructure while new strategies and innovative recycling methods will be needed to tackle the rest The wind power industry acknowledges that the disposal of wind turbine blades is an issue Danish wind potency developer rsted committed in to never sending turbine blades to landfill instead reusing recycling or otherwise recovering them Find AP Fact Checks here https apnews com APFactCheck Source