Lisa Linowes follow-up on the WSJ article - Alternative energy hurt by a windmill shortage by Keith Johnson

Hi all, regarding WSJ article:

It is important to remember who the WSJ ultimately writes for -- and taken in that light, that article was a direct attack on the industry, an industry that is built on a house of cards.

At the moment, there is tremendous media hype surrounding alternative energy. People want to get into the act and investors are looking at where to place their money. The vast majority don't give a hoot about renewables or saving the planet. It's all about adding to the bottom line and doing it as effectively, and as profitably as possible. Putting your investor's hat on at the moment, this is what the article is telling you:

1) We have a debt-funded industry that is heavily dependent on governmental subsidies just to function -- subsidies that are here today, but can be severely restricted tomorrow;

2) The manufacturing infrastructure is being squeezed by tight customer deadlines and a limited (and choosy) chain of suppliers. Translation, higher costs, longer delays on deliver, and increasing quality problems.

3) With European companies "owning" the next XXX MW of turbines coming off the assembly line, small-time operators are getting knocked out as the consolidation race continues.

4) Meanwhile, as costs go up, policymakers and bean counters will be forced to acknowledge how much more expensive their RPS programs are costing. We will not be looking at 1-2% increases on the average utility bill as they've all been promised, but more like double-digit. Ratepayers are going to scream. BTW: by ratepayers I'm talking about business owners and the poor, not your suburban "do-gooder" who forks over the big bucks to Whole Foods.

Companies like Community Energy are lucky but only a little. They managed to find an angel in Iberdrola. But Iberdrola paid a mere $40M for them. Heck, that's what it will cost to build the CEI 24MW wind factory in Lempster NH. Quite a bargain, until Iberdrola finds out how hostile US opposition to wind projects can be.

When articles like this get written with statements that include: "In a few years' time, those new factories could help ease the current bottleneck." think about what investment folks, who are largely focused on the short term, bottom line, must think. I see it as a warning beacon. In other words, hold the money until we know better what the future holds. And, I suspect we will see more false starts as time goes on. The LIPA project is dead; so is the offshore TX plan, all due to money -- i.e. the wind company could not make it attractive enough for investors.

I don't think the WSJ did big wind any favor with this article. But, of course, time will tell...
So think positive. We play a important role in this much larger picture surrounding wind development.
--Lisa

Lisa Linowes
Industrial Wind Action Group
www.windaction.org