The need to speak truth to wind power?!

In a betrayal of green energy advocates across the U.S., the American Wind Energy Association joined with the Nuclear Energy Institute for a joint press conference at the National Press Club on May 12th. AWEA CEO Denise Bode joined with the NEI front group CASEnergy’s co-leaders Patrick Moore and Christie Todd-Whitman (the subjects of excellent exposes by Source Watch). The press conference, ironically, was held at the very same time that the Kerry-Lieberman “American Power Act” was unveiled on Capitol Hill, prioritizing nuclear power -- while giving wind power short shrift -- as a "climate solution." To most people, wind and nuclear would seem quite the odd partnership. In fact, a reporter asked Bode: aren't the wind and nuclear power industries competitors? Bode's response evaded the merit of the question, refusing to acknowledge that if atomic energy expands, wind power will be crowded out. Incredibly, Bode -- the main spokesperson for the wind industry in the U.S. -- referred to wind power as "intermittent," despite the clearly proven capability of such storage mechanisms as compressed air to solve the intermittency challenge. She even joked about how little market penetration wind has in the U.S. electricity sector, while refusing to acknowledge that the nuclear power industry's lobbying prowess helps keep that so.  But a quick scan of the AWEA corporate membership list -- as well as some of the leadership on its board of directors, including its President-Elect from atomic reactor vendor General Electric -- begins to explain why and how the nuclear power industry wields such undue influence on AWEA. To paraphrase Congressman Markey, Orwell is turning so fast in his grave, he should be hooked up as a turbo-generator to the electric grid! What can be done? How about contacting AWEA to inform its CEO that nuclear power is not  clean and safe, nor is it secure, affordable, reliable, independent from foreign suppliers, or deployable in time to make any difference toward the climate crisis. Phone AWEA at (202) 383-2500, email AWEA's Executive Assistant to the CEO, Ellen Carey, at ecarey@awea.org, and email AWEA's Chief Operating Officer, Britt Theismann, at btheismann@awea.org.