FOX11 Investigates wasted renewable energy costs

GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- Wisconsin`s push for clean renewable energy a decade ago made it a leader in the industry nationwide. But that ranking is slipping as more and more equipment to produce renewable energy, paid for with the help of state and federal dollars, is sitting idle.

The wind turbine on Marvin Ecker`s farm in Calumet County is no longer turning in the breeze coming off Lake Winnebago. The single wind turbine is capable of producing enough renewable energy to provide power for 8 homes a year. But Ecker says when his contract with Wisconsin Public Service ended this past year, the amount he was paid was more than cut in half from the10 cent per megawatt he was receiving.

How much do the utiities in Wisconsin pay now?

"Proposed is down to 3.3 cents on peak and 2.2 cents off peak," said Ecker, a price he says is not even worth it,

"I don`t know if you could operate anything at that rate," said Ecker..

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Ken Notes: We need to find a balance here. At the 10 cent rate mentioned in the article large companies could carpet bag and become very profitable using new technology and renting space for free. This would actually raise rates for the rest of us. On the other side if we go too low and their is no incentive for utilities to produce or buy green they will continue to use coal or at best switch to natural gas, still carbon based. The solution is in the middle, use profits from coal and gas production to stimulate solar and wind production as well as research for storage or other 24/7 options. Also like computers, the cost of production is decreasing exponentially making it tough for an older turbine or solar array to stay profitable. This is not easy...