I got an email from a feller that seems upset about what Face the State had to say about the Wray Turbine’s non-functionality. I thought you all would enjoy it;
Hello,
Please see the following letter to the editor/op-ed submission:
A few days ago, Face The State broke the news that a wind turbine that was supposed to be producing clean energy to offset the emissions from the Democratic National Convention in Denver in fact produces no electricity at all. Apparently, “massive equipment malfunctions” have kept the wind turbine offline ever since its ribbon cutting last February.
The criticism from the right has been quick and fierce: one Colorado Republican lawmaker called the DNC’s plan to green its convention a fraud. Another called it a sham. Blogs on the right have labeled the plan a boondoggle and a scandal.
None of those characterizations are remotely true. The wind turbine project in Wray, Colorado was third-party verified and additional – meaning the project wouldn’t have been built without the funding from the sale of carbon offsets. (Ironically, had the wind turbine in Wray been producing electricity all along, critics might have attacked it for not being additional.)
Even if the turbine isn’t producing electricity now, it will eventually. And viewing the money the project received from carbon offsets as anything other than a long-term investment in the future of the local community and the health of the planet would be short-sighted and narrow. NativeEnergy, the offset marketer that sources the project for the DNC (and a direct competitor of ours) deserves credit for helping get the turbine built, not criticism.
The real problem in the case of the Wray turbine is not that money spent to support it was misappropriated, but rather that one, carelessly chosen project could come to taint public perception of the entire voluntary carbon market. In fact, the voluntary carbon market is booming and having a real impact on global warming, in spite of some high profile marketing blunders.
On one level, the situation highlights what people are most afraid the carbon offset industry doing – taking money and providing nothing in return. But carbon offsets exist precisely to provide that influx of capital. Without it, we’re going to have a difficult time transitioning to a clean energy economy.
NativeEnergy’s statement on the episode, posted on its website, is essentially correct: “The situation clearly demonstrates why renewable energy projects like this project need upfront capital to overcome challenges on their path to operation.”
The Wray wind turbine may need an extra part. It may need more attention from the school district that is managing it. But this is no scandal or boondoggle.
- Russell Simon
Carbonfund.org
Best,
Russell Simon
Communications Manager
Carbonfund.org Foundation
rsimon@carbonfund.org
(240) 334-3681
That ought to teach us all a lesson! 
You don’t suppose anyone might tell us just how much money the school district is getting in these carbon footprint deals? 
