The following is from Grist Magazine, an online environmental news source.
Cick the link to read the full story.--Jack Eastman


LET IT BLOW, LET IT BLOW, LET IT BLOW
Wind power is now cheaper than coal in the U.S., according to a study
published in the journal Science.  The study's researchers, two
Stanford engineers, priced wind power at 3 to 4 cents per kilowatt
hour, already competitive with the market price for coal power.
After factoring in health and environmental costs, they put the true
price for coal power at 5.5 to 8.3 cents per kilowatt hour.  For wind
power to take off, however, the researchers say that lawmakers will
need to give the industry the same investment opportunities and tax
breaks historically given to fossil fuel industries.  The researchers
propose this bargain-basement deal:  eliminating nearly two-thirds of
coal-generated electricity and single-handedly dropping the country's
greenhouse gas emission levels below 1990 levels by building 225,000
wind turbines -- at an initial cost of $338 billion.

straight to the source:  MSNBC.com, 24 Aug 2001
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/617631.asp>