Goodhue County wind project foes enlist Rep.Kline's help

Goodhue County dairy farmers Ann and David Buck and many of their concerned neighbors are battling a $180 million wind energy project backed by Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens. The financial crisis in 2008, resulted in investment dollars drying up, so Congress decided to juice the industry by offering up-front cash grants as an alternative to production tax credits.

The Coalition for Sensible Siting notes that, in some cases, the tax benefits can exceed investors' entire tax liability, according to a recent study by the Congressional Research Service. Although the Goodhue Wind investors could still revert to underlying production tax credits, those will disappear by the end of 2012 if Congress doesn't renew them.

Ann and David Buck and others have worked hard to inform area farmers of their choices and offer Educational Resources from the Coalition for Sensible Siting for those concerned or faced with signing agreements. "If there wasn't a boatload of federal money and a state mandate, they wouldn't be here," said Zumbrota-area horse farmer Kristi Rosenquist, citing a Minnesota renewable energy standard that mandates utility companies to obtain 25 percent of their retail electricity sales from renewable energy sources by the year 2025. Read the full article at the Star Tribune.