Production Tax Credit 'FIT' for Retirement

Big subsidies for wind projects are 'FIT' for retirement
By Mary Kay Barton
The Coalition for Sensible Siting welcomes this article from our friend and voice for citizens for New York State on industrial wind.

Larry Beahan of the Sierra Club Niagra Group, declared in his 8/7/12 Buffalo News 'Another Voice' piece that FIT - a feed-in-tariff (aka: another TAX) should be mandated to guarantee rates for "green" energy for the next 20 years. 
Apparently Mr. Beahan is unaware that industrial wind energy already has been feeding at the government trough of taxpayer-funded corporate welfare for over 20 years now - in the form of the Production Tax Credit, and 1603 Direct Cash Grant Program.
The reality is, subsidies for industrial wind cost FAR more than any other source, as spelled out in the 8/1/12 Master Resource article, "New York State's Money-Road to Nowhere":
“On a per kWh basis, wind receives 80 times the public subsidies received by fossil fuels, but produces no reliable electricity capacity and very few American jobs. In fact, for every green job that wind supposedly creates, it destroys two to four regular jobs – in large part due to “skyrocketing” electricity rates.”

So what do we get for those exorbitant costs? Industrial wind provides virtually NO Capacity Value / Firm Capacity (specified amounts of power on demand), and therefore, can NOT provide modern power – period. Despite having over 140,000 Industrial Wind Turbines installed worldwide, CO2 emissions have NOT been significantly reduced – ANYWHERE!

We may as well mandate that we get 25% of our naval fleet from sailboats, 25% of our air transport from gliders, or 25% of our gas & diesel vehicle transport from horse and buggies.

Another reality -- Germany is now building 17 new coal, and 29 new gas-fired power plants to replace their emissions-free nuclear plants.
Environmentalist Jon Boone has done an excellent job of defining the problems with the Sierra Club's blind support of industrial wind in his report, "The Sierra Club: How support for Industrial Wind technology subverts its history, betrays its mission, and erodes commitment to the scientific method".

Paul Driessen's Washington Times article today (8/7/12), "Wind Energy Tax Credits Fund Bird Murder," points to the hypocrisy of any supposed bird enthusiast supporting industrial wind.

Obviously, the admittedly "necessarily skyrocketing" electricity prices associated with this Administration's "green" agenda, will further drive business out of NYS (and the U.S.), and hurt our poor the most.

You would think that folks would understand that that our $16 TRILLION Dollar indebted nation can no longer afford to throw good money after bad pursuing the wishful thinking of "green" enthusiasts. Our resources would be much better spent on Energy Efficiency, and research on technologies of the future - not antiquated corporate money-grubbing schemes like ENRON-initiated wind power.

I think we can all agree -- The time for science-based energy policies is now!

Mary Kay Barton

Mary Kay Barton, a retired health educator and small business owner in New York State, is a tireless advocate for scientifically sound, affordable, and reliable electricity for all Americans. She has served over the past decade in local Water Quality organizations and enjoys gardening and birding in her National Wildlife Federation “Backyard Wildlife Habitat.”

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Vestas - Industrial wind resizing or bursting bubble?

Vestas, the world’s largest industrial wind turbine manufacturer, announced yesterday that they will reduce their workforce by over 2300 employees; 182 of those are in the United States. The Denmark based company also stated that expiration of the United States federal renewable energy tax credit (PTC) could cause an additional 1600 US layoffs. Other factors Vestas cited include changes in ‘political demand’, the international economic downturn resulting in lower consumer electrical demand, and competition from China.

The Coalition for Sensible Siting finds Vestas’ statements about the US federal PTC significant.  Vestas' concerns about US renewable energy tax money demonstrates one way American tax payers are underwriting European debt. The article also confirms that the demand for wind turbines is political; not an actual demand for additional electrical generation.

Citizens and legislators rallied behind Minnesota’s 2^nd District Congressman John Kline allowing the December 31, 2011 expiration of the Section 1603 cash grants in lieu of production tax credits. The cash grants were about $1 million per industrial turbine. There is no evidence that this largess using tax money was stimulating anything beneficial to tax payers and electrical rate payers. Citizens celebrated the expiration of this failing major cash stimulus. 

Coverage of Vetas’ downsizing shows that wind industry promoters and some politicians continue to wring their hands.  Scientifically baseless concerns include EU “energy safety” which is usually spun in the US as “independence from foreign oil”.  Since almost none of the US electrical supply is generated using oil from any source, the “energy independence” marketing campaign has always been a hoax.  Industrial wind lobbyists also lament that installing fewer wind turbines means humans will fail to reduce electrical generators’ atmospheric CO2 emissions.  No independent study has ever shown any evidence that wind turbines can or will reduce CO2. The CO2 “concern” is yet another marketing ploy by folks who want tax and rate money shoveled their way.

Coverage of the Vestas fallout also noted that the price of carbon on the EU carbon exchange dropped by half. Given the stunning level of corruption and ongoing investigations into the EU carbon exchange, halving the value of this politically created fairy-dust trading scheme does not seem all bad.

Is the Vestas downturn the 21^st century version of the Dutch tulip bubble that burst in the 1600s?  At least the bulb buyers got flowers for their money.

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Federal 1603 cash grants dead (for now)

The Coalition for Sensible Siting is relieved to announce that federal Section 1603 cash grants, at about $1 million per industrial wind turbine, were not continued in the federal tax bill. This is a huge victory for citizens. For once, the industrial wind energy lobbyists got "no" for an answer.

A heartfelt thank you to Minnesota Congressman John Kline and his staff. Congressman Kline provided leadership and a rallying point for legislators, citizens and industrial wind opposition across the US. A summary and documents can be found on John Kline's website.

Another major factor was the leadership of Lisa Linowes of Industrial Wind Action Group for activating and coordinating responses from citizens. Lisa’s efforts yielded 1600 citizen signatures from 25 states to U.S. legislators over a short 5 days.

Freedom Foundation of Minnesota's Tom Steward wrote an excellent story on the topic during the lead-up to the vote on the tax bill.

MN StarTribune's Washington D.C. reporter Kevin Diaz weighed in with coverage from the center of this national fight. 

Read more about federal 1603 cash grants on the Coalition for Sensible Siting website.

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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.

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