7 MYTHS ABOUT THE WIND PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT
7 Myths About the Wind Production Tax Credit
The Heritage Foundation
The wind production tax credit (PTC) has created an industry that produces overpriced, intermittent power, and it will continue to produce overpriced, intermittent power so as long as there is a PTC to pay for it. Here are the top seven myths associated with the PTC:
Myth #1: Wind power is, or will soon be, cheaper than conventional sources.
Fact: If this were true, then there would be no need for subsidies.
First, this is a rerun of an argument that has been made for at least 20 years. Second, if wind were already cheaper, then it could compete right now. If it is on the verge, then wind-power producers could enter into long-term contracts (which they already do) that would allow them to recoup their investments in the near future when wind will supposedly be so cheap. Neither case argues for subsidies.
Myth #2: We need to extend the PTC so that businesses will have certainty.
Fact: The only uncertainty regarding the PTC arises from attempts to extend it.
The legislation in force has been very clear ever since it was written: Wind turbines put in place byDecember 31, 2012, qualify for 10 years of production tax credits. Windmills placed in service this year will continue to receive credits—which are worth 40 percent or more of the wholesale value of electricity—for every kilowatt-hour generated until 2022.
Myth #3: Subsidizing wind stimulates the economy.
Fact: Subsidies do not strengthen the overall economy.
Subsidies may well provide jobs and income for those receiving the subsidies, but, as the Spanish experience illustrates, whatever job-creating mechanism the subsidies put in play is offset by running this same mechanism in reverse elsewhere: Financing the subsidies requires taxing other parts of the economy.
In fact, the positive impact of the subsidies is more than offset, since the value of the resources employed in the subsidized industry exceeds the value of the output produced. (If it didn’t, they wouldn’t need subsidies.)
Myth #4: We need to subsidize wind to stay competitive with those countries that are already doing so.
Fact: Countries that subsidize wind are not to be emulated.
Four years ago, the model for a “green economy” wasSpain, but as its economy crashed, it dumped the subsidies. IfSpaintruly believed subsidizing wind power strengthened its economy, it would have increased the subsidies.
Even Europe’s economic powerhouse, Germany, is backing off of its wind subsidies as the cost becomes prohibitive and the difficulties of integrating the intermittent supply threaten its grid.
So now Chinais the model for our new-energy economy. We should note that Chinahas only the 122nd highest GDP per capita in the world—well behind countries such asBulgaria andBotswana. There are no calls to model our economy after those two, and there shouldn’t be any for apingChina’s economic policies.China gets richer as its economy becomes more like ours—not the other way around....
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Comment
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Comment by Penny Melko on December 5, 2012 at 8:21pm
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Hi Monique,Hope all is well in Maine.I’m at the point were I’m ready to openly promote banning wind turbines in the U.S. You’ve seen the cartoon showing the camel with it’s nose in the tent, well, the stinky camel is living in our tent and we can’t get it out. Instead, it’s forcing us out.The wind production tax credit is obscene. The inundation of wind turbines in the Tehachapi Pass continues and us residents continue to get more angry by the moment. Another 2 projects are in process that adds up to another 426 turbines. This is nuts!!!What has infuriated me is that Warren Buffet’s company just bought 2 wind parks. He’s the 4th richest man in this planet and the American people are subsidizing his company??? This is ludicrous.American Wind Capital (financed by Barclay’s Bank) bought Oak Creek Energy’s live wind parks. Here is how they sell to people and also not the Death Tax impact. http://americanwindcapital.com/Monday, November 26, 2012
RANCHERS, FARMERS BRACE FOR “DEATH TAX” IMPACT
The estate tax is set to soar at the beginning of 2013 without some kind of intervention from Congress. As a result, farmers and ranchers are waiting anxiously.
I encourage others to responded to the comments like I did.
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Comment by Norman Mitchell on December 5, 2012 at 7:35pm
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good stuff
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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