PRESS RELEASE - CITIZENS URGE CONGRESS TO STOP THE WIND ENERGY PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT

CITIZENS URGE CONGRESS TO OPPOSE THE EXTENSION OF
THE WIND ENERGY PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT

Maine residents join nearly 6,500 others nationwide in saying no to the wind PTC

Oquossoc, December 27, 2012

 

 More than 200 Maine residents have joined nearly 6,500 citizens in 25 states in signing letters urging Congress to oppose any extension of the wind energy production tax credit (“PTC”) due to expire at the end of this year. More than 200 U.S. Senators and Members of Congress received the letter.

 

"We are very much aware that Congress is under pressure from the recipients of these subsidies to renew the PTC.  We are asking our elected Representatives to resist that pressure and let the PTC end on schedule, " said Dr. Monique Aniel, a member of the Citizens Task Force on Wind Power, who coordinated the letter campaign in Maine.  "Renewing the PTC would cost billions that our nation simply cannot afford, without any material benefit to the economy."

It has been evident for years that government support for wind energy development is very costly, and has utterly failed to establish industrial-scale wind as a self-sustaining contributor to meeting our energy needs. 

 

These letters emphasize that since the PTC was first introduced in 1992, the federal government has provided $40 billion to the industrial wind energy industry in tax credits and cash grants, with these costs increasing dramatically in recent years. This government money which is drawn from other taxpayers and, of course, borrowed in domestic and international government bond markets, exacerbates the already-excessive cost of wind energy to consumers and the public. Policies in many states now compel utilities to use  renewable energy at prices significantly above market price and, in addition, provide extensive local tax breaks.

 

Like so many communities across the United States,  large areas of Maine are being targeted by the wind industry following the passage in 2008 of Governor Baldacci’s Emergency Bill, known as the Expedited Wind Power Act.  The bill spent only 15 days in the legislature,  with “suspension of the rules” every step of the way,  and did not receive the scrutiny or debate that such sweeping legislation deserves.

 

The EWP Act repealed decades old regulations which protected the mountain tops from inappropriate development.   As a consequence of this law, dozens of high value landscapes have been targeted for wind projects while citizens’ voices have been ignored.  And as more projects are constructed more families are becoming the innocent victims of noise from turbines placed too close to their homes.  

 

"There is no plausible justification for continuing this spending, and certainly not when the nation is facing the huge debt and deficits prevailing today," the group wrote.

 To read the entire letter (without signatures), click here.

 

The letter was sent to the following United States Senators:

AZ:      Sen. John McCain                  Sen. Jon Kyl

CA:     Sen. Dianne Feinstein            Sen. Barbara Boxer 

HI:       Sen. Dan Inouye                     Sen. Daniel Kahikina Akaka

ID:       Sen. Mike Crapo                     Sen. James Risch

IL:       Sen. Dick Durbin                    Sen. Mark Kirk

IN:       Sen. Richard G. Lugar            Sen. Dan Coats

KS:      Sen. Pat Roberts                     Sen. Jerry Moran

ME:     Sen. Olympia Snowe              Sen. Susan Collins

MA:    Sen. John Kerry                      Sen. Scott Brown

MD:    Sen. Barbara Mikulski           Sen. Ben Cardin

MI:      Sen. Debbie Stabenow            Sen. Carl Levin

MN:    Sen. Amy Klobuchar              Sen. Al Franken

NC:     Sen. Richard Burr                   Sen. Kay Hagan

NH:     Sen. Jeanne Shaheen              Sen. Kelly Ayotte

NJ:      Sen. Robert Menendez           Sen. Frank Lautenberg

NV:     Sen Harry Reid                       Sen Dean Heller

NY:     Sen. Chuck Schumer              Sen. Gillibrand

OH:     Sen. Sherrod Brown               Sen. Rob Portman

PA:      Sen. Pat Toomey                    Sen. Robert Casey

RI:       Sen. Jack Reed                        Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

VA:     Sen. Mark Warner                  Sen. Jim Webb

VT:      Sen. Patrick Leahy                 Sen. Bernie Sanders

WI:      Sen. Herb Kohl                       Sen. Ron Johnson

WV:    Sen. Jay Rockefeller               Sen. Joe Manchin

WY:    Sen. Mike Enzi                       Sen. John Barrasso

 

 

The letter was sent to the following United States Representatives:

ARIZONA

Rep. Paul Gosar                      Rep. Trent Franks                   Rep. Ben Quayle

Rep. Ed Pastor                                    Rep. David Schweikert           Rep. Jeff Flake

Rep. Raul M. Grijalva                        Rep. Ron Barber

 

CALIFORNIA

Rep. Howard L. Berman         Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard    Rep. Kevin McCarthy

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter          Rep. Jeff Denham                   Rep. Brad Sherman

Rep. Devin Nunes                   Rep. Jerry Lewis                     Rep. Edward R. Royce

Rep. John Campbell               Rep. Bob Filner                      Rep. Tom McClintock

Rep. Wally Herger                 Rep.David Dreier                   Rep. Mike Thompson

Rep. Nancy Pelosi                  Rep. Daniel E. Lungren          Rep. Elton Gallegly

Rep. Lois Capps                     Rep. Loretta Sanchez             Rep. Howard P. McKeon

Rep. Darrell Issa                     Rep. Anna G. Eshoo               Rep. Henry A. Waxman

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher          Rep. Doris 0. Matsui              Rep. John Garamendi

Rep. Jim Costa                       Rep. Adam Schiff                   Rep. Gary G. Miller

Rep. Barbara Lee                    Rep. Sam Farr                         Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey

 

HAWAII

Rep. Hirono

Rep. Hanabusa

 

 

 

IDAHO

Rep. Labrador

Rep. Simpson

 

ILLINOIS

Rep. Schilling                                                 Rep. Schock                            Rep. Johnson

Rep. Hultgren                                     Rep. Kinzinger                       Rep. Manzullo

Rep. Judy Biggert

 

INDIANA

Rep. Peter J. Visclosky                      Rep. Joe Donnelly                  Rep. Marlin Stutzman           

Rep. Todd Rokita                               Rep. Dan Burton                     Rep. Mike Pence

Rep. Andre Carson                             Rep. Larry Bucshon                Rep. Todd Young

 

KANSAS

Rep. Tim Huelskamp

Rep. Lynn Jenkins

Rep. Kevin Yoder

Rep. Mike Pompeo

 

MAINE

Rep. Chellie Pingree

Rep. Mike Michaud

Sen. Olympia Snowe

Sen. Susan Collins

 

MARYLAND

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer

Rep. Elijah Cummings

 

MASSACHUSETTS

Rep. John Olver                                  Rep. William Keating                        Rep. Richard Neal

Rep. Michael Capuano                       Rep. Barney Frank                  Rep. John Tierney

Rep. Ed Markey                                  Rep. Jim McGovern               Rep. Stephen Lynch

Rep. Niki Tsongas

 

MICHIGAN

Rep. David Camp

Rep. Dan Benishek

Rep. Timothy Walberg

Rep. Frederick Upton

Rep. Dale Kildee

 

MINNESOTA

Rep. Michele Bachmann                    Rep. John Kline                      Rep. Erik Paulsen

Rep. Betty McCollum                                    Rep. Keith Ellison                  Rep. Tim Walz

Rep. Collin Peterson                          Rep. Chip Cravaack

 

NORTH CAROLINA

Rep. Virginia Foxx

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Rep Charlie Bass

Rep Frank Guinta

 

NEW JERSEY

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen

 

NEVADA

Rep. Berkley

Rep. Amodei

Rep. Heck

 

NEW YORK

Rep. Jerrold Nadler                            Rep. Tom Reed                       Rep. Chris Gibson

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy                     Rep. Bill Owens                     Rep. Kathy Hochul

Rep. Paul Tonko                                 Rep. Richard L. Hanna           Rep. Brian Higgins

Rep. Louise Slaughter

 

OHIO

Rep. Bob Latta                                    Rep. Jim Jordan                      Rep. Marcy Kaptur

Rep. Michael R. Turner                      Rep. Steve Austria                  Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Rep. James Renacci                            Rep. Patrick Tiberi                 Rep Steve Stivers

Rep. Steve Chabot                              Rep. Jean Schmidt                  Rep. Bill Johnson

Rep. Marcia L. Fudge                         Rep. Betty Sutton                   Rep. Tim Ryan

Rep. Steven C. LaTourette                 Rep. Bob Gibbs

 

PENNSYLVANIA

Rep. Lou Barletta                               Rep. Mark Critz                      Rep. Tim Holden

Rep. Glenn Thompson                        Rep. Bill Shuster                    Rep. Mike Kelly

Rep. Allyson Schwartz                       Rep. Todd Russell Platts

 

RHODE ISLAND

Rep. David Cicilline

Rep. Jim Langevin

 

VIRGINIA

Rep. Bob Goodlatte

Rep. Morgan Griffith

Rep. Frank R. Wolf

Rep. Eric Canton

VERMONT

Rep. Peter Welch

 

WISCONSIN

Rep. Paul Ryan                                   Rep. Tammy Baldwin            Rep. Ron Kind

Rep. Gwen Moore                              Rep. James Sensenbrenner     Rep. Tom Petri

Rep. Sean Duffy                                 Rep. Reid Ribble

 

WEST VIRGINIA

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito

Rep. David McKinley

Rep. Nick Rahall

 

WYOMING

Rep. Cynthia Lummis

 

 

The following members of the Senate and House leadership also received the letter:

 

House Speaker John Boehner             Rep. Eric Cantor                     Rep. Kevin McCarthy Rep. David Camp                               Rep. Sander Levin

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

Sen. Max Baucus

Sen. Orrin Hatch

 

 

###

 

For media inquiries, please contact:

Dr. Monique Aniel

Citizen’s Task Force on Wind Power

PO Box 345 Oquossoc, ME 04964

email sherwats2@wildblue.net

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Comment by alice mckay barnett on December 28, 2012 at 10:33am

Thank You for doing all this leg work...a question?  A reason for a statewide moratorium?  please?

Comment by Penny Melko on December 28, 2012 at 2:28am

Who wrote the letter and sent it to all of the Senators??? This is very direct - love it.

If the PTC is extended even one more year, my gloves are off against our government, for allowing our forests, deserts and lake sides to become wastelands.

 

Maine as Third World Country:

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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/

Not yet a member?

Sign up today and lend your voice and presence to the steadily rising tide that will soon sweep the scourge of useless and wretched turbines from our beloved Maine countryside. For many of us, our little pieces of paradise have been hard won. Did the carpetbaggers think they could simply steal them from us?

We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

 -- Mahatma Gandhi

"It's not whether you get knocked down: it's whether you get up."
Vince Lombardi 

Task Force membership is free. Please sign up today!

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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