Reminder of the Economics of Wind Subsidies
While I am appalled by the destruction of Maine's natural and scenic resources by the proliferation of the industrial wind scourge, I have always tried to make economic arguments. The article linked here does a good reminder of the reliance of the wind industry on subsidies.
Excerpt:
"New data show just how bad a deal wind energy is for taxpayers — and the largesse extends far beyond the PTC. In 2013, wind received almost $6 billion in federal electricity-related subsidies (including the PTC), almost twice as much as coal, natural gas and nuclear received combined. But while those three sources produce more than 86 percent of our electricity, wind supplies just 4.5 percent despite receiving twice as much in government handouts.
Taxpayers have been getting ripped off by renewables for decades. Over the last 60 years, subsidies for wind and solar alone have cost taxpayers $13.77 per million British thermal units of energy produced, compared to just 39 cents for oil, 34 cents for nuclear, 12 cents for natural gas, and 10 cents for coal."
http://www.roanoke.com/opinion/pyle-when-the-taxman-cometh-the-wind...
Views: 139
Comment
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Comment by Kathy Sherman on May 11, 2015 at 9:29am
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The PTC pales in comparison to even tier 1 RECs for the southern New Engl states 'aggressive' and 'bold' RPS goals. I hope you can stick with regional economic impacts, which will remain huge and devastating rather than sources attributed to those nasty Koch brothers. Or show that the evidence is not tainted, since that seems to be the very favorite way to dismiss anything negative about wind energy, even van den Berg's look at why Dutch farmers were sleepness and complaining back in 2002 when Germany first erected IWT across the border.
We need the governors to be protective and go back to real environmental protection, and I am old enough to appreciate 'GE brings good things to life' - all the post-WW II propaganda about the wonders of electric gadgets, especially for the housewife - my mom delegated use of those floor buffers etc to me.
Maine has some of the most radical electrification agenda of anywhere, including for vehicles. It seems to also have some of the most ignorant politicians - to save a small number of the TRANSIENT construction jobs, he will fight for wind development and ignorantly say that cats kill more birds- NOT ON MAINE MOUNTAINS.
I have to ask, how are those earth-movers, etc., highly dependent on fossil/petroleum, in construction going to operate- wind turbines???
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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