Wind industry crying about U.S. tax proposal
The world’s largest wind turbine makers said a proposed Republican tax bill that would cut support for the industry in the U.S. would put its businesses and future investment at risk, in a rare public criticism on Friday of government proposals.......Equipment makers operating in the world’s second-largest wind turbine market have relied upon so-called production tax credits (PTC) agreed in 2015. In a new tax bill, unveiled late on Thursday, the PTC would be cut to 1.5 dollar cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) from 2.4 cents.......The tax credit scheme was considered critical to enabling wind projects to compete with fossil fuel plants and the wind energy industry has said the proposed cuts put $50 billion in planned investment at risk.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-renewables-vestas-wind/w...
“Despite comments to the contrary, this proposal reneges on the tax reform deal that was already agreed to, and would impose a retroactive tax hike on an entire industry,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
https://www.awea.org/HouseTaxProposal2017
Sorry Tom, but the devastation and misery wrought by the PTC all of these years reneges on the Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
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Comment
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Comment by Willem Post on November 6, 2017 at 12:47pm
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Various Subsidies for Wind and Solar: We pay for electricity through our monthly electricity bills and through taxes that finance various subsidies for wind and other energy producers, such as:
- The federal ITC, 30% of the qualified portion of the turnkey capital cost. The federal ITC is an upfront, tax credit that can be applied against any of owner’s taxes.
- The state ITC, usually a percentage of the federal ITC. The state ITC is an upfront, tax credit that can be applied against any of owner’s taxes.
- The federal production tax credit, PTC, of 2.3 c/kWh for the first 10 years of operation, a subsidy of 2.3/5 = 46% of the US average wholesale price. No wonder owners are crowing about underbidding traditional generating plants. For example, in areas with good winds, low construction costs and low operation and maintenance costs, if an owner’s cost is 7.3 c/kWh and he deducts 2.3 c/kWh as PTC, then his bid price could be 5 c/kWh, which is sufficient to get the contract, in most cases, and “competitive” with traditional plants.
- The federal and state tax savings due to rapid depreciation write-offs in about 5 to 6 years, much more rapid than normal utility equipment write-off schedules of 10 to 20 years. Having tax savings earlier, instead of later, is financially more advantageous.
- The exemption of equipment purchases from the state sales tax and from the education property tax.
- Selling at generous feed in tariffs of about 9 - 10 c/kWh in areas with high capital costs and low capacity factors (CFs), such as New England.
- Selling renewable energy credits, RECs, which lower the utility purchased RE energy cost by up to 50%.
- Loan guarantees by the federal and state government, which lower the interest rate of the funds borrowed from private entities, because the federal and state government assume the risk of the loans.
NOTE:
Wind ITC and Wind PTC decrease in 2017, 2018, 2019, and expire in 2020.
Solar ITC decreases in 2020, 2021, and expires in 2022.
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They are lucky to get even 1.5 c/kWh as PTC
They still have the ridiculously short 5 y depreciation write off, which means they can write off most of the turnkey capital cost, save a lot in federal and state taxes, and laugh all the way to the bank, while us suckers have to make up the difference, plus pay higher electric rates.
The sooner the Warren Buffett types get their wings clipped, the better.
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Comment by Barbara Durkin on November 4, 2017 at 3:46pm
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That the Town of Falmouth failed to disclose to residents Vesta's warning letter about noise, (that required Town Administrator's signature), should be sufficient to support a Tort case for damages to turbine neighbors harmed by "nuisance" wind turbines for seven years.
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Comment by Frank Haggerty on November 4, 2017 at 1:20pm
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Falmouth Massachusetts Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megwatt Wind Turbine ManualCheck out noise levels : Occupational Noise Exposure See Page 231 of 511 pages on PDF reader
https://www.opsb.ohio.gov/opsb/assets/File/12-0160-Vestas%20Health%...
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Wind Energy Isn’t a Breeze' is a Powerful reflection by Leah McBride on surrender of private property rights to Big Wind-
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2017/08/why_f...
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Thank you for your eloquent eviceration of the biggest fraud of the 21st Century-sWINDle, Eskutassis!
These multinationals LLCs are very predatory and usually much more sophisticated than small town politicians they dupe and exploit.
When truth outs, as it does, fathers stop speaking to sons, neighbors fight neighbors, liberties and freedoms are gone with the wind.
We are funding the destruction of our environment while making the perps rich.
Remorseful Farmer, Ruined Land-
http://betterplan.squarespace.com/wisconsin-farmer-regrets-sayin/
Sophisticated and Predatory Wind Developers surprise landowners with $30 million in liens on their properties.
https://ontario-wind-resistance.org/2015/10/09/west-perth-farmers-h...
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Comment by Eskutassis on November 4, 2017 at 10:39am
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This reminds me of a little kid, spoiled rotten, who stomps his feet pounds his fist and keeps saying "It's Not Fair!". Well Life's Not Fair Snowflake. You have been handed a silver platter supporting a business that has NOT been able to stand on its own for 40 years. Notice that all the articles say that the "investment" from outside will dry up if the PTC is lifted. Why would that happen? Because no business investor wants to put money into a business that without a gift from the government can NEVER make any money, and would be put OUT of business by prices that the consumer would reject.
Trump, no matter what you think about him, is a Capitalist Businessman. He does not look at jobs or industries that provide jobs or build factories on the backs of taxpayers as legitimate. They are not holding up their end of the production levels, and NEVER will. The entire industry has been based on fiction and outright lies. This bill, if it goes through should provide a starting point for the dismantling of the wind industry in America. If they can be held down for eight years, they should fold their tent and go break the bank in the rest of the world.
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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