Comments - Maine Energy Laws Making Their Way To The Governor. - Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine2024-03-28T16:48:47Zhttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=4401701%3ABlogPost%3A169563&xn_auth=noMaine steps up clean energy t…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2019-06-17:4401701:Comment:1696532019-06-17T22:51:11.271ZLong Islanderhttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/LongIslander
<p>Maine steps up clean energy turnaround, tees up 80% RPS, pro-solar bills</p>
<p><a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/maine-steps-up-clean-energy-turnaround-tees-up-80-rps-pro-solar-bills/556783/" target="_blank">https://www.utilitydive.com/news/maine-steps-up-clean-energy-turnaround-tees-up-80-rps-pro-solar-bills/556783/</a></p>
<p>Maine steps up clean energy turnaround, tees up 80% RPS, pro-solar bills</p>
<p><a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/maine-steps-up-clean-energy-turnaround-tees-up-80-rps-pro-solar-bills/556783/" target="_blank">https://www.utilitydive.com/news/maine-steps-up-clean-energy-turnaround-tees-up-80-rps-pro-solar-bills/556783/</a></p> She will bankrupt the state i…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2019-06-17:4401701:Comment:1696512019-06-17T12:55:33.882ZJames M. Talcotthttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/JamesMTalcott
<p>She will bankrupt the state in short order and the "Progressives" in the South can be proud of their "works." She signs bills like I change socks!</p>
<p>She will bankrupt the state in short order and the "Progressives" in the South can be proud of their "works." She signs bills like I change socks!</p> She will likely sign all of t…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2019-06-16:4401701:Comment:1696452019-06-16T18:48:34.611ZWillem Posthttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/WillemPost942
<p>She will likely sign all of them.It is going to cost Jane and Joe Maine worker plenty.</p>
<p>The multi-millionaires will ride the subsidy gravy train and make lots of "campaign" contributions to pro RE legislators.</p>
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<p><strong>Wind and Solar Subsidies Provide a Bonanza for Wall Street…</strong></p>
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<p>She will likely sign all of them.It is going to cost Jane and Joe Maine worker plenty.</p>
<p>The multi-millionaires will ride the subsidy gravy train and make lots of "campaign" contributions to pro RE legislators.</p>
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<p><strong>Wind and Solar Subsidies Provide a Bonanza for Wall Street</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/the-more-wind-and-solar-the-higher-the-electric-rates" target="_blank">http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/the-more-wind-and-solar-the-higher-the-electric-rates</a></p>
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<p>This URL shows wind and solar prices per kWh would be at least 50% higher without direct and indirect subsidies. They would be even higher, if the costs of other items were properly allocated to the owners of wind and solar projects, instead of shifted elsewhere. See below section High Levels of Wind and Solar Require Energy Storage.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/economics-of-tesla-powerpack-and-powerwall-systems">http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/economics-of-tesla-powerpack-and-powerwall-systems</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/large-scale-solar-plants-require-large-scale-battery-systems" target="_blank">http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/large-scale-solar-plants-require-large-scale-battery-systems</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.usu.edu/ipe/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/UnseenWindFull.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.usu.edu/ipe/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/UnseenWindFull.pdf</a></p>
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<p>This URL shows about 2/3 of the financial value of a wind project is due to <strong>direct and indirect </strong>subsidies, and the other 1/3 is due to electricity sales.</p>
<p><a href="http://johnrsweet.com/Personal/Wind/PDF/Schleede-BigMoney-20050414.pdf">http://johnrsweet.com/Personal/Wind/PDF/Schleede-BigMoney-20050414.pdf</a></p>
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<p><strong>- Indirect </strong>subsidies are due to federal and state tax rebates due to loan interest deductions from taxable income, and federal and state MARCS depreciation deductions from taxable income.</p>
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<p><strong>- Direct </strong>subsidies are up-front federal and state cash grants, the partial waiving of state sales taxes, the partial waiving of local property, municipal and school taxes. See URLs.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/excessive-subsidies-for-2200-kw-field-mounted-solar-system-in">http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/excessive-subsidies-for-2200-kw-field-mounted-solar-system-in</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/subsidy/pdf/subsidy.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/subsidy/pdf/subsidy.pdf</a></p>
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<p>Any owner, foreign or domestic, of a wind and/or solar project, looking to shelter taxable income from their other US businesses, is allowed to depreciate in 6 years almost the entire cost of a wind and solar project under the IRS scheme called Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System, MARCS. The normal period for other forms of utility depreciation is about 20 years.</p>
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<p>Then, with help of Wall Street financial wizardry from financial tax shelter advisers, such as BNEF*, JPMorgan, Lazard, etc., the owner sells the project to a new owner who is allowed to depreciate, according to MARCS, almost his entire cost all over again. Over the past 20 years, there now are many thousands of owners of RE projects who are cashing in on that bonanza.</p>
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<p><strong>Loss of Federal and State Tax Revenues</strong>: The loss of tax revenues to federal and state governments due to MARCS was estimated by the IRS at $266 billion for the 5y period of 2017 - 2021, or about $53.2 billion/y.</p>
<p>The IRS is required to annually provide a 5y-running estimate to Congress, by law.</p>
<p>The next report would be for the 2018 - 2022 period</p>
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<p>The<strong>indirect</strong> largesse of about $53.2 billion/y, mostly for wind and solar plants^ that produce expensive, variable/intermittent electricity, <strong>does not show up in electric rates</strong>. It likely is added to federal and state debts.</p>
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<p>Most of the <strong>direct </strong>federal subsidies to all energy projects of about $25 billion/y also <strong>do not show up in electric rates</strong>. They likely were also added to the federal debt.</p>
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<p>Most of the <strong>direct </strong>state subsidies to RE projects likely were added to state debts.</p>
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<p>The additional costs of state-mandated RPS requirements likely were added to the utility rate base for electric rates.</p>
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<p>* BNEF is Bloomberg New Energy Finance, owned by the pro-RE former Mayor Bloomberg of New York, which provides financial services to the wealthy of the world, including providing them with tax avoidance schemes.</p>
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<p>^ In New England, wind is near zero for about 30% of the hours of the year, and solar is minimal or zero for about 70% of the hours of the year. Often these hours coincide. Where would the electricity come from during these hours?</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/68227.pdf">https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/68227.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/tax-equity-investors-break-their-silence-on-tax-bill#gs.GDbC2YIS">https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/tax-equity-investors-break-their-silence-on-tax-bill#gs.GDbC2YIS</a></p>
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<p><strong>Warren Buffett Quote:</strong> "I will do anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire's tax rate," Buffet told an audience in Omaha, Nebraska recently. "For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That's the only reason to build them. They don't make sense without the tax credit." </p>
<p><a href="https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/nancy-pfotenhauer/2014/05/12/even-warren-buffet-admits-wind-energy-is-a-bad-investment" target="_blank">https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/nancy-pfotenhauer/2014/05/12/even-warren-buffet-admits-wind-energy-is-a-bad-investment</a></p>