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Government wind farm scheming doesn’t add up
Credit: The Free Press, http://mankatofreepress.com 2 December 2010 ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
I think the article published Nov. 25 titled “Losses from wind causing some utilities to struggle” is extremely important.
Utility companies have been forced by our lawmakers to purchase a certain amount of electricity from wind farms and solar-powered electrical developers at a fixed price of about 4 cents per unit. When more electricity is being purchased than said companies can use, they attempt to sell it on the open market, often at a 50 percent discount. Sounds like a typical government profit-making enterprise, losses of only 50 percent per unit. Any politician could convince themselves that’s a profit.
These transactions, however, cost the utility companies millions of dollars per year. The utility company, in order to stay in business, is forced to raise its rates to you and I – customers and taxpayers.
There is still more typical government profitmaking going on in this transaction. When we punch in “wind generators tax rebates” into a computer, we find these same wind farms are government-subsidized by grants and tax rebates.
A portion of a taxpayer’s money is returned to him/her and some more government money is given to them, to encourage them to build a wind farm.
We then must pay more taxes to make up for that amount, thus increasing our taxes in order to pay for their wind farms.
Our politicians seem to think that’s a great idea. I guess one could call it creative financing or, perhaps, redistribution of wealth.
I understand things have changed in the farm economy since I left. They no longer farm the land – they farm the government programs.
That is, indeed, a different philosophy, but can you blame them?
Bill Cutts Sr., Mankato
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