'Green' handouts hurt Michigan - by Thomas Pyle

In today's Detroit News - a great article giving the statistics on how wind energy is hurting our state:

What’s the real cost of wind power? For Michigan, it’s more than $67 million in handouts to big business.

Taxpayers forked over that much money in 2012 so that multinational corporations could experiment with wind power on the taxpayer dime — and yet over $40 million of that money wound up going to companies in other states.

It’s a textbook case of corporate welfare that doesn’t benefit Michigan.

The culprit is a federal program called the Wind Production Tax Credit.

After 20 years of taking Michiganians’ money, the wind credit expired at the end of 2013.
Now Congress is debating whether to renew this corporate cash cow.

But the evidence is mounting that these types of green and clean energy handouts are surprisingly dirty.

According to a new report by CBS News, the federal government has lavished the green energy and technology industry with at least $150 billion in taxpayer money in recent years.

This deluge of federal funding has only resulted in a string of technological flops and business bankruptcies.

There’s no shortage of examples.

Solyndra — which went bankrupt after receiving half-a-billion taxpayer dollars — is already well-known.

Abound Solar received $400 million in 2010, then filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

Fisker Automotive took $528 million from the feds in 2009 and another $392 million in 2012, then got rid of 75 percent of its workforce last April.

And LG Chem took $151 million in stimulus money to build an electric car battery plant where employees were paid to do nothing.

In all of these cases, poor and middle class taxpayers came out the real losers.

They paid for it once with their taxes and they will pay again with higher energy bills.

The winners, though, are the millionaires and billionaires who used taxpayer money to experiment with new technologies and business models.

Our loss has been their experiential and monetary gain — even if the companies they founded go under.

Even where it hasn’t fizzled, green energy’s economic impact hasn’t been that bright.

According to a comprehensive study recently released by a team of Spanish academics, each new green job costs the rest of the economy 2.2 other jobs because of the necessary subsidies.

More damning is their finding that each green megawatt of energy destroys an average of over 5 jobs, with each solar-powered megawatt eliminating nearly 9 jobs and each wind-powered megawatt costing over 4 jobs.

These perverse trade-offs can be laid at the feet of government energy subsidies.

Whether it’s $150 bucks or $150 billion, the government’s financial intervention distorts the economy by shifting investment from proven job creators to expensive experiments that — as Solyndra and others demonstrate — don’t always pan out.

The Spanish study bears directly on America’s experience because many of our country’s green job initiatives are based on the Spanish model.

In fact, President Barack Obama has specifically praised Spain’s green jobs experiments on numerous occasions, labeling theirs a system worth emulating.

All of this information directly bears on the question of wind production tax credits and Michigan.

This handout gives wind electricity producers a lucrative taxpayer funded subsidy of 50 to 75 percent of wind’s wholesale electricity costs.

Even then, electricity from new wind facilities still costs at least 30 percent more than conventionally generated electricity, according to the Department of Energy.

The wind production tax credit is thus a microcosm of the problems inherent in the green energy industry.

Like other taxpayer-funded green initiatives, renewing it would only worsen the negative effects that such subsidies have already had on job creation and economic growth, while enabling green job billionaires to continue their experiments with Michiganians’ money.

There’s nothing clean about perpetuating such a system.

You can read Thomas Pyle's article here.  If you haven't yet contacted your representative, there's still time.

This Thursday, Forest Hill Energy

An application for the extension of an existing special land use and accompanying final site plan has been submitted by Forest Hill Energy.  It's up for renewal on Jan 29.

It will be voted on at the Clinton County Planning Commission meeting this Thursday, Jan 9, at 7:00 p.m. at the Clinton County Courthouse in St Johns.

Please come to let the board hear your opinion on this renewal.  Thanks!

See the official agenda here.

Today's the day

Please call or email Representative Dave Camp TODAY (Monday, January 6th) about funding for energy.  Ask him not to extend funding for wind energy projects.  Let's try to deluge his office, this first day of 2014 session, with a mandate from his constituents!  He works for us, remember:  let's ask him to earn his keep!

Email Camp

or call him at 1-800-342-2455.

Hope ...

 A constituent just received a letter from Representative Dave Camp which states:  'H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act, signed into law on January 2, included a one year extension of the wid Production Tax Credit through December 31, 2013.  The House of Representatives did not take up legislation to extend the credit into next year before adjourning the 2013 legislative session.'

What this means, folks:  PUT THE PRESSURE ON REPRESENTATIVE CAMP in a HUGE way starting on January 6, 2014!!!!  If they just bulldoze that funding bill through, wind turbines will be funded again through 2014.  If we can get the funding pulled, the project will stop.

Again, IF WE CAN GET THE FUNDING PULLED, THE PROJECT WILL STOP.

It is ONLY through our voices that the funding will be pulled.  Call everyone you know and ask everyone to please e-mail Rep. Camp on Friday, January 3rd so he has all of this for January session.   Please make it your New Year's resolution to ask 5 people to write their representative.

Thank you.  Merry Christmas; Happy New Year!

2013 recap and message!

Below is a recap of 2013 from Kevon Martis.  I still can't believe so much has been accomplished in such a sort time.  As you read the letter, please keep in mind that none of this would be possible without Kevon's efforts.  Those of you who haven't met him, please watch one or two of his videos.  Also, the sign in front of AWEA's headquarters tells you a lot about his commitment, and fighting style.  He's not backing down to anyone.  We are on the verge of turning things around at the state and possibly bringing an end to the project here in Clinton Co.  The thing Kevon needs most right now is donations to the IICC to help cover his traveling expenses.  I urge you to go to the www.iiccusa.org website and help in any way you can or contact me.

Thanks,

I wish you all a very merry and blessed Christmas.

Ken Wieber

Dear IICC Supporters and interested observers:

 

Sorry I am so late with this update. But what a busy year!

 

Thinking back over the past 12 months, it is amazing the things we have accomplished together.

 

We attended nearly every Energy Forum in the state and brought informed speakers and testimony  before the MPSC and MEO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIq2ewZCPZQ

 

I was able to present as a formal speaker in Traverse City. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6hGNIdaugU

 

We picketed several Energy Forum events and handed out literature across the state and made our “Death Turbine” infamous! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVFnOuV7BHU

 

We strengthened our ties with our Ohio brethren, excluding college football J :

We picketed the AWEA in Columbus and East Lansing and got great press coverage for our efforts.   http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/11/michigan_renewable_energy_wind.html

 

We assembled a team of expert witnesses who testified before both the Ohio House and Senate Public Utility Committees. Our written testimonies are here: http://www.ohiogreenstrategies.com/details.aspx?id=1263

 

My video from that event is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1YHX0Nw518

 

Many thanks to Robert Rand, Lisa Linowes, Dr. Michael Giberson, Dr. George Taylor, Dr. Jay Lehr, Dan Simmons and James Fuscaldo, J.D.  and ESPECIALLY Julie Johnson and Tom Stacy who worked tirelessly to put it all together.

 

And a huge thank you for everyone’s financial support that made this event possible!

 

Our efforts in Ohio elicited a sharp rebuke from Senator Seitz to AWEA’s Michael Goggin:

 

 

Senator Seitz is still working aggressively to roll back Ohio’s RPS law and is even considering bringing suit against their instate generation mandate personally. http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/12/04/seitz-now-backing-elimination-of.html?page=all

 

I testified before the Michigan House Energy and Tech committee against PA295:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhEXQ16U_2c

James Fuscaldo and I testified before the MPSC with respect to the unconstitutional instate renewable energy mandate. http://iiccusa.org/uncategorized/the-illegality-of-pa295-instate-generation-requirement/

 

I submitted a 30 page response to the State’s Draft Report on Renewable Energy. It appears that not only did we help frame the debate, the majority of my suggestions were incorporated in the final report. http://miideas.dtmb.michigan.gov/a/idea/12230/download

 

And last week I returned from my trip to Washington DC where I was joined by Lisa Linowes from windaction.org as well as Tom Stacy from Ohio.

 

We were hosted by the Institute for Energy Research. We spoke before maybe 60 congressional staffers, the press and AWEA’s Michael Goggin.

 

Video of my testimony is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eryIPn95dQA

 

I have video of the other presenters as well but have not had time to edit them. But their excellent written testimonies are here: Lisa Linowes- http://www.masterresource.org/2013/12/linowes-negative-wind-pricing/#more-28910

Tom Stacy- http://www.masterresource.org/2013/12/wind-misfit-technology-ier4-stacey/

 

And I left a present at AWEA’s HQ-which then strangely disappeared J

 

 

Tom, Lisa and I were able to interact with many congressional staffers and several members of congress.

 

I attempted to meet with Rep. Dave Camp’s staffer Adam Pradko but he would not see me. That was disappointing. It is deeply disturbing to me that Rep. Camp will speak to AWEA but not speak to his constituents about wind energy. Neither will Rep. Camp share his video presentation from the East Lansing AWEA event with his Michigan constituents.

 

There is not as much support for extending the Wind Energy PTC as there was last year. But AWEA has deep pockets and they are everywhere- from Lansing to Columbus to DC. But this year-thanks to your support- IICC was right there with them!

  

Senator’s Lamar Alexander (R)  and Joe Manchin (D) have signed a letter opposing the extension of the PTC.

 

Michigan Senators are MIA on this matter. You may want to forward this letter to them and ask why their name does not appear on it.

 

(The price of liberty is eternal vigilance…..but what a pain! J)

 

I have been contacted by another community in the Thumb asking for our support to adopt a safe wind energy ordinance. We will do all we can.

 

There are many legal actions taking place around the state. I do not have time to recount them all at this time.

 

But one major blow to Big Wind is that Consumer’s Energy’s Lakewinds project was found to be out of compliance with the county zoning ordinance and the county’s third party consultant determined that Tech Environmental’s Peter Guldberg had designed the plant in such a way that it would never comply with the ordinance in the first place. Jack Spencer of the Michigan Capitol Confidential covered it well here: http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/19446

 

CMS Energy has appealed to the Mason County ZBA to overturn the zoning board’s unanimous decision that declared Lakewinds out of compliance. Let us hope the Mason County ZBA concurs with their own zoning board.

 

IF CMS loses at the ZBA we expect them to bring suit.

 

If CMS loses in court, their only apparent recourse would be to curtail the turbine operations to comply with the noise ordinance-which would be very expensive-or buy out the surrounding properties. Let us hope it is the latter. Or both!

 

 

Looking back over this list of events I realize there are so many people across Michigan and Ohio who helped us spread our message in so many ways.

 

And at a time when our federal government on both sides of the aisle seems so out of touch with the values of ordinary citizens, it is a real joy to be a tiny part of changing our state and nation for the better.

 

And better yet is the fact that we work together on these matters despite our different life experiences and party affiliations.

 

Many of us have sacrificed years of hard work in the battle for a sane energy policy. I am humbled to be numbered among you.

 

And I am humbled by the fact that when you folks hear of another community under threat, you stand prepared to fight again-even though that community may be hundreds of miles from your home.

 

Remember-you cannot be a NIMBY when you fight irresponsible wind development in someone else’s backyard! J

 

 

I am often asked about the status of renewable energy mandates in Michigan.

 

I do not believe the governor or legislature is interested in increasing a renewable energy mandate that results in far more wind turbines across the state.

 

They know that Michigan wind is expensive compared to our regional peers, the instate mandate is illegal and turbines are driving people from their homes while doing essentially no environmental good.

 

I have met only a couple legislators in Lansing that do not appear to understand that essential truth.

 

 

Finally:

 

We have done a lot with a little this year.

 

The truth is that we have only meager financial resources and little political clout. We cannot buy politicians or threaten to move voter blocks of hundreds of thousands of people.

 

All we have is truth and science on our side.

 

But I still believe that if we can continue to be clever, accurate and persistent with our arguments, we will change the world and stop the turbine madness.

 

 

From the bottom of my heart and on the behalf of the directors of the IICC: I wish you all health, peace, joy and justice for 2014.

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah!

 

 

Kevon Martis

Director

www.iiccusa.org

Please contact your representative

Powering Down the Wind Subsidy - from the Wall Street Journal:

The media are saying that the 113th Congress is on track to be "the least productive" on record—as if that's bad for the country. Let's hope gridlock lasts long enough to kill the crony capitalist special known as the wind production tax credit.

This subsidy that was supposed to be temporary is now 20 years old, providing a taxpayer gift to wind companies of 2.3 cents per kilowatt hour. The handout would cost $18 billion over the next five years. The good news is that it is due to expire on December 31 unless Congress acts to extend it, so House Republicans can accomplish something for taxpayers by doing nothing.

With more than 60,000 megawatts of generation in the U.S. and utility-scale projects in 39 states, wind-power producers are no longer an "infant industry." The Department of Energy says that wind power made up 43% of all newly constructed generation in 2012, surpassing even natural gas.

Much of this production is due to the tax credit, which is so generous relative to the wholesale price of electricity that it is distorting energy investment. The handout brings the cost of wind production to nearly zero, which means wind producers are at times paying grid operators to take their wind electricity. This is discouraging investment in other forms of energy, especially in the natural-gas electric generation that is required to back up intermittent wind production—and to keep the lights on as the Obama Administration tries to kill coal-fired power ...
Read the entire article here.

Contact Dave Camp now

The Production Tax Credits for renewable energy from all sources (hydropower, solar, wind, and landfill gas) EXPIRE on December 31, 2013.

Congressman Camp wrote:  "In light of the federal government's severe budgetary constraints, I believe Congress should reexamine the full array of energy incentives to ensure these programs are effective from a public policy standpoint and a prudent use of taxpayer dollars."

We highly suggest that each one of us sends U.S. Representative Dave Camp an email that asks that the production tax credits for wind energy, because wind energy is neither cost effective nor a prudent use of taxpayer dollars, NOT be renewed as of December 31, 2013.

Time is running out. If we could all do this by Friday, it might help.  Please pass it on.

Email Dave Camp now.