Corporate welfare: the rest of us pay  

Credit:  Times Argus, www.timesargus.com 1 November 2011 ~~

Mary Powell wants us to get a warm feeling about GMP’s Lowell industrial wind plant. She expounds on the virtues of jobs and green energy, “for Vermonters, by Vermonters.” The reality is that we are talking about the welfare of a multibillion-dollar international corporation. Ms. Powell will say and do whatever is necessary to perform the primary requirement of her job, maximize profits for shareholders. (She is now threatening and intimidating a retired farm couple for not excluding sightseers from their 600-acre property which happens to abut the Lowell project.) The corporate role of GMP is making money for Gaz Metro investors. How the bottom line is derived is inconsequential; the product could just as well be infant formula or nuclear weapons.

The trouble with the Lowell project is its lack of viability. Folks in the Kingdom have become better informed, once faced with the specter of 460-foot behemoths and flashing lights. A basic understanding of the science, finances and worldwide experience with turbines will convince you of the fallacy of wind power. Well-heeled CEOs, investors, brokers, lawyers, etc. are making out like bandits with wind; the rest of us just pay and pay. Before they move into your neighborhood, do some serious scientific research. If you’re lulled in with the promotions, you lose. When GMP presents the green and groovy side, it’s for profits because shareholders don’t give something for nothing. For a look at what Powell could do for your mountaintops, search the internet for Lowell Mountains photos and videos.

I intend no disrespect for the rank and file at GMP.

Peter Romans

Greensboro