What about the subsidies?
Midland Daily News, www.ourmidland.com 2 November 2011
As an engineer, I look at the wind farm being built in Gratiot County as a work of beauty, both functional and artistic beauty.
The question others might ask is: does the wind farm have economic beauty? Natural Gas is the competitor with wind (and other renewable fuels). The price of natural gas is $4 per 1,000 cubic foot. Wind has been determined to require natural gas at $6 pmcf to be economic competitive. There must be subsidies from somewhere to make the Gratiot County wind farm viable.
Talk about government subsidies for wind power has been common but it has not been discussed relative to Gratiot County. Your readers are taxpayers so it would be important to understand just how the Gratiot County wind farm is being subsidies and by whom. If it is the federal or state governments, the taxpayer should be made aware. If it is the utility paying more than market price for electricity from the farm, the taxpayer as a user will be paying. There is no reference to any subsidy in the articles and pictures that you printed recently Oct. 9, 2011). The only reference to economic was that GE Financial Services has arranged for the financing.
What subsidies have been provided would be information that your readers would like to know. It is one thing to look at the beautiful turbines and another to look at them and see taxpayer money flowing out with every thump of the blade.
JOHN OLESON
Midland
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/11/03/what-about-the-subsidies/