January 18, 2014
Alabama, Opinions

Monstrous machines sucking taxpayer dollars

By John F. Floyd, Special to The Times | The Gadsden Times | January 17, 2014 | www.gadsdentimes.com

I don’t ordinarily respond to comments about what I write. Everyone doesn’t agree with me, and should not. However, there are commentaries that scream for a response. A prime example was John Feehery’s commentary in the Jan. 13 Gadsden Times entitled “Wind energy myths run wild.”

A lobbyist for the industry, Feehery states wind energy generation will lead to lower energy costs for Alabama consumers. Facts tell a different story.

A report from the Department of Energy entitled “Direct Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy in Fiscal Year 2010” identifies federal subsidies. The subsidy for gas and oil was $654 million. Hydro power got $215 million, coal $1.189 billion and nuclear $2.499 billion. Solar received $968 million and wind received $4.986 billion. Wind was the largest recipient of taxpayer dollars and other energy generators don’t even come close.

Coal, oil and gas can survive without subsidies. Wind and solar cannot. Take the subsidies away from wind energy and it is no longer financially viable. The question the wind energy industry will not answer is, “Can the wind industry survive if taxpayer subsidies disappear?”

For the record, I am against all subsidies for energy producing companies. The problem in the United States is that once a subsidy is granted to anybody or any company, the subsidy never is rescinded. The lobbies for subsidized companies take on a life of their own and become very powerful, much like the wind lobby.

Feehery wrote that I made “tangential” arguments to cast a shadow on the wind industry. There wasn’t anything “tangential” about it, I was speaking from the “empirical method.” I opened the horse’s mouth and looked inside, and what I see from personal experience are monstrous machines sucking taxpayer dollars. These monsters are called wind turbines.

On Pioneer Green Energy’s website, the company talks of the giant turbines being “painted white and blending in with the background, they are hardly visible above the tree line and people actually stop noticing.” Hardly visible? These giant turbines are more than 500 feet high, don’t blend in with anything, they dominate tree lines and destroy the natural environment.

Feehery relates the need for wind power to “taxpayers, ratepayers and national security.” Tell me how an energy producer that is classified as an “intermittent” supplier could enhance national security.

An intermittent supplier is one whose output cannot be controlled by an operator. As in the case with wind, when wind is passing across the blades in sufficient velocity, power is generated. When there is an absence of wind, no power is generated. Try running a factory or any type strategic operation on intermittent energy!

Feehery talks about budget experts who have determined wind power is financially viable, but mentions no sources. If he is talking about the study done by Jacksonville State University’s Center for Economic Development, much of the data supplied by Pioneer Green Energy is debatable and flawed.

The most incredible statement made by Feehery was, “Energy prices have gone down dramatically when wind is a part of the mix.” Because of the small contribution to the U.S. power grid of established wind-generating capacity, there is no way wind energy could have a measurable effect on the price of energy to the American ratepayer, good or bad.

Feehery says renewable energy is good politics. I agree it is good politics, but politics are not what we need in determination of good energy policy. Power companies have agreed to buy wind output because they think the public perception of their company is better if support of green energy is part of a company’s strategic plan. Wind is one of those “feel good” policies so prominent in our country today.

Environmentalists still think wind energy has no negative consequences, not even the killing of bald eagles and other species of birds. The American Audubon Society has been mute on the killing of birds, even endangered species. Environmentalists are exhibiting some of the “good politics” Feehery referenced. “Good politics” has resulted in a moratorium of 30 years granted to the wind companies by the Obama Administration for killing bald eagles

Feehery referred to my “crocodile tears” for birds everywhere. I don’t know his definition of crocodile tears, but I do grieve for the hundreds of endangered species killed every year by turbines. Duke Power just paid a $1 million fine for killing bald eagles caught in the vortexes and whirling blades of killing machines.

There are no state, county or local laws that prohibit the installation of giant wind turbines. Therefore, some semblance of control must be enacted by the Legislature. Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, is attempting to get regulatory legislation passed by state government, but the ultimate regulators are the citizens of Etowah and Cherokee counties. Williams could use help from House Minority Leader Craig Ford, D-Gadsden. Where does he stand on this critical issue?

Once these mammoth machines are in place, they are there forever, either functioning or as cancers on the landscape. Whether you are against or for wind machines being installed, your voice must be heard. Educate yourself on pros and cons. Wind energy companies are grinding out propaganda on a daily basis.

A good source for alternative information on wind power is nowindal.com on the Internet.

Baldwin County, with the help of the Legislature, got it right. No giant wind turbines are allowed in Baldwin County.

Will Etowah and Cherokee counties follow Baldwin’s lead? If Williams and Ford perform their job responsibilities appropriately, the approval of wind turbine installation ultimately will require the approval of residents of Etowah and Cherokee counties and elected officials. This is where it should be.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/01/18/monstrous-machines-sucking-taxpayer-dollars/