Is government money worth the cost of wind turbines?
Cumberland Times-News | September 11, 2015 | www.times-news.com
Cumberland Times-News | September 11, 2015 | www.times-news.com
Local government is hot for wind turbines on Dan’s Mountain, a tourist spot and wildlife refuge. Creade Brodie, Allegany county commissioner, claims it will bring in $600,000 a year (“Brodie says wind revenue could aid fire companies,” Aug. 25 Times-News, Page 1A).
What he’s not saying is that the “tax” money is in government subsidies to pay our local government to have those wind turbines installed.
Watch the wording when dealing with politicians. He said it “could” be used to help fire and rescue, not that it “would” be used in such a way. Politicians wordsmith to get the public behind them, being careful to skirt the truth just enough to let the public believe one thing without the politicians committing themselves to what they said.
I’ve done research on alternative energy. Wind turbines will not generate enough profits to pay for the cost of removing their carcasses when they stop working in a few years. Wind turbine companies won’t build anywhere they are required to clean up after themselves.
That should raise a red-flag to anyone not blinded by dollar signs and the lure of “free” government subsidy money. Such “free” money always has strings, and never forget, the government doesn’t make money, it is totally supported by our tax dollars.
Current technology in “renewable energy” is unable to supply large amounts of consistent power. Once government subsidy money stops, the alternative energy companies fail. The little-publicized fact is that current alternative energy only works on a small scale, house-by-house.
However, if each house went mostly off-the-grid, this would cut into the profits of energy corporations. That is why corporations are desperate to force it to work large scale – whether the technology is ready or not – and willing to sacrifice land, animals, and people.
Talk to people in Garrett County living near those turbines. I did. People living with them hate them. They make a constant noise and birds and bats die getting hit by the blades; causing a stink if not cleared quickly from the base of the turbines.
They see no lowering of their electric bills, but it does lower property values to have a wind turbine farm in your back yard. People living next to wind turbines also suffer from related health issues.
To put up turbines, Dan’s Mountain will be clear-cut, which means removing all trees and plants, destroying all animal habitats. If it were not for the “political correctness” of alternative energy, environmentalists would be up-in-arms at the destruction of the land and death of the animals.
Once Dan’s Mountain is clear-cut, tourism will become a thing of the past, and families that make their living off it will lose their livelihood.
The noise and sight of those turbines is not compatible with the tourist trade. All those living on Dan’s Mountain, or working there, will be affected. There will be no jobs generated by putting wind turbines in Allegany County. The corporation installing them will send in their own people.
That $600,000 might sound good to county politicians, but at what cost to those living here? Wind energy is only 1.95 percent of the total energy supply, solar .05 percent, coal 43.49 percent and nuclear 34.72 percent.
Why destroy people’s lives for a technology that isn’t ready to supply large amounts of energy?
Will we allow the continued destruction of the beauty of Western Maryland, all for the greed of corporations and government officials?
I say a NO to wind turbines and concentrated solar plants in Allegany County! When science improves the technology and it becomes a proven high-energy producing vehicle without massive land destruction, we can reconsider it.
Dana Hites
LaVale
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/09/11/is-government-money-worth-the-cost-of-wind-turbines/