February 19, 2016
Oklahoma, Texas

Energy author talks wind farms, oil tax

By Matt McCullock | KFDX | 02/18 2016 | www.texomashomepage.com

Wind energy in the United States has more than tripled since 2008, but also growing is the opposition to more wind farms.

In Texoma, there is organized opposition to a proposed wind farm in Clay County.

Renowned energy journalist, Robert Bryce, spoke at Midwestern State University today.

The overwhelming issue with the wind energy industry, according to Bryce, is that it requires too much land.

The giant turbines require a lot of space, because having a small amount of wind turbines doesn’t produce enough to justify the expense.

Bryce calls this “energy sprawl,” which basically refers to how much land is required to produce energy from alternative sources.

He says many people just believe the wind farms are an eye sore.

“There’s no question that wind energy capacity is growing rapidly but I think that that rapid growth is going to tail off, particularly as the subsidies go away,” said energy author, Robert Bryce. “I’m bullish on solar [energy].”

Speaking about a more traditional form of energy, Bryce says consumers at the gas pump will feel the blow if President Obama’s proposed “$10-per-barrel” oil tax were to be enacted.

Mr. Obama’s tax, which is expected to be proposed next week when he reveals his budget, is an effort to generate money for mass-transit investments and self-driving vehicles.

“We’ve heard about the hype of electric cars for over a century and yet, what’s happening? In January, electric vehicle sales in the United States amounted to two-tenth’s of one-percent of all vehicles sold,” Bryce said. “The programs that president Obama wants to fund using this tax on oil would almost all be spent in urban areas, not in rural areas.”

The president’s new oil tax would be be phased in over five years.

You can hear Robert Bryce speak Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Dillard Building at MSU.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/02/19/energy-author-talks-wind-farms-oil-tax/