November 23, 2020
Letters, South Dakota

Other facts about wind energy

Letters | The Mitchell Republic | Nov 22nd 2020 | www.mitchellrepublic.com

In response to Brian Roberts’ letter “Wind energy is powerful for SD” (Mitchell Republic, Oct. 31) I would take the opposite view that “Wind energy is the biggest taxpayer scam in our lifetime.” Wind energy is just a way of transferring wealth from middle class taxpayers to rich multinational corporations with high paid lobbyists under the guise of “climate change.” The Production Tax Credit first established in 1992 was supposed to be an incentive for the industry to get started and eventually phase out. But the complete phase out never comes. The subsidy from 1992 through 2029 (projected) will be just under $150 billion. From 2007 to 2015, 75 percent of the PTC subsidies went to only 15 parent companies.

The jobs Roberts talks about are dependent on the PTC. When the PTC goes away, so does wind energy. Wind is only 40 percent efficient and needs 100 percent backup from another source. Wind is renewable, but wind turbines are not. They are an environmental annoyance. Recently John Thune and Chuck Grassley asked the Secretary of the Treasury to extend the PTC in the COVIVD stimulus bills.

What’s wind energy have to do with Covid? They previously said they wanted to phase it out but changed their minds. Thune, Grassley, Rounds, Dusty Johnson and Gov. Noem, AOC, Joe Biden are all on the same page. Look around. You seldom drive the highway anymore without passing, meeting or looking at a wind turbine.

All the same time Excel Energy is raising its rates 15 percent so customers can pay for the projects (the second time). Creating jobs for an inefficient intermittent energy source like wind is a joke. Fires, wars, car accidents all create jobs. Legalized marijuana will create a lot of jobs. Wind is raising our electricity rates, ruining our beautiful state, destroying our topsoil, killing our birds and making people sick that live next to these things. Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking it’s ever going to amount to anything on its own.

Gregg Hubner

Avon


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/11/23/other-facts-about-wind-energy/