Wind Power Misinformation in the Empire State

“Manhattan Institute scholar, Robert Bryce, recently reported that the wind industry has garnered $176 billion of crony cash here in the U.S. It’s no wonder the American Wind Energy Association spends over $20 million per year lobbying for more of the same!”

Who can be in favor of industrial wind blight, enriching the top one percent at the expense of taxpayers, ratepayers, and the rural environment? Yes, as Donald Trump has noted, “America is being auctioned off to the highest bidder.”

The reason for this travesty of concentrated benefits, diffused costs at the hand of government is half-truths and misinformation. A recent article, NY looks to the wind to replace its fossil fuel diet, by Joe Mahoney, is a case in point.

There is nothing “free,” “clean,” or “green” about industrial wind. Quite to the contrary, the true costs of industrial wind development are astronomical. Yet, the wishful thinking of Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Schneiderman, and ‘green’ ideologues who benefit from this massive taxpayer and ratepayer rip-off, have been repeated unquestioned by many in the media for years now.

Mr. Mahoney’s article highlighted Cuomo’s approval of the proposed offshore wind factory off of Montauk, New York, saying:

The offshore “wind farm” could be a symbol of how the state can meet Cuomo’s ambitious goal of getting half of New York’s energy from carbon-free sources by 2030.  Now, those sources represent about 23 percent of the state’s energy draw.

That statement is inaccurate.

New York State’s hydro power supplies approximately 23% of New York State electricity generation all by itself.  New York State’s emissions-free nuclear power supplies approximately another 30% of New York State’s electricity generation. “Other Renewables” (ie: wind, solar, biofuels, geothermal, etc) now provide another 3%, as cited by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Clearly, current hydro and nuclear power supplies alone in New York State are already exceeding Cuomo’s emissions-free target of 50%, but for some reason, emissions-free nuclear is NOT counted towards New York’s “emissions-free” goal.

Most infuriating for New York State taxpayers and ratepayers is the fact that New York State was ALREADY GETTING approximately 50% of its electricity from emissions-free sources (19% from hydro + 29% from nuclear + 1% from “Other Renewables”) back in 2000 – BEFORE Governor Cuomo & Co began throwing billions of dollars of taxpayer and ratepayer wealth into the wind, plastering rural New York with these bird-slaughtering lemons, as reported here.

Scientific Proof MIA

As our government officials continue to misdirect great resources into the wind, the key question that needs to be asked by everyone is this:

~ Where is the Scientific PROOF that wind energy is a NET societal benefit?

The answer is that there is NO such scientific proof.  None. Nada.

However, there is much proof that development of sprawling, unreliable, industrial wind factories has been vastly detrimental across the nation and the world. So much so, President Obama had to approve 30-Year EAGLE-KILL permits specifically to accommodate the bird-slaughtering wind industry.

Governor Cuomo’s pie-in-the-sky ‘green’ energy policy is bereft of any realistic assessment of the expensive lessons already learned in Europe and elsewhere as a result of pushing these ‘renewable’ energy policies. Results include, but are not limited to: “skyrocketing” electricity rates, industries fleeing, 2 – 4 jobs lost for every ‘green’ job created, destroyed habitats and countryside, birds and bats slaughtered, lost property values, health issues, utter civil discord, and increasing numbers of people being thrust into ‘energy poverty.’

All this as a result of the same ‘green’ mess Governor Cuomo, President Obama, and Hillary Clinton continue to push. While they demonize fossil fuel use and promise to rid us of it, the truth is that the availability of reliable, affordable power thanks to fossil fuels is directly correlated with greatly improved health and longevity here in the U.S., as explained by Alex Epstein in his powerful book, The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.

“It’s all about the money!”

WHY do they continue to push such an obvious failure, you ask? Simple: the green is money!

Manhattan Institute scholar, Robert Bryce, recently reported that the wind industry has garnered $176 billion of crony cash here in the US. It’s no wonder the American Wind Energy Association spends over $20 million per year lobbying for more of the same! Big Wind and the Big Banks who back them are playing the system to tap into taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ wallets, while the crony-politicians who enable the whole dastardly deal get hefty ‘campaign donations’ in return. The greatest Ponzi Schemes of all times pale in comparison to the eco-heist these ‘Green Gangsters’ are pulling off.

Industrial wind was saved in the U.S. by Enron as a tax-shelter-generating scheme. Nothing about that has changed. Big Wind enriches the top one percent, the rent-seekers, at taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ expense. Just ask Warren Buffett, who said,

We get tax credits if we build “wind farms.” That’s the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without the tax credits.

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump was absolutely correct when he said in regard to our nation’s economic demise, we are being auctioned to the highest bidder. The Industrial Wind blight across America exemplifies this sad reality!

Action Required!

What will reverse the present state of affairs is political activism by the exploited majority. Tell your elected  officials to STOP wasting OUR money on the environmentally destructive CONSUMER FRAUD that is industrial wind energy. If they won’t, vote the bums out!

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Mary Kay Barton is a retired New York State-certified Health Educator, Cornell-certified Master Gardener, and a tireless advocate for scientifically sound, affordable, and reliable electricity for all Americans. She has served over the past decade in local Water Quality organizations and enjoys gardening and birding in her National Wildlife Federation “Backyard Wildlife Habitat.”