In a slavish display of fealty to the oil and gas industry, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin put forward a plan in the executive budget proposal to tax the state’s wind industry out of existence.
By ending tax credits — ahead of schedule — and imposing the nation’s highest tax on wind power, this Oklahoma law would make renewable wind energy cost-prohibitive while enriching the fossil fuel industry.
EcoWatch reports, “The budget proposes a .5 cent per kilowatt-hour on wind energy—five times the wind tax in Wyoming, which along with South Dakota are the only states that tax wind energy—and accelerates the end of a tax credit, currently set to expire in 2021.”
The governor’s budget mirrors another bill working its way through state legislature.
Separate legislation proposed by Rep. Earl Sears would end “accumulation of new credits for zero-emission electric generation July 1 and caps annual payments for existing credits at $15 million a year,” reports Tulsa World.
“There’s no question wind has a place in this great state, and has a place in the energy sector,” Sears noted. “What is at hand, we absolutely have to have serious discussion about credits for wind.”
Perhaps the most acceptable avenue would be to end taxpayer-funded government welfare for all profiteering industries and corporations, including for wind and Big Oil. But tax credits — given the growth of wind-generated energy — provide fertile ground for oil and gas to go to war against renewables, in general.
“I believe the wind industry has done much better than we thought they could do, maybe than even they thought they could do,” explained Rep. Weldon Watson.
Sears said he’s “sure” ending tax credits would “impact” planned wind farms, but “When I get that call from them, I’ll tell them we’re having the same issue in state government.”
Politicians aren’t alone in seeking to get wind power off the government teat.
A group of Big Oil executives — including President Trump’s advisor, Harold Hamm, of Continental Resources — comprise the Windfall Coalition, which believes Oklahoma shouldn’t subsidize wind energy when the state should be turning more toward natural gas and has pushed lawmakers to make the appropriate changes.
Windfall and both the Oklahoma Property Rights Association and WindWaste have worked for years to tightly restrict the locations of turbines and end state tax credits.
Fossil fuels have faced quite a challenge from the wind industry, as NewsOK reported last year, “Oklahoma added more than 1,400 megawatts of wind capacity in 2015. The state remained in fourth place among states for wind capacity, with 5,184 megawatts. Almost 700 megawatts are under construction in Oklahoma, the American Wind Energy Association said in its latest market report. Oklahoma now gets about 17 percent of its electricity from wind.”
But, as Hamm explained,
“We believe now is the time to end wind subsidies in Oklahoma, due to the federal production tax credit that has been extended.”
Hamm’s group said the wind industry’s state incentives — which include a five-year property tax exemption and a 10-year, zero-emissions tax credit worth 0.5 cents per kilowatt-hour of generation — are too generous and aren’t needed anymore,” NewsOK explained. “The group also said increased use of wind generation by utilities comes at the expense of them using natural gas, dampening the collection of gross production taxes.
In other words, wind energy should be done away with because it isn’t profitable for the oil and gas industry — renewables simply pad the wrong pockets.
Proposals to, in essence, penalize the wind industry financially — taxing it beyond viability — constitute an attempt to own the wind.
Claire Bernish writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared.
Increasingly, the states are showing us that the federals don’t have a monopoly on corruption. It’s clear that these “governing” (aka victimizing) political bodies are simply not salvagable. The corruption has simply consumed the host.
When the collapse occurs, we absolutely must not allow these people to remain in charge. They have no integrity and are simply not trustworthy.
I agree with what you and CAWS indicate about the failed legal system that is at the heart of this matter and many others. The crooks have learned to not only compromise, but in some cases take over, the legal system to protect their criminality.
If the laws do not apply equally to everyone, then they are no good for anyone.
While I am also against subsidies for big oil & gas; one must also consider the downsides of wind energy. Loud, ugly and killing millions of birds for starters. More rules are needed. If put up in remote areas there is the problem of transporting the electricity long distance. None should be installed without light & sound emitters that keep birds from harms way. For those of you who don’t like birds please remember they eat bugs & vermin & help the balance of nature besides their song & beauty . Solar should be the energy form being subsidized & given tax breaks as it is safe & effective but currently still too expensive for most people. Utility companies make it non viable by taxing & attaching fees to allow you the privilege of hooking up and they fight legislation to change the laws & retain control.
Seems this article is missing the big pic. Wind turbines are killing birds, same with big industrial solar projects which kills other organisms. Some ecologists have tried to present evidence this a much bigger problem than the industry is admitting to. These ecologists eventually get black balled and vilified. Then industry further limits and prohibits researchers from going to the sites to collect data…shades of BP & fed govt actions after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil ‘spill’ prohibiting journalists from taking pics of dying birds, fish, and sea mammals.
What about the free or nearly free decentralized energy options that TPTB have squashed? We’re not supposed to think about that.
If it’s birds you want to save, and not oil, then start with house cats, which take ten thousand times the toll.
Just a thought, but since they “claim the wind” you can simply charge the state for all damage and deterioration of your private property BY the wind (since it’s theirs).
Oil is NOT a fossil fuel!!! It is renewable!!! They keep telling us this to keep us from traveling by raising the price of fuel. The oil is a fossil fuel is pure BS and is the biggest scam since the “income tax”!!
https://anticorruptionsociety.com/anatomy-of-a-con-job/con-2-oil-is-not-a-fossil-fuel-it-is-renewable/
If the people begin to realize this and speak about it loudly we can affect change and get oil prices where they should be. By the way, if it is not true that oil is renewable, please someone, tell me the number of wells that have gone dry and where they are located.
Thanks in advance /;-D
You are correct, Tuaca.
Funny they want to tax Renewable Energy just another ploy by the oil industry to keep filling their filthy pockets and that’s the truth.
End ALL corporate and industry subsidies – ALL. and at every level – federal, state and local. They (subsidies) just breed dishonesty and corruption.
“tax-payer funded government welfare for businesses” That made me laugh.
Wind turbines are uneconomic. That’s why they’re subsidised. They are a waste of energy.
For those who love THE WINDFARM INDUSTRY….Let’s she how they would like it if a wind farm moved in to their area and they lost 40% of their land and home value. We bought 35 ares with the the beautiful view of the majestic Rocky Mountains. We knew that the city would continue to spread our direction and figured that in 20 years from now (when we are in our mid-70’s), our land would have greatly increased in value (the way it has in areas that the city grew in to) and we would have a great inheritance to leave our kids. NOPE…NEXT ERA ENERGY came to town and bribed our country commissioners with a $4 mn bonus from the tax subsidy money. Though a large group of people stood in opposition, residents of a densely populated rural area (and let’s not forget that the county promised people in the past that all power transmission lines and other utilities would be installed underground when the residents originally purchased their lands – and then turned around and allowed Next Era Energy to install massive transmission lines right beside people’s homes), the county commissioners yawned during a sham of a public hearing because they had already made the deal and accepted the bribe to let the wind farm come on in and build whatever, where ever they wanted. Now our homes and lands are surrounded by 50 story tall wind turbines (157 of them) with the closest one to our bedroom window being 3000 feet (and there is no leaving the bedroom window open at night in the summer). Nowadays, I laugh every time I see a wind farm representative up on the local news complaining because someone shot a wind turbine with a high powered rifle. HA HA HA ! Serves them right !
Hey, I’ve got a great idea. Let’s take that tax subsidy money and allow individual home owners to use it installing solar systems on their homes. Small systems like that do not create negative impacts to people or the environment. Oh, that’s right, I forgot. The politicians all have individual investments in huge corporations like Next Era Energy and Excel Energy (who purchases the non dispatchable power from Next Era and resells it to the public) and we can’t have those politicians not realizing millions in profits from their personal investments now can we?