Throwing Money To The Wind!

Article: Submitted by Tom Stacy

Ohio has a growing problem. In fact we have several. Unfortunately these include overspending¹, jobless claims², and a propensity to tax its citizens liberally while abating the administration’s pet interests³.

And while Ohio taxpayers are left holding the bag to balance last year’s state budget⁴, our governor has his heart set on subsidizing one industry into profitability – at all costs. One cost is tangible property tax abatement, and the industry is wind power³. Already passing numerous laws and programs favoring wind energy⁵, his latest idea shovels even more budget-balancing money into the fire.

If Governor Strickland could actually deliver on wind energy’s promises of cheaper, reliable energy, helping end our dependence on foreign oil, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions from dirty coal^6, maybe Ohio taxpayers would willingly fork out the wind industry’s share of Ohio’s tax base in addition to last year’s overspending we’re stuck making square¹. But he’d be one up on both Einstein and the Wizard of Oz if he could.

The sad truth is, wind energy can’t deliver on its promises anywhere near the degree they imply. The wind industry knows it’s technology doesn’t fit in with modern standards of power performance⁷. Because the wind blows and stops whenever it wants to⁸, the devices’ outputs weave two and fro like a drunken ambulance driver careening toward an accident scene, ultimately requiring at least one additional (and sober) ambulance driver for every drunken one we employ. In other words, our dependable generators have to work harder and we’ll need more of them to accommodate fickle wind power⁹. That lowers efficiency and raises costs and emissions¹⁰>.

Wind and solar power are already the most heavily subsidized energy source in the nation, wind receiving 2/3 of its revenue stream from subsidy, green panhandling and mandates¹¹. The incessantly feckless product cannot come anywhere close to supporting its own production costs¹² or delivering on the steady schedule crucial for an already efficient and stable grid.

When I helped take the power to regulate wind turbine siting away from Ohio Townships in favor of a state run process, it was with the understanding local governments would not also have to give up the tax revenues the industry would provide¹³. But now Governor Strickland, convinced so called “green power” will raise Ohio’s economy and air quality to new heights, has asked our General Assembly to eliminate the tangible personal property tax on all wind turbine facilities¹⁴. Apparently taking 2/3 of their revenue from sources other than selling power to the grid hasn’t satisfied them.

Meanwhile most land uses other than farming are incompatible with wind development¹⁵. Affected townships and municipalities become constrained by nearby wind tower colonization, blocking their growth potential as well as the associated prospects for additional local tax revenue¹⁶.

I am very concerned by the Governor’s call to eliminate tangible personal property tax on wind turbine generation facilities. This form of energy is mostly pie in the sky as applied to Ohio, which ranks 37^th in the US for wind resources¹⁷, and most of the benefits of TPP tax go to meeting local needs¹⁸. Governor Strickland’s love affair with wind has blossomed into a blatant special interest tax break to an industry long on promises but short on performance¹⁹. Especially in a low wind state like Ohio. Townships made a big concession by relinquishing control of wind energy siting to the PUCO. Cutting off township and local tax revenue from wind projects after the fact is, among other things, inappropriate.

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