Two Can Play This Game: Wyoming's War On Wind -- August 14, 2016
From The Los Angeles Times:
Not long after it became clear that the robust winds that blow down
from the Rocky Mountains and across the sea of sagebrush here could
produce plenty of profit in a world that wants more renewable energy,
some of the more expansive minds in the Wyoming Legislature began
entertaining a lofty question: Who owns all of that wind?
They concluded, quickly and conveniently, that Wyoming did.
Then,
with great efficiency for a conservative state not traditionally tilted
toward burdening the energy industry, they did something no other state
has done, before or since: They taxed it.
In the four years since Wyoming began taxing power generated by wind
turbines, it has collected a little less than $15 million in revenue.
No,
that is not much money in a resource state rocked by the simultaneous
decline in the prices of coal, oil and natural gas, a state trying to
close a budget gap that could reach $500 million.
But now, as one of the world’s largest wind farms
is about to begin construction here on a project aimed at providing
clean electricity to nearly a million homes in California and the
Southwest — potentially transforming this fossil fuel state into a major
player in renewables — some powerful state lawmakers are looking to
raise those taxes.
And some in the wind industry, which has long
benefited from incentives and subsidies, say they are worried. The
company that has spent nine years trying to build the wind project says
higher taxes could further delay or even halt the plan.
“Just about every legislator we’ve met with asks us, ‘You tell us
how much we can tax you before we put you out of business,’” said Bill
Miller, chief executive of the Power Co. of Wyoming, which is planning
the wind farm. “I just shake my head and say, ‘Zero.’
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.