Ethics & Religion
July 28, 2021
Column #2,085
Build More Wind
Farms
By Mike McManus
Rural areas of America are losing jobs and people. The nation is
creating jobs in metro areas and people are fleeing rural counties. The
rural exodus has come at a cost. As people have moved to urban areas,
the lifeblood of many smaller communities has eroded.
However, rural Texas offers answers that other states ought to consider.
It has built wind farms that made tax revenues skyrocket.
Oldham County in the Texas panhandle traditionally depended on oil and
gas, which provided 20% of the county's budget. However, over the past
decade, oil and gas revenues have plunged 80% to 90%. That sounds like
what's happening in the coal fields of southwest Virginia.
However, six wind farms have opened in Oldham County, and they account
for 50% of the county's tax revenue. In fact, wind farms now account for
2.5 times as much revenue as oil and gas did!
A group called Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation issued a report
with this conclusion: "Because of the agreement that school districts
were able to make with wind farms, three out of the four school
districts were able to hold bond elections and build new facilities,
something that would never have happened without the wind industry
coming to town."
"Three-quarters of the cost of new school facilities can be directly
attributed to the wind industry.
What's more - and this should get the attention of conservatives -
thanks to all of the wind farm tax revenue, Oldham County has been able
to cut the county real estate tax rate!
Wow. More services by government and at a lower tax rate!
Eleven years ago, Dominion Energy in Virginia bought 2,600 acres in
Tazewell County with plans to build a wind farm. The county blocked it
because the wind turbines would ruin the view. However, it was clear
that many opposed the wind farms because they believed wind was the
enemy of coal.
Nevertheless, in 2019 renewals passed coal according to a federal audit
of energy consumption. In blocking wind farms, Tazewell didn't save coal
but did forgo about $22 million of tax revenue over 25 years.
However, the deeper question isn't simply tax revenues but jobs. Can
communities that were once dependent on one form of energy - whether it
be coal or natural gas - build a new economy based on wind farms?
What's missing is a plan for how to lure the needed private investment.
In November the mayors of eight cities from Pittsburgh to Louisville
joined together to issue a call for a "Marshall Plan for Middle
America."
They have a plan for how to turn the Ohio Valley into a Silicon Valley
for renewable energy research and production. Various studies project
the region will lose 100,000 jobs connected to fossil fuel in the coming
years. But with the right investments renewable energy industries could
create 410,000 jobs!
Will that happen? That is unclear. However, at least the region has a
plan, and an ambitious one.
When will local leaders in your area put together a proposal to build
wind farms to replace traditional coal and natural gas energy sources?
Has it even been suggested by your political leaders?
The weather that's grabbing headlines and national news coverage are the
fires in the West. Temperatures have hit record highs. A fire scorching
parts of Northwest California's Butte County - the same county that in
2018 endured the deadliest wildfire in state history - is now the
state's largest wildfire this year.
The Dixie Fire, which ignited July 13, has burned through 192,849 acres.
More than 5,400 firefighters are battling the blaze. It has destroyed 15
structures including some houses and is threatening 10,000 others as it
rages in Butte and Plumas Counties.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in four counties. More
than 16,000 people are under evacuation orders in Plumas and Butte
Counties.
Is there a lesson here? Clearly, the fires have nothing to do with
generating power for homes and businesses.
Yet Gov. Newsome - and other governors across America - ought to
consider encouraging the building wind farms to give a new sense of
hope.
_________________________
Copyright (c)2021 Michael J. McManus, a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers. To read past columns, go to
www.ethicsandreligion.com. Hit
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