In the Pipeline: 12/14/12

It’s like Dan always says: Let the kids play, ref! IER (12/13/12) reports: “Persuaded by these claims, the Congress enacted the tax credit in 1992 obviously hoping that wind would become self-sufficient and not reliant on the U.S. taxpayer. That has not come to pass and the wind lobby is back in Washington, D.C. with its hand out. The law is fairly simple: it pays wind producers 2.2c per kilowatt hour for their electricity, whether the electricity is necessary or not. In some cases, that is close to the actual wholesale price of electricity. Here are a few claims from the Association’s promotional materials urging Congress to extend the tax credit:”

Not surprising that Robert Kennedy doesn’t know anything about electricity.  It is a little surprising that a dude who actually runs an electricity company doesn’t know much about electricity. Watts Up With That? (12/13/12) reports: “Never mind the fact that grid-tied solar power doesn’t work at night when you need it most, never mind the fact that during and after the storm, solar insolation is drastically reduced due to rain and cloudiness, and never mind the fact that all electrical systems, solar or otherwise, are just as susceptible to storm damage as conventional power infrastructure, there is one important point that kills the entire idea… Assuming the solar panels aren’t ripped off the roof by the hurricane/storm, they are of absolutely no use because the grid-tie is broken, and the mandated grid-tie safety features prevent the homeowner from using the inverters to get power locally.”

I have no clue why we are in a fiscal ditch.  But part of the explanation has to be that Senators can’t tell the difference between a phaseout and a 50 billion dollar extension. Energy Guardian (12/13/12) reports: “Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, said at the meeting of opposition groups that the phaseout proposal was ‘an admission that the PTC is no longer necessary for the industry to survive.’… He called on Congress to let the PTC expire and called it a test of lawmaker commitment to reducing the national debt. “It’s time to end corporate welfare for wind,” Pyle said.”

Jerry Brown and James Hansen together debating on whether the CA cap and trade law or a carbon tax is more suitable towards wrecking the economy. This is a glimpse of the alternative universe. SFGate(12/5/12) reports: “Arguably the best-known climate scientist in America, Hansen trashed cap and trade during a talk Tuesday night at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. The system, in which companies buy and sell permits to produce greenhouse gases, is a ‘half-baked’ and ‘half-assed’ way to deal with global warming, Hansen said… And he made those comments with California Gov. Jerry Brown sitting in the audience.”

Remember those tattletale programs that kids can join to rat out “polluters”?  Combine that with a few police raids here and there, and we’re well on our way to the new enviro-fascist world order. Reuters(12/12/12) reports: “Eight policemen wearing dark blue overalls and armed with handguns were stationed in the bank’s lobby and appeared to be coordinating a high-profile search of the glass towers which can house up to 3,000 staff… The officers declined to comment on the exact nature of the raids, which a person working in the building said started at 0915 CET (8:15 a.m. British time)… In October, a financial source familiar with the matter said Deutsche had suspended a handful of employees in connection with an investigation into tax evasion on carbon permits by traders.”

Any guesses as to how many birds are killed by wind turbines? Billings Gazette (12/12/12) reports: “A Denver-based energy company admitted to federal misdemeanor charges and was sentenced Wednesday after migratory birds died in oil field ponds operated by one of its subsidiaries, Nance Petroleum Inc. of Billings.”