2/15/11 UPDATED 12:31 WINDACTION.ORG CALLS FOR ACTION and Wind Turbines in the News AND Like a bad neighbor, Acciona is there: Wisconsin isn't the only state where Big Wind signs up members of local government first

WindAction Editorial

Legislative Alert!

Things are happening quickly in Congress right now.

The Continuing Resolution (see explanation below) has been sent to the House floor. The rules governing amendments permit ANY representative, Republican or Democrat, to file an amendment. The only requirements for amendments are that they be germane to the subject (spending), that the cuts apply to discretionary spending (Section 1603 grants are discretionary) and they need to be filed by the end of business day TODAY.

Today is the last chance to contact your federal representative in the House with this message:

1) We support an amendment to the continuing resolution that cuts all funding to the Section 1603 grant program. (This program is part of the discretionary spending.)

2) Please sponsor your own amendment to the continuing resolution or support an amendment offered by another representative.

3) The amendment needs to be filed by the end of business today in order to be considered.

Your representative will know what to do with this message.

I wanted to follow-up with an important clarification concerning the subject our our 'Call to Action' below.

We are targeting the Continuing Resolution that is now being marked up by the House Appropriations Committee.

You may recall in December how Harry Reid tried to push passage of a massive $1.2 trillion omnibus bill to cover the budget for 2011. The Senate was deadlocked and some members outraged.

Reid pulled the bill and they passed a 1-page continuing resolution which kept the government funded until March 4 2011. The appropriations committee is now working on the next continuing resolution that will fund the government until Sep 30, the end of the 2011 fiscal year.

That's what we are targeting. This bill will pass the House likely this week and then it goes to the Senate. If this bill is not signed by the president by March 4 2011, the government will be shutdown. It is this bill that the GOP has vowed to cut $100 billion, hopefully including cutting the $5 billion in Section 1603 cash grants.

This should not be confused with Obama's budget released today which is intended to cover fiscal year 2012 that spans from Oct 2011 to Sep 2012.

I would love to see the house switchboard overwhelmed with calls this week in addition to mailboxes filled with e-mails and faxes. It will take a lot to counter AWEA this week.

Thanks so much.

The House of Representatives is working to slash federal discretionary spending.

Tell Congress to cut the Section 1603 Cash Grant renewable energy bailout program!

BACKGROUND

The Section 1603 Cash Grant program disproportionately benefits wind energy development by shifting substantial debt to U.S. taxpayers. Cutting this program is a quick and painless way to eliminate $5 billion in Federal waste.

As you may know, the Section 1603 cash grant program was extended for one year as part of the tax bill passed in December 2010. This program enables wind developers to secure direct monetary outlays from the Federal government to cover 30% of a project's qualifying cost, no questions asked.

There are cheaper, much more effective opportunities for achieving clean energy goals. Instead, we have succeeded in adopting a policy that drives up construction and energy costs while eliminating any incentive to build projects that meet the highest performance standards. In fact, the more expensive, less efficient a project is to build and operate the greater the benefit for owners, vendors and contractors while the public assumes the debt.

This program is not equivalent to the Production Tax Credit ('PTC'). Please see our analysis on how cash grants differ from the PTC here.

The Appropriations Committee is preparing the 2011 budget ('Continuing Resolution') for a vote on the House Floor as early as Wednesday, February 16.

THE ACTION

Please Call, Email and Fax your Congressional House delegation TODAY.

Ask them to defund the Section 1603 program in the budget. A sample letter is provided here for your convenience.

To find your representative click here: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

In addition to your representative, the Republican members below need to hear from you:

House Leadership:
Speaker John Boehner, OH - http://www.speaker.gov/Contact/
Majority Leader Eric Cantor, VA - http://majorityleader.house.gov/Contact/

Appropriations Committee Republican Members:
Harold Rogers, KY
Jerry Lewis, CA
C.W. Bill Young, FL
Frank R. Wolf, VA
Jack Kingston, GA
Rodney Frelinghuysen, NJ
Tom Latham, IA
Robert B. Aderholt, AL
Jo Ann Emerson, MO
Kay Granger, TX
Michael K. Simpson, ID
John Abney Culberson, TX
Ander Crenshaw, FL
Denny Rehberg, MT
John R. Carter, TX
Rodney Alexander, LA
Ken Calvert, CA
Jo Bonner, AL
Steve Latourette, OH
Tom Cole, OK
Jeff Flake, AZ
Mario Diaz-Balart, FL
Charles Dent, PA
Steve Austria, OH
Cynthia Lummis, WY
Tom Graves, GA
Kevin Yoder, KS
Steve Womack, AR
Alan Nunnelee, MS

This is an important and unique opportunity we cannot afford to miss. OUR WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY IS NOW!

If you have any questions, or concerns, please email me at llinowes@windaction.org .

Thank you very much,
--Lisa Linowes
www.windaction.org

GOAL OF MANY MORE GREEN JOBS IS ELUSIVE

"We need to temper our expectations on wind energy," said David Swenson, an Iowa State University economist known for deflating the ethanol industry's job claims. Now, he says, the same "environment of hype" is developing around wind power."

"Another disappointment has been the pay for many of the wind industry jobs that do stay in the United States.

Wages around $16 an hour were expected by some when the Siemens plant opened in Hutchinson. But that was averaging the plant’s $11- to $20-an-hour wages, and Siemens won’t say how many of the jobs pay the $11 starting wage.

That wage would give a family of five an income at the federal poverty level, sparking comment on the Hutchinson News newspaper’s website." READ MORE: The Kansas City Star

WIND FARM FROZEN OUT OF COMMISSION

FREDERICTON – A $200-million wind farm in northern New Brunswick is frozen solid, cutting off a potential supply of renewable energy for NB Power.

The 25-kilometre stretch of wind turbines, located 70 kilometres northwest of Bathurst, has been completely shut down for several weeks due to heavy ice covering their blades. READ MORE: businessjournal.canadaeast.com

IT'S NOT JUST A WISCONSIN PROBLEM, IT'S ON THE EAST COAST TOO:

DOCUMENTS SHOWING CONFLICT OF INTEREST BETWEEN WIND DEVELOPERS AND MEMBERS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT:

Acciona ~ Financial Interests of Municipal Officers/Relatives Cape Vincent NY

Bp Financial Interests of Municipal Officers/Relatives ~ Cape Vincent Ny

Posted on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 08:17AM by