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Energy bill blowin' in the wind
Once again, leadership has taken a backseat to politics in Washington, D.C. Now, more than ever, we must have a national energy policy that takes a pragmatic view of what we need short-term and a visionary view of what we can achieve long-term. Instead, Democrats flounced out of town Aug. 1 for a five-week vacation while oil and gas prices fluctuated between tortuous and merely painful for average American families. And Republicans, who only recently put up their own energy bill, are playing the spurned lover at drama queen levels by hollering daily in the darkened House chambers for the Democrats to come back. One word: Sheesh! Meanwhile, a vitally important tax credit is being held hostage, which could have serious implications for the future of wind and solar energy in Kern County. The production tax credit for renewable energy is set to expire Dec. 31. Two bottled-up bills — one sponsored by Democrats, one by Republicans — contain an extension of this tax credit. So both sides recognize its importance. But they’re too busy politicking to actually do anything about it. If they can’t pull their collective heads out and get this credit passed in time, it could be a major problem right here in little ol' Kern County. The 3,549 turbines churning in the hills around Tehachapi produce 710 megawatts of clean electricity — enough to power about 250,000 homes annually. But that’s the tip of the iceberg. There are five major wind projects now going through the application stages with the Kern County Planning Department. One was just approved for eastern Kern that will generate 300 megawatts, and the California Energy Commission has calculated that the Tehachapi resource area has the ability to accommodate enough turbines to generate between 4,500 and 6,000 megawatts more. These are important numbers because California has created a deadline of 2010 (that’s just two years away!) under which utilities must obtain 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. That increases to 30 percent by 2017, according to Linda Parker, spokeswoman for the Kern Wind Energy Association. Statewide, less than 5 percent of the state’s power now comes from renewable sources. That production tax credit helps keep wind energy competitive with coal and oil by helping with research and development that in turn brings down the cost of generating electricity through wind. “It is a big deal to the industry,” Parker said. And because Congress would rather play games than get down to business, a number of wind companies are already passing us by, according to Randall Swisher, spokesman for the American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C. “This has gone on so long that business planned for 2009 has been delayed and is not moving forward,” he said. Even if the tax credit were taken out of the competing bills and passed on its own tomorrow, he said, companies have already pulled out of projects or decided not to locate in the United States. “We’re blowing it,” Swisher said. International companies that might be interested in locating their manufacturing operations in the U.S. are already setting their sights elsewhere because of our lack of a stable, consistent policy. This is real-life stuff. We’re talking about jobs and sustainable energy that won’t foul our air or indebt us to foreign nations. I would think Congress would take this kind of thing seriously. Instead, the Democrat-sponsored bill that included the tax credit came up eight times — but was killed eight times because it had stuff that no Republican would vote for, such as reducing tax incentives for oil and giving them to renewables. On July 29, the Republicans fronted their own bill, but it, likewise, has stuff no Democrat would allow, such as opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Finally, on the eve of the congressional recess, a bipartisan bill was introduced that I hope will merit some serious discussion. This bill, co-authored by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, allows offshore drilling but doesn’t open ANWR. And it gives a percentage of the royalties from offshore drilling leases to a renewable fund. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, has signed onto the bill, along with several other valley congressmen, both Republican and Democrat. Though McCarthy is also a co-signer on the other Republican bill, he said he signed on to Costa’s as well because he’s committed to working with whoever he can to get a national energy policy off the ground. Judging by the inaction so far, I fear we’ll be grounded for some time to come. These are Lois Henry’s opinions, not necessarily The Californian’s. Her column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Call her at 395-7373 or write lhenry@ bakersfield.com. 8 comments from 6 users
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posted by
mattloch
on Aug 19, 2008 at 07:54 PM
Lois Henry: "This is real-life stuff. We’re talking about jobs and sustainable energy that won’t foul our air or indebt us to foreign nations."
posted by
AudreyB
on Aug 20, 2008 at 07:53 AM
Mattlock The conservatives are still adhering to Regan's "trickle down" theory of economics. Give Big Oil, BIG money and they will put some of it back into the economy. The other 99% they'll put in their own pockets. A pathetic portion of the remaining 1% will go towards exploration of alternative fuels and energy production. Why would any industry who's enjoying enormous profits want to change their style of business? Why should they when the president and congress is so "oil friendly". posted by
catpaw
on Aug 20, 2008 at 08:39 AM
Unless polls have changed, the congress has a lower approval rating than the president's. Your run-down is typical of congress and I am not at all surprised. There won't be a change until a new president takes office. Meanwhile, I count the days and think what else can bush do to damage the country in a few short months. The evening news answers that question regularly. posted by
randomfactor
on Aug 20, 2008 at 08:50 AM
They have a lower rating than the idiot-in-chief because every time they've had a chance to tell him "no," they've enabled the moron. However, the Democrats did manage to make the price of oil go down significantly before going on break, so they're not entirely useless. And I'm happy to see alternative energy put off to the next congress--we'll get a better plan that way, with a couple more of the obstreperous Republicans tossed out, and President Obama to sign the bill. Besides, offshore drilling isn't going to do anything for us anytime soon. posted by
motopoet
on Aug 20, 2008 at 09:33 AM
I can't believe it! Oh, wiat a minute..Yes I can! Nobody wants to name the REAL culprits here. Nobody seems to want to admit that the environmentalists and the liberals who have backed their crap for the last thirty years have put us in this predicament. Nobody wants to talk about the bogus plan Pelosi is dangling in front of the voters like a carrot in front of a horse being a load of hot air intended to do nothing but get democrats elected and/or re-elected in districts where drilling and exploration are supported by the voters. An energy bill filled with so many ridiculous items it will never make out of the house, but since it speaks about opening up new drilling, they are hoping the voters will read no further. It is a sham and anyone who gets into the nitty-gritty of the plan will see that. And renwable enrgy sources? Forget it! The enviro-whakcos are all for wind and solar energy as long as we dont have to build transmission lines and sub-stations to create an infrastructure for power distribution. Um..How are we supposed to utilize power if we can't get to our homes and businesses? The fact is that the earth muffin crowd are not interested in anything but regression. They don't want a feasable enrgy plan if it calls for the continued use of fossil fuels or the construction of any new refineries, drilling platforms, transmission lines or anything else THEY deem to be anti-earth, which is pretty much everything. The technology exists for massive co2 scrubbers that could make a huge dent in greenhouse gasses released into teh atmoshphere, but they oppose the building of those too. The tree huggers are not a part of the soloution, they are, and always have been, a part of the problem, and in many cases, the creators of the problem. A new president will make no difference. Until congress stops pandering to special interest, on BOTH sides, nothing will get done. The president can promise and pound until his lips fall off, but in the end, it will be congress who makes or breaks a realistic energy plan for both short and long term solutions, and since the liberals who control congress have always proven to be short sighted, it is unlikely they will take any positive steps toward anything meaningful where the energy dilema is concerned. Come on everyone, put a fork in Bush, he is done, and unless he pulls a Slick Willy and pardons a boatload of criminals in his last days in office, it is unlikely he will screw anything else up, but I guess ya never really know. I am sick of listening to the uninformed speak of the tax breaks oil companies get. ALL industries receive tax breaks for investing in their progress(although I am told the porn industry doesn't) and many of those companies have a much higher profit margin than oil companies. They don't get tax breaks just because they are big companies, they just get breaks when they spend money re-investing, just as you would if you owned rental homes. Another issue is the profit oil companies make. Total profit is irrelevant, it is profit margin that tells the story and "BIG OIL" lags behind most industries and markets. I guess what I am saying is that if you want to blame someone for a specific problem, whatever it is, you should make sure you are placing blame where blame is due and not where it makes you feel the best to place it. posted by
randomfactor
on Aug 20, 2008 at 09:40 AM
System lost my comment: and unless he pulls a Slick Willy and pardons a boatload of criminals in his last days in office He'll do exactly that, starting with the traitorous "Scooter" Libby. posted by
honestjohn
on Aug 20, 2008 at 02:00 PM
Moto poet has it exactly right. Environmentalists' ruinous veto power through the courts (they can't win at the ballot box) has caused the energy shortage, both oil and electric. They are also to blame for California's housing shortage. When will we all wake up and smell the horse crap? Get rid of the judges who only rule in favor of the CAVE people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). posted by
mattloch
on Aug 20, 2008 at 09:39 PM
Hey moto, what was the name of the Republican president who has been advocating energy conservation and alternative energy for the past 30 years...? Oh, right, Jimmy Carter. Nevermind. And you don't have to build additional transmission lines or sub-stations if you distribute it through roof-top panels (just like that Democratic "whacko" put on the top of the White House, until some Republican pulled them off) and private wind generators. Not to mention with conservation you're needing less power throughout the grid, not more. (And most environmentalists aren't opposed to transmission lines to distribute solar, wind, or geothermal power, just the ones that would allow for more coal plants.) Why would you continue to claim the "tree huggers" create the problem of global warming immediately after claiming they're fighting fossil fuel power plants, more transmission lines, etc.? Your train of logic just jumped the tracks after hitting a penny. Claiming that somehow, after six years of a Republican majority in Congress and a pro-oil Administration in the White House that somehow those wily Democrats have stopped drilling in the past two years is illogical on its face. Saying they're responsible for twenty years of banning offshore drilling (enacted by a Republican president, mind you) makes you look even more foolish.
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