Money

Thanks to our friends in Albany there is currently more money to be made in wind tower speculation, at significant taxpayer expense, than in almost any other area of investment. These investments are literally up into the billions of dollars, with the Cohocton and Prattsburgh plans alone running nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. UPC Wind with its New England, national, and international partners and investors has very deep pockets, indeed, plenty enough to do a highly motivated and professional selling job. Don't be fooled, money is talking here.

Let's look money square in the face and ask one question: If people weren't being offered money for doing next to nothing, do you think anyone would be seriously considering this project at all? Who would want their fields and hilltops, landscapes and wild places, nights and days swallowed up in an industrial development if there weren't money behind it? Once you indicate that you can be bought, it's just a question of how much. How much does UPC have to offer before we'll be willing to sell the beauty and tranquility of our countryside to outside investors, ready to profit at the expense of our neighbors?

Each $2,000,000 wind tower that's built brings hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to its investors through inflated energy sales, tax write-offs, and direct tax subsidies. The farmer gets paid $3,000 a year per tower for his inconvenience and annoyance, while the Town and SCIDA may get another few thousand per tower. The neighbors get nothing but ugliness, noise, and seriously diminished property values. What a deal!

I'm doing the research now and will have more specific figures for you soon about costs, profits, and property values, but that's a pretty accurate gist of the situation. In the meantime, here are four excellent analyses:

The Wayward Wind by Jon Boone

Wind Energy Economics by Glenn R. Schleede

Property Valuation by Allen Fitzpatrick (see D&C article also)

The Local Tax Situation by Bob Strasburg