INDUSTRIAL WIND NEEDS BLOWBACK (Siemens ad campaign targeting U.S. taxpayers)

Industrial Wind Needs Blowback (Siemens ad campaign targeting U.S. taxpayers)

by Mary Kay Barton
August 20, 2014

“Since Siemens’ tax-sheltering market is drying up in Europe, their marketing efforts in the U.S. are clearly geared towards increasing income for its investors via wind’s tax sheltering schemes here. Taxpayers, consumers take note!”

If you watch much mainstream TV, you’ve probably seen Siemens’ recent  multi-million-dollar advertising blitz  to sell the American public on industrial wind.

As it turns out, the wind business abroad has taken a huge hit of late. European countries have begun slashing renewable mandates due to the ever-broadening realization that renewables cost far more than industrial wind proponents have led everyone to believe — not only economically, but environmentally, technically, and civilly as well.

As reported in the article Siemens onshore, offshore pain: “Siemens’ energy business took a €48m hit in the second quarter related to a bearings issue with onshore turbines and a €23m charge due to ongoing offshore grid issues in Germany.”

Since Siemens’ tax-sheltering market is drying up in Europe, their marketing efforts in the U.S. are clearly geared towards increasing income for its investors via wind’s tax sheltering schemes here. Taxpayers, ratepayers beware!

As a company who stands to profit handsomely by it, Siemens ad campaign is obviously part of an overall pitch to urge Congress to extend the very lucrative wind Production Tax Credit (PTC), or more accurately, the “Pork-To-Cronies” bill.

As Warren Buffett recently admitted, “We get tax credits if we build lots of windfarms.  That’s the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without the tax credit.”

President Obama claims he wants to “close corporate loopholes,” while his policies (i.e.: the PTC) continue to funnel $Billions of taxpayer dollars to his wealthy corporate insiders – all while the unconscionable debt we are leaving for our children and grandchildren continues to mount.

IRS’s End-run Around Legislation

Increasing public awareness of the scam that wind energy really is has led to increased opposition to extending any more corporate welfare to Big Wind via the PTC and ITC. Enter another bureaucratic end-run around legislation by this Administration.

As recently reported by the WSJ, the IRS has relaxed the definition of “commence construction” to the point where the definition bears no resemblance to the actual words.  Curtis G. Wilson of the IRS admitted at a hearing by the House Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements subcommittee (chaired by Congressman James Lankford (R-OK)) last October, that developers can game the system to the point where projects built years from now could still meet the eligibility requirements.

U.S. taxpayers and ratepayers are doomed when, instead of allowing the markets to work, crony-Corruptocrats are picking the winners and losers in the energy marketplace using such nefarious tactics.

Things Wind Advertisements Won’t Tell You

Sadly, most people don’t even know the difference between energy and power. This reality has laid the framework for the biggest SWINDLE to ever be perpetrated on citizens worldwide.  Many well-intended people have bought in on the alarmists’ theory that “We have to do something” in order to stop “Global Warming” – Enter, the wind industry sales department.

Siemens needs to convince the 80% of U.S. citizens who live in suburbia that industrial wind factories are “environmentally-friendly,” and that everyone loves them. Thus, as usual for these disingenuous ad campaigns, a sprawling wind factory is pictured amongst green fields, with no homes anywhere to be seen, while a happy Iowa leaseholder smiles and says she loves wind.

Taking a drive out Route 20A in Wyoming County of western New York State, however, tells a far different story.  The western side of Wyoming County – which used to be some of the most beautiful countryside in New York State, has been industrialized with 308 giant, 430 foot-tall towers, and their 11-ton, bird-chopping blades spinning overhead, only hundreds of feet from peoples’ homes and roadways. There’s no doubt that Siemens won’t be showing you this reality in any of their TV ads!

Unfortunately for the residents of the Wyoming County town of Orangeville, NY, greed at the top in Washington, DC determined their fate. The sole reason Invenergy went ahead with their plans to build their 58-turbine project in Orangeville was that the PTC was added as pork for those sucking at the teat of wind welfare in the wee hours of the morning, 1/1/13.

Ever appreciative for the handouts, Ukrainian Michael Polsky – the owner of Invenergy, rewarded President Obama by holding a $35,000 a plate fundraiser at his mansion in Chicago. President Obama is so committed to Big Wind that he’s even legalized 30-Year EAGLE KILL Permits just for the wind industry.

There you have it – corporate cronyism in all its glory, with bird murder as their crowning glory.

Word of impending lawsuits linger in Orangeville. It remains to be seen if disenchanted leaseholders will end up suing Big Wind, as others have.  In the meantime, we’re hoping we don’t have any more 11-ton blade breaks that throw shrapnel for thousands of feet, or airplanes crashing into wind turbines during fog, as occurred in South Dakota earlier this year, killing all four on board.  (Bet you won’t be seeing any of these facts on Siemens’ ads either.)

Elected Officials: Energy Literacy, Please

What’s most frustrating when attempting any kind of correspondence regarding these energy issues with many elected officials, is the kind of response I received from New York State Senator Schumer when I wrote him a letter about ending the Wind PTC. Senator Schumer never even mentioned the PTC in his response to me, but instead, rambled on about the need to “reduce foreign oil imports,” and increase “efficiency” – neither of which have anything to do with wind-generated electricity.

Senator Schumer recently feigned alarm following complaints by citizens about soaring electric rates, demanding answers about it — while simultaneously supporting extending the Wind PTC (as well as other rate-increasing “renewable” projects). Senator Schumer’s hypocrisy is outrageous, and simply unacceptable.

Perhaps it’s time that U.S. ratepayers and taxpayers demand that their elected officials first pass an energy literacy exam before they pass on such cost-exorbitant, ‘green’ boondoggles to consumers.

Call to Action!

Congress is on vacation through August, which makes this the perfect time to approach your Senators and Representatives while they’re home.  We can attend town hall meetings and in-district fundraisers. Remind your representatives that WE put them in office, and that WE can just as easily VOTE THEM OUT!

Since energy plays a pivotal role in our national economy – impacting the cost of absolutely everything else, candidates should have “Energy” listed on their Issues webpage.

Good candidates will support an “All of the Sensible“ energy policy as opposed to the “All of the Above” energy policy which President Obama has been pushing on behalf of the ‘green’ movement. “Sensible” alternative energy options are those that have scientific proof that they have a net societal benefit.

Industrial wind fails this test miserably!

For more information, you can refer them to an excellent book that I have handed out to a number of elected officials — Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the FuturebyRobert Bryce.

Continue to call and write their offices, and encourage them to oppose any extension of the PTC and ITC! Write letters to your local newspapers, copy their district offices, and post information on their social media pages (i.e.: Facebook & Twitter).

We must demand accountability from elected officials, or VOTE THEM OUT! Reliable, affordable energy is what has made America great. Let’s keep it that way.

- See more at:

Industrial Wind Needs Blowback (Siemens ad campaign targeting U.S. taxpayers) — MasterResource

http://www.masterresource.org/2014/08/siemens-ad-us-taxpayers/