www.windaction.org facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts Windaction http://www.windaction.org/articles/c98+117?theme=atom Xarayar 2006-06-12T02:16:27Z State lowballed cost of green tax breaks .23912 2009-10-31T14:00:19Z 2009-10-31T14:00:19Z State officials deliberately underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big taxpayer subsidies, resulting in a program that cost 40 times more than unsuspecting lawmakers were told, an investigation by The Oregonian shows. Records also show that the program, a favorite of Kulongoski's known as the Business Energy Tax Credit, has given millions of dollars to failed companies while voters are being asked to raise income taxes because the state budget doesn't have enough to pay for schools and other programs. California renewables push could drive up prices in Oregon .23109 2009-09-15T04:12:17Z 2009-09-15T04:12:17Z California's push to supersize its renewable energy standards could drive electricity rates higher for Northwest consumers, strain the west's transmission and hydroelectric systems, and create a host of thorny policy issues. The California Assembly passed a pair of bills Friday to create the nation's most aggressive renewable energy mandate. It would require utilities to meet one third of their customers' needs with green energy such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020. PGE posts lower Q2 results .22496 2009-08-03T10:56:31Z 2009-08-03T10:56:31Z Get ready for a series of major investments and associated rate increases by Portland General Electric Co. ...The Portland-based utility told financial analysts Thursday that it was pulling the plug on a near-term plan to add 218 megawatts of new wind power because of financial market conditions. The company still plans, however, to complete the ongoing expansion of its Biglow Canyon wind farm and add another 300 to 400 megawatts of wind or other renewable power to meet Oregon's renewable energy standard by 2015. Wind power gains force in Portland .10749 2007-07-15T11:34:10Z 2007-07-15T11:34:10Z A growing number of wind-energy companies are establishing themselves in downtown Portland, drawn by a rapidly expanding market for renewable power, a skilled labor pool and the city's green welcome mat. The influx of wind-energy investment and white-collar professionals is realizing the burgeoning hopes of state economic leaders who see alternative energy development as a new leg of a state economy in transition. Many firms boast international connections, ample financial resources and a nose for opportunity. Six counties lose residents last year .6653 2006-12-03T12:33:23Z 2006-12-03T12:33:23Z Six of Oregon’s 36 counties lost population between July 2005 and July 2006, with Sherman County losing the largest percentage — .08 percent.........County Assessor Dick Stradley says he doesn’t know for sure but guesses that the fluctuation is because of contract workers for power companies that move in temporarily to work on dams or windmills. “They come in here and we never see them,” he said. “Then in one or two months they are gone.” Windfall from wind farms drops .6399 2006-11-17T23:04:44Z 2006-11-17T23:04:44Z Rural Columbia River Gorge counties saw plenty of dollar signs when wind farm developers began erecting turbines in their breezy, rural backyards. The investments slapped tens of millions of dollars onto sagging tax rolls and promised to revive budgets for services such as schools, health care and economic development. But the anticipated windfall has suddenly lost some of its heft. A state-level change in the way the projects are valued has worked to pull down assessments, and, in turn, has wiped out hundreds of thousands of property tax dollars that county officials had hoped to pencil into future budgets. “This is very serious for our counties and our taxing districts,” Judge Laura Pryor of Gilliam County wrote in an e-mail newsletter to rural colleagues. “What we have all thought of as an industry of benefit, may not be of much benefit. They don’t provide any jobs and now they may not provide much revenue either!” Resale a concern on land with power lines .17583 2008-08-24T11:42:07Z 2008-08-24T11:42:07Z Whether the reports of health hazards are true or not is almost irrelevant. Just the fact that many people are truly concerned about the potential health effects of living near a wind farm, or the electromagnetic radiation from high voltage electrical wires, is reason enough to try to avoid buying a property that is close to power lines. It's a simple law of economics: As demand for a product goes down, so does its price. When you have a certain number of people avoiding a certain property, for whatever reason, the price of that property will be negatively affected. Are green jobs really on the way? .22016 2009-07-11T04:49:12Z 2009-07-11T04:49:12Z Duration: 50 seconds Oregon State employment says more green jobs are on the way, but others believe &quot;that&quot; may be wishful thinking. People here at Madison Farms in Echo say that&#39;s exactly what it is. A state report says right now just three percent of Oregon jobs are green, but they hope to bump that to 14 percent in just a year. &quot;That&quot;, says the crew at this wind farm, is a long shot. &quot;I don&#39;t see how it could even come close to that. Whenever you create a job that&#39;s supplying a labor for someone, that labor is expensive. It&#39;s going to price itself out of the market where it&#39;s not going to be cost effective. People aren&#39;t going to buy energy from things that are that expensive if it takes that much labor to do it. I don&#39;t see how they&#39;ll get that kind of numbers,&quot; said Madison Farms owner Kent Madison. &quot;Madison&quot; and other wind farms in the area are not getting help in the form of cash from the stimulus plan. &#160; < > Β  Duration: 50 seconds

Oregon State employment says more green jobs are on the way, but others believe "that" may be wishful thinking.

People here at Madison Farms in Echo say that's exactly what it is. A state report says right now just three percent of Oregon jobs are green, but they hope to bump that to 14 percent in just a year. "That", says the crew at this wind farm, is a long shot.

"I don't see how it could even come close to that. Whenever you create a job that's supplying a labor for someone, that labor is expensive. It's going to price itself out of the market where it's not going to be cost effective. People aren't going to buy energy from things that are that expensive if it takes that much labor to do it. I don't see how they'll get that kind of numbers," said Madison Farms owner Kent Madison.

"Madison" and other wind farms in the area are not getting help in the form of cash from the stimulus plan.

 


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