"Oregon energy officials released new rules Tuesday aimed at curbing a controversial state program that grants lucrative tax subsidies for wind, solar and other renewables power plants.
The changes are intended to rein in some of the runaway costs of the program by making it harder for one project to qualify for multiple tax credits and by giving...." complete story >>
A scary story was brought to us on Halloween by the Oregonian; this is a story we will relive for many years to come. We have been given the strongest case yet that the Business Energy Tax Credit program can break the people of this state unless it is cut off immediately.
"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....
According to documents obtained under Oregon's public records law, agency officials estimated in a Nov. 16, 2006, spreadsheet that expanding the tax credits would cost taxpayers an additional $13 million in 2007-09....The official estimates turned out to be absurdly low. In 2007-09, the business tax credit cost the state $68 million, of which about $40 million can be attributed to the bigger subsidies. The latest estimate for 2009-11 puts the tab for subsidies at $167 million in lost revenue, which is projected to grow to $243 million for 2011-13 — about what Oregon spends now from its general fund on the entire state police budget." complete story >>
Wind
farms springing back to life
In this article, the East Oregonian relates
information about three new projects in various stages of
construction that can add up to 265 MW of energy production at peak
capacity. The industrial wind turbines can now be viewed from
Highway 11 north from Pendleton. Click on
Wind
farms springing back to life to read more from the East
Oregonian article...
Wind turbines show how costly 'free' energy can be
Ron Reimer is an organic farmer in Ettrick,
Wisconsin. Through the Minnesota Public Radio he shares solid
information and the reality of what is happening worldwide, and what
the wind industry is really costing us.
complete story >>
Country Guardian
We are a UK-wide
conservation group which has
warned about wind turbines for nearly 20 years, since the first UK
wind farms appeared in the Lake District. Initially we campaigned
mainly about landscape damage, but it soon became clear that a)
the technology of wind turbines is seriously flawed and b)
the environmental damage extends far beyond the landscape. Click on
Country Guardian to
read more...
The Union-Bulletin Editorial
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"Wind and solar power can be environmentally friendly ways to create energy.
But simply tossing more and more money at renewable energy source doesn't make them any better, only more expensive.
Unfortunately, Oregon laws..."
complete story >>
The East Oregonian Editorial
Sunday, August 22, 2009
The final of three meetings on the highly-controversial issue of wind turbines in the Blue Mountains takes place Thursday before the Umatilla County Planning Commission.
We've said it before and we'll say it again: The
commission should recognize the "significant resource" in our Blue
Mountains and its foothills. Frankly, we don't see how the
commission members could decide otherwise.
complete story>>
More news articles, letters, and opinions can be found on the News tab above.
Above are two views of the Blue Mountains from the west side of Milton-Freewater, OR. As you can see, when you click on the picture thumbnails to enlarge them, these beautiful mountains are panoramic scenery from many areas in this valley.
The first picture was taken from the parking lot at Ingle Chapel on the old Milton-Freewater - Walla Walla Hwy, about 6/10 of a mile south of the OR-WA border and 8/10 of a mile west of Hwy 11.
The second picture was taken from County Road, about 3/4 of a mile west of Milton-Freewater.
Picture credit: Ed Chesnut.