It’s been a rough year for the government-sponsored wind industry.
In March a FOIA request revealed that the Obama Administration asked George Soros and wind energy lobbyists to hide European wind energy program failures. This was after the Obama administration had learned that “green jobs” are a massive economic drain, costing 570,000 Euros apiece.
(Positively Minnesota)
Now the government-sponsored wind industry is warning that thousands of jobs will be lost if wind companies do not get more handouts.
ABC News reported:
The wind industry urged Congress on Tuesday to extend a cash grant program for production of renewable energy, claiming tens of thousands of jobs are at stake.
Meanwhile, a bird advocacy group, the American Bird Conservancy, cautioned lawmakers to limit grant recipients to those who take steps to protect wildlife — arguing that such protections are needed to prevent avoidable bird fatalities at windmills.
The flurry of lobbying came as Congress took up a tax package that includes President Barack Obama’s compromise with Republicans on tax cuts.
The American Wind Energy Association wants the package to include renewal of the cash grant program for development in wind, solar and other renewable energy. The program, created by the federal stimulus law, is set to expire at the end of this month.
The wind group said that tens of thousands of Americans could lose their jobs or not get called back from layoffs unless the program is extended. It joined with trade groups representing the solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropower industries in a letter to congressional leaders Tuesday warning of a renewable energy slowdown.
In its own letter to Senate leaders this week, the bird group urged that any extension of the program include language that requires grant recipients to site projects in a way that minimizes harm to birds; employs the best technology to avoid such harm; and compensates for bird impacts, through new habitat, for example. The group also wants recipients to comply with laws like the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
According to a study from King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, for every new job sustained by subsidized renewable energy at least 2.2 are lost in other industries. If Obama was really serious about creating jobs maybe he’d invest in fossil fuels.
