(Chicago, IL USA) Senators are balking at stimulus spending on several wind power projects that seem to be subsidizing jobs overseas in China and elsewhere. They apparently are surprised to find that major manufacturing companies worldwide are already building world class components for Alternative Energy.
This startling discovery by our worldly senators began after a planned Texas wind farm with substantial Chinese investment announced it would seek a $450 million stimulus tax credit. The developers initially said the project would support 3,000 jobs in China and about 300 in Texas (a Red state). Several Democratic senators, led by Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, are pushing legislation to make such projects ineligible for stimulus funds if they don't have a "substantial" impact on U.S. employment.
Under the terms of the $787 billion stimulus bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), the Texas project would qualify for a portion of its $32 billion in Alternative Energy grants and guaranteed loans, however the turbines would be produced by a Chinese company, A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd.
The project's developer, the U.S. Renewable Energy Group, is doing a quick two-step dance to avoid the deadly scrutiny of savvy senators. They now say that 70 percent of the turbine components would come from the U.S.
This blogger has warned repeatedly that gains in Alternative Energy in countries such as China will give them a head start on such projects. It is nice to see that the senate is finally getting ahead of the power curve - killing projects to spite the noses on their collective faces.
Richard Wottrich
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