When Interests Collide With Principle

It will be interesting to see where the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce comes down on the issue of a wind energy manufacturing facility coming to Cumberland. The placement of factory jobs comes as welcome news to the city and region. John Condego, a descendant of Italian immigrants, sees wind energy construction in the United States as a new declaration of independence from both foreign oil and manufacturing. The benefits of both wind energy and new jobs have been touted as positives in the location of this concern to the region.

But what about the wind energy opponents? Kolin Jan, president of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce in a letter to the West Virginia Public Service Commission last January argued that "wind energy is not clean, it's unreliable, and causes environmental harm." He believes that reliance on wind energy would produce "rolling brownouts." Jan also referred to those backing the projects as "greedy developers." Obviously Jan opposes wind farms in principle. Where will he stand on a facility that manufactures crucial parts for them?

It will be interesting to see if the Allegany Chamber of Commerce enthusiastically supports this most recent, positive development.

***********************************************************************

I do agree with wind energy opponents in one area. This industry must be able to eventually stand on its own two feet without subsidies. That being said, its establishment comes with the hefty price of retaining lawyers, commissioning studies, and jumping through every hoop required by state, local, and federal law. In America you cannot even just build a shed in your backyard anymore without checking the environmental impact.

Jan compares the subsidies given to wind compared to those of coal. That is a valid point. However coal established itself in this region during a time when the government required of the company almost nothing to commence operations. If wind farm companies had the same option, they may have been able to stand on their own from the beginning. Regulatory costs burden the system to the point that innovation is much more difficult than it was a century ago.

As far as I am concerned, I want to see both wind farms and coal fired plants under construction in West Virginia. This would bring down costs for West Virginians while putting more of us to work. Coal should always form the backbone of the grid. A combination of wind, solar, and hydroelectric power should form the supplement.