Salisbury News Exclusive: Delegate Mike McDermott Speaks Out About Offshore Energy

Sowing to the Wind

by Delegate Mike McDermott

Where is the legendary Don Quixote when you need him? The fabled slayer of wind mills may soon find ample targets off the coast of Maryland if Governor O’Malley gets his way and the House approves the Maryland Offshore Energy Act.

So, what is wrong with harnessing the winds off our coast and converting it to energy to power our homes?...absolutely nothing. The use of wind for power is certainly nothing new. We have used it to conquer ocean travel and draw water on the prairie. As our technology has advanced, we now convert it to electricity with which we power our homes. All of this is good news. In fact, many rural folks who live in decent wind prone areas are installing wind turbines which ultimately pay for themselves, the energy usage of the owner, and provide an economic return from the sale of excess energy to the power company.

If it is so lucrative, why does Maryland need to pay millions of tax dollars to subsidize the industry, or, better yet, one particular company? If it is such a great technology, why do we need to demand that our energy companies purchase 20% of their required energy from Off Shore Wind? Why is our government meddling in our free market economy?

Looters like to pick the winners. They enjoy providing government handouts to one business to which they have held out the scepter, while denying any tax breaks to other companies. Why cut taxes across the board when there are so many friends to be gained through exclusivity? It is their way of controlling the future, and, thereby, the flow of money. Those who feed at the government trough tend to throw money in the direction of those who do the feeding.

In America, if a product or technology is good and affordable, it will produce consumers. If somebody can build a better, more affordable mouse trap, we buy it. We now live in a country controlled by those who:

1. Will not allow us to develop our own vast oil reserves,
2. Put roadblocks up for tapping our incredibly rich natural gas reserves,
3. Block the development of new coal reserves, perhaps our greatest asset, and
4. Have not allowed a nuclear plant to be constructed since 1979.

The economic engine that fuels our economy needs cheap energy costs. The response from the governor and our president is to block access to cheap, readily available resources with proven technology in favor of subsidizing a technology that cannot make it in the free market. It is ethanol all over again.

Entire markets are built around government subsidies. The free market demands that products or technology be competitive if they are to make it in America. Private investors put money at risk when they believe the outcome will pay off. This creates, by design, a push for that which is better and less expensive to produce. Competition always drives down cost.

What incentive is there in Maryland to produce energy from wind turbines at a competitive rate if the government is willing to subsidize your current efforts? I guess it is “OK” if you work for the wind turbine company, or you make parts for the industry; but what of the thousands of companies who receive no such subsidy for their brand of widget? How about the thousands of business owners and Maryland residents who will pay the cost of building up these companies through higher electric rates and surcharges? What about Maryland governmental entities themselves? The fiscal note shows that Baltimore City alone will face increased energy costs in the millions annually. We all know these costs must be borne by the tax payer. So now we will pay for the turbines through higher electric bills, and then pay higher taxes to cover the government’s electric bill. You can’t make this stuff up.

The market has shown that wind turbines work best when located on land as close to the power grid as possible. Used appropriately on the Eastern Shore by individual farm operations, home owners, and many of our municipal governments, the return to the power grid could be tremendous without the need to subsidize anybody.

When I add to this debacle, the governor’s former Chief of Staff, Michael Enright, being a principle involved with Beowulf Energy directly benefiting from this $1.5 billion dollar deal, the stench is unbearable.

The practical application of off-shore wind turbines will never be known so long as tax payer dollars are being used to prop up the industry. Currently, the winds blowing in Annapolis are moving our state in the wrong direction.