Heatmap is bitter that “Trump’s Shady Wind Deals Aren’t Over Yet”. It seems firms that once lined up to cash US government subsidy checks to build offshore wind farms are now cashing US government subsidy checks to return their leases and get into oil and gas instead. And we are tempted to remind them that he who would sup with the devil must have a long spoon. Subsidy farmers farm subsidies. As Bloomberg Green notes with apparent approval: “As Clean Energy Tax Credit Expiration Nears, States Rush Projects”. And applicants rush applications. It’s about the Benjamins.
After all, incentives do matter. Bloomberg Green explains that:
“US states are moving to establish a pipeline of large-scale renewable energy projects that can qualify for billions of dollars in expiring federal tax credits.”
And when you give away money, guess what.
Also, companies look for profits as organisms look for food. As the Heatmap piece goes on to note, or perhaps complain:
“This latest deal will cancel leases for two projects, known as Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind. Bluepoint, a project off the coast of New York and New Jersey, was a joint venture between Global Infrastructure Partners, an investment firm owned by asset manager BlackRock, and Ocean Winds, which itself is a joint venture between the French energy company Engie and the developer EDP Renewables. The companies initially paid $765 million to acquire the lease.”
“Et tu, Blackrock?” they might well mutter. And “Renewables?” But, we remind these apparent naifs, not everything on the package strictly describes the contents. Not “new and improved”. Not “responsible”. And not “green.” Of course to Heatmap, struggling with the concept of unintended consequences, it’s a plot:
“The Trump administration inked two more agreements to cancel offshore wind leases and reimburse the former leaseholders nearly $1 billion on Monday, demonstrating that its previous deals with TotalEnergies was not a one-off legal settlement but rather a new, repeatable strategy to throttle the industry.”
It does seem to be a big mess. As the piece continues:
“Just like the deal with Total, the Interior Department is painting the agreement as a quid pro quo, where the companies will be reimbursed only after they invest an equivalent amount of money into U.S. oil and gas projects. There are a handful of remaining companies sitting on undeveloped offshore wind leases that could conceivably make similar deals. If they do, the cost to taxpayers could exceed $4 billion.”
Um guys it’s a bit late to start worrying about the “cost to taxpayers”. Which isn’t as big as it seems, apparently, since in buying out a lease they’re requiring the firms to commit to reinvest. Though it’s also not free enterprise. And we concede that the Trump Administration’s legal maneuvers could leave a bad taste in people’s mouths.
Still, it’s silly to fail to anticipate politicians being political. Indeed, it’s one potent argument for limiting government to those tasks only it can do, then watching it like a hawk. Including, definitely, for any tendency to start raising money from the public and then handing it out to favoured individuals or groups, including corporations with a flattering sales pitch.
Right, guys?
