- legislature abated contractors excise tax to promote, and that's good, since that tax is one of our worst
- we should promote putting wind turbines on school and public lands
- SD taxes on wind turbines much higher due to high property tax and excise tax; legislature and local taxing entities can abate that
- surrounding states are succeeding at this; we just need the will to provide incentives and make it happen
- Working for Heartland, next Wednesday we are dedicating wind farm in Wessington Springs with Babcock and Brown, will come online in 2009
- in legislature, co-sponsored HB 1123 to establish renewable energy objective for state
- co-sponsored HCR 1010 promoting 25 by 25 initiative and recycled energy production
- co-sponsored HB 1184, REA bill that other legislation gobbled up to establish tax-incentive program for wind energy companies
- Heartland working with green energy training center in Howard
- also working with Knight and Carver and the other wind outfit in Howard to help expansion
- many incentives already brought forward
- rural electric at Chamberlain built first turbine in SD; East River sponsored, I worked with that
- worked to develop incentives for counties
- rural electric cooperatives have developed the legislation
- last year rural electric coops brought legislation, Scott worked with governors office to work on closing incentives gap (wanted $10M, got $5M)
- want to figure out how to do same thing in wind as with ethanol, get local landowners to invest in the local wind farms: that's key to growing the wealth and keeping the dollars here in South Dakota: incentive local ownership of wind projects
- farmers should get true value of project, rather than just small rent from corporations
Jerry Johnson:
- cooperatives, municipals, other power groups can look at ways to bring in supplementary wind power, as in Howard
- must look at all forms of energy
Russell Olson was right to mention recycled energy. That's a real key to getting cheaper, cleaner power. I'm associated with Recycled Energy Development, which turns manufacturers' waste heat into clean power and steam. What recycled energy gives you is lower pollution AND costs. In fact, studies for the EPA and DoE suggest energy recycling could cut U.S. global warming emissions by 20%. That's as much as if we took every car off the road. Meanwhile, costs would fall. So that's what we need to be doing.
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