Western Reserve Going Green

To make the outcome look favorable, the cost/benefit analysis performed to justify the installation of 3 wind turbines at Western Reserve School District deducts a State Grant of $165,000 and a Federal Tax Credit of $58,500 from the investment cost. It also considers Federal and State tax advantages from depreciation of the equipment, and other tax benefits gained by the school district, to offset the investment cost. However, from my perspective as a taxpayer and electricity using resident of Ohio, these considerations are irrelevant. As taxpayers, why should we consider any tax related money that is being transferred between taxpayer funded government entities; Federal, State, or Local? These tax related benefits are irrelevant because the taxpayers provide all the money to fund all these entities; and determining who is paying what tax money to whom in this case degenerates to a simple matter of whose hand is reaching into our pockets to get the money. In the same manner, why should we consider the Federal Tax Credits and State Grant in the cost/benefit analysis? Again, these are ultimately paid by the taxpayers and electricity using residents of Ohio; either directly via taxation, or indirectly via our monthly electric bills. The grant funding from ODOD, which is being strong armed from the big four utility companies, is ultimately charged to anyone consuming electricity in Ohio. The true investment for this project was $360,000; that is the amount of money paid by the taxpayers and received by TCT Renewable Energy, the company that installed the turbines. The numbers provided by TCT Renewable Energy indicate that the 3 wind turbines can be expected to produce approximately $262,000 in electricity savings over 30 years. Even without considering annual maintenance costs, this does not come close to paying back the $360,000 investment. I can only conclude that this project was a wasteful expenditure of funds and resources. Jerry Graf Berlin Center