I had to shake my head (and bite my tongue) when I overheard a conversation about all the energy activity going on in the area while waiting to get my Tundra reshod the other day.
Seems this older couple were complaining that with all the windmills, gas wells, and pipelines being constructed all the electricity and gas would be going out of state and "we aren't going to get any benefit at all" from the changes being made.
All I could think of was the influx of cash from leases/sales being signed by landowners for the mineral rights and land for all the well sites and windmill sites (including to the state, since some of these sites are on and beneath state forest land), the money being paid to laborers and construction crews in the area, the money being dropped by those specialists who have come from out of state and rented up every hotel/motel/spare apartment, etc. Yet these folks could see "no benefit" to the state or local economy? How narrow minded can you be?
And let us not even speak of the fact that, at least as far as the natural gas is concerned, more supply means lower cost across the board.(Windmills are a different kettle of fish because of the government subsidies on their construction and operation.)
5 comments:
Well said.
NPR has been having segments about these Gas wells going in. Did you know that the biggest of the companies only have around 20 employees. It's great seeing small companies able to pull off such impressive activities.
Rick, if they have only 20 employees I have to wonder about all the trucks going up and down the road to the work sites. Not to mention the activities at the local stone quarries, trucks delivering windmill and gas well parts, etc. Those companies must be subcontracting an awful lot of thier tasks.
Oh, and who the heck is renting all the motel and hotel rooms? It's tough to find a "No Vacancy" sign within a thrity mile radius.
They were just talking about the Gas Drilling companies. They portrayed it as a gold rush type scenario.
And if you have the windmills on top of that I can only imagine the crowd.
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