Though Montana is losing out in the cutting edge technologies of alternative energy (i.e. coal liquefaction and gasification, and clean coal-fired generation), we are making some progress in wind-generated electricity. The Cut Bank Pioneer Press reported last week that progress is being made on the McCormick Ranch wind project north of Great Falls.  This is great news from the area as they stand to reap benefits of new jobs and an improved tax base.  However, there's one small problem; this project is currently slated to send all of it's generation to Alberta through a to-be-constructed transmission line from Great Falls to Lethbridge.

As it stands, wind generation is only economically viable due to heavy subsidies from the federal government in the form of the Production Tax Credit, which chips in $18 for every Mega Watt hour (mWh) produced.

Assuming a typical efficiency factor of 37% on the 300 mW the McCormick wind farm is currently projected to produce, the Production Tax Credit will pay out subsidies of about $175 million over the next ten years.  In sum, that's $175 million that American taxpayers are going to shell out so Canadian consumers can get wind power at a competitive rate.

Senator Baucus has been instrumental in extending the Production Tax Credit through the Senate, and we applaud his leadership on promoting alternative energy, especially in Montana.  (Making consumer's pay for the higher cost of wind-generated electricity through taxes rather than their utility bills is just a shell game, but we digress...)  However, in this case he's doing American taxpayers a disservice by subsidizing a product that Americans will not benefit from.

Why it makes sense to Senator Baucus that we should be subsidizing Canadian electricity is beyond us.  Perhaps he never contemplated that those environment-hating Canadians would never be interested in alternative energy.  Or maybe it's just another example of old Max asleep at the switch.

Max Baucus has earned the dubious distinction of Porker of the Month from watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW).  Baucus shares this month's Porker award with Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR).  To earn this dishonor, Baucus is credited with leading the way for a $35 billion expansion of SCHIP, a federal health care program.  According to CAGW, the Baucus expansion of this program "will dramatically increase the power of the government in all healthcare decision-making, including treatments, drug and physician availability, and medical research, paving the way toward universal health care.  Families who currently have private coverage will have a strong incentive to switch to the SCHIP program, crowding out private insurance and raising the price for everyone else."

The SCHIP expansion raised the eligibility level to $61,950 for a family of four but CAGW notes that there is also a push to amend the legislation on the Senate floor to raise that eligibility to $82,600.  To pay for the SCHIP expansion, "Senator Smith proposed raising tobacco taxes by $0.61 and cigar taxes by $9.90...the Heritage Foundation found that the government needs 9 million more smokers in the next five years to pay for the program...Since that is unlikely, projected excise tax revenues will not materialize and all taxpayers will foot the bill for SCHIP in other ways.

Click here to see the full CAGW article.