Local opinion: The art of the raw deal

Let’s see if I have this latest insult from Trump to U.S. taxpayers right; better yet, let’s use an example you might find more relatable. Say you purchased the perfect property for solar exposure to build your 3,500 square foot dream home. You spent 2 years looking and found the perfect location for your solar-heated and cooled, battery-backed-up zero future electricity cost home. No other kind of home construction makes much sense in this location. And, you paid your lawyer to check on this: there are no legal restrictions — just the usual permitting.

Then just as you’re about to start construction you find out that the new county administrator has ordered the permitting requirements to change — and you won’t qualify — solar is now outlawed. You’re stuck with this property. But the new administrator then says: "listen I'll tell the county to give you back your money but only if you take that money and instead build a home that is totally fossil fuel dependent (an energy nightmare, with ever increasing electricity costs)-and who really cares about global warming anyway — if it even exists."

What? The new guy changes the rules in the middle of the construction process — outlaws solar energy — you'll lose all that money for the property and your pre-ordered materials — no refunds — making your project impossible while this guy is around. Well, you paid big bucks for the land, owe so much in contracted materials and labor — and can’t really afford to lose that money. Solar would have been great for your electricity bills, great for jobs and maintenance — and that global warming thing — but now it’s too costly not to take the county’s “offer." They change the rules after the rules allowed what you wanted, and they won’t give you your money back. Get a lawyer! "It’s outrageous, they can’t do that!.” Or … take this devil’s bargain. Your “choice.”

That’s what is happening right now with Trump and renewable energy and/or wind farm leases. He hates wind and renewable energy in general but can’t go backward and cancel the offshore leases bought under Biden. So he says to the companies: “You’re never going to get permitted for this as long as I’m around or anyone who apostles under me.” You’re just not going to get the permits… but here’s the thing: take the money you paid us for the lease rights — we’ll refund that to you — under one condition: that you invest that money, all of it, into one of these fossil fuel projects: LNG or Methane Gas, here’s a brochure.” Well you’ve put in about $1,100,000,000 and have nothing to show for it. And will have nothing to show for it if you do not take this “deal.” So you settle.

RWE (Germany) paid $1.22 billion for offshore leases. Their deal? Money “back” if you invest $900 million in an LNG project and another $300 million in gas turbines; Total Energies (France) paid $1 billion; money “back” if you commit to fossil fuel investment equal to the reimbursement for your lease costs; Golden State West Wind/Bluepoint Wind paid 1.65 billion for two leases. Same deal: money “returned” only if you commit it to fossil fuel investments (we’ll tell you if it’s the kind of fossil fuel “investment” we like.)

So that’s about $4,000,000,000 that would have gone toward mitigating the dire, ever-escalating costs of electricity and ever-escalating temperatures — now directed towards doing the exact opposite.

That’s a raw deal for America.