Wind At Their Backs: Powerful Democrats Help Chinese Energy Firm Chase Stimulus Money

Donkey SC Wind at their backs: Powerful Democrats help Chinese energy firm chase stimulus money

Top Democratic fundraisers and lobbyists with links to the White House are behind a proposed wind farm in Texas that stands to get $450 million in stimulus money, even though a Chinese company would operate the farm and its turbines would be built in China.

The farm’s backers also have close ties with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who, at the height of his hard-fought re-election bid this fall, helped blunt congressional criticism over stimulus dollars possibly going to create jobs in China by endorsing a proposal by the Chinese company to build a factory in his home state. Although his campaign received thousands of dollars in donations from the wind farm’s backers and Reid stood on stage with them at a campaign event they hosted, his office declined to answer any questions about the wind farm’s organizers or their plans for Nevada.

The wind farm, first announced more than a year ago, would consist of 300 2-megawatt wind turbines, each perched atop a 26-story-tall steel tower and spinning three blades — each half the length of a football field. The farm would span three counties and 36,000 acres in West Texas land best known for its oil. Dubbed the Spinning Star wind farm, the project’s 600-megawatt capacity is, theoretically, enough to power 180,000 American homes and would be the sixth- largest wind farm in the country.

It is being planned by an unusual joint partnership between the U.S. Renewable Energy Group, a Dallas investment firm with strong ties to Washington and the Democratic Party, and A-Power Energy Generation Systems, an upstart Chinese supplier of wind turbines. Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate the Chinese are bringing financing and the turbines.

What the Americans are supplying is the local know-how and political clout in Washington, where decisions on how to distribute billions in loan guarantees, stimulus grants and financial incentives are made.

Read More: MSNBC

Photo Credit: Donkey Hotey Creative Commons

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Comments

  1. Many "windfarm" operators have included the mineral rights and rights to drill for oil, etc. as part of the property lots for each windmill. It shouldn't surprise us to find out this is what has happened here.
    Happy New Year!

  2. Bull, GIVE THEM THE BOOT !!

  3. Read about leasing land to China for 99 years with stimulus money for "solar" panels.
    http://www.obamasucks.tv/docs/stimuwaste04.html

    #37 Pocatello= Porkatello

    follow the links and cry.

  4. huckingfarley says:

    If we ever manage to shut harry reids mouth we will need the wind farms to make up for the loss in the wind he generates . I am looking into getting a writer to write about reids true legacy for future generations of Americans so they will know who screwed them .

  5. What on earth is wrong with building these turbine farms in the US??? There is a manufacturer in Colorado building them! Where are the jobs O promised us that he would allow hundreds of jobs to be opened in china when we need them here in the U.S. The congress and senate should refuse to give this 'stimulus' money to ANY foreign owned company!

  6. We need to get rid of Harry Reid, Pelosi, Obama et.al PERMANENTLY. $450 millim for a Chinese company to build tubines for a wind farm in thye U.S. ? Why can't we use our money to provide jobs for AMERICANS instead of adding to the debt we owe. God damn the democratic party and I hope some illegal alien high on crack takes Reid and the rest of them out. We are losing our country and ouyr freedoms to the most heinous governmewnt this country has ever seen and I hope the 112th Congress is in a position to repeal every bit of anti-citizen legislation these domestic enemies of us all have perpetrated on us since they took office. May they all rot in hell, or what they have done and continue to do to us all.

  7. Gary in Colo says:

    36,000 acres to only provide 600MW to power only 180,000 that could fit into 1/8 the same area?
    And Obumer wants more efficient energy?
    That's a lot of wasted acreage!
    Here in Colorado, They want to put up 500,000 solar panels to power fewer than 10,000 homes.
    Obumer doesn't have a clue what the word efficiency means.
    "Gary – Elect. Eng. in Colo"

  8. Al Gearing says:

    The fact that wind power is not reliable enough to be economically profitable, because it is not available all the tine and so it is only used by the power companies because it is mandatory by the government for them to accept the power from the wind farms. Since it is not reliable the power companies must maintain enough reliable sources for the peak power times when in general the wind isn't blowing. Therefore the companies are forced to accept it, and for doing that they get paid by the government with your tax dollars. And the wind farm owners get paid also. It is bad enough when the money stays here in this country, but to have foreign ownership is ludicrous.
    Al Ge

  9. I Am the Democratic Liberal-Progressive's Worst Nightmare.
    I am a White, Conservative, Tax-Paying, American Veteran, Gun Owning Biker.
    I am a Master leatherworker. I work hard and long hours with my hands to earn a living.

    I believe in God and the freedom of religion, but I don't push it on others.
    I ride Harley Davidson Motorcycles, and drive American-made cars, and I believe in American products and buy them whenever I can.

    I believe the money I make belongs to me and not some liberal governmental functionary,Democratic or Republican, that wants to share it with others who don't work!

    I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way!

    I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer; it makes you a smart American.

    I think being a minority does not make you noble or victimized, and does not entitle you to anything. Get over it!

    I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac or any other item, you should do it in English.

    I believe there should be no other language option.

    I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her God when and where they want to.

    My heroes are Malcolm Forbes, Bill Gates, John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and Willie G. Davidson, who makes the awesome Harley Davidson Motorcycles.

    I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.

    I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time watching or arguing about it.

    I've never owned a slave, nor was I a slave. I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks, and neither have you!

    I believe if you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from and change your own country!

    This is AMERICA …We like it the way it is and more so the way it was …so stop trying to change it to look like Russia or China , or some other socialist country!

    If you were born here and don't like it… you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you. (And take Barack Hussein Obama and his group with you.) Massachusetts started the ball rolling. Keep it going.

    I believe it is time to really clean house, starting with the White House, the seat of our biggest problems.

    I want to know which church is it, exactly, where the Reverend Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money, and why he is always part of the problem and not the solution?

    Can I get an AMEN on that one?

    I also think the cops have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law, regardless of what color you are, but not just because you happen to ride a bike.

    And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my driver's license. I think it's good…. And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money..

    I think if you are too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next four years.

    I dislike those people standing in the intersections trying to sell me stuff or trying to guilt me into making 'donations' to their cause…. Get a job and do your part to support yourself and your family!

    I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents….

    I believe 'illegal' is illegal no matter what the lawyers think!

    I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA !

    If this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American.

    If you are a BAD American too, please forward this to everyone you know….

    We want our country back!
    My Country…..
    I hope this offends all illegal aliens.

  10. My great, great, great, great grandfather watched and bled as his friends died in the Revolution & the War of 1812. My great, great, great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Mexican American War. My great, great grandfather watched as his friends & brothers died in the Civil War. My great grandfather watched as his friends died in the Spanish-American War. My grandfather watched as his friends died in WW I. My father watched as his friends died in WW II.

    I watched as my friends died in Vietnam, Panama & Desert Storm. My son watched & bled as his friends died in Afghanistan and Iraq . None of them died for the Mexican Flag. Everyone died for the American flag.

    Texas high school students raised a Mexican flag on a school flag pole, other students took it down. Guess who was expelled…the students who took it down.

    California high school students were sent home on Cinco de Mayo, because they wore T-shirts with the American flag printed on them.

    Enough is enough

    This message needs to be viewed by every American; and every American needs to stand up for America .

    We've bent over to appease the America-haters long enough. I'm taking a stand.

    I'm standing up because the hundreds of thousands who died fighting in wars for this country, and for the American flag.

    If you agree, stand up with me. If you disagree, please let me know. I will gladly remove you from my e-mail list.

    And shame on anyone who tries to make this a racist message.

    AMERICANS, stop giving away Your RIGHTS !

    Let me make this clear! THIS IS MY COUNTRY !

    This statement DOES NOT mean I'm against immigration !

    YOU ARE WELCOME HERE, IN MY COUNTRY, welcome to come legally:

    1. Get a sponsor !

    2. Learn the LANGUAGE, as immigrants have in the past !

    3. Live by OUR rules !

    4. Get a job !

    5. Pay YOUR Taxes !

    6. No Social Security until you have earned it and Paid for it !

    7. NOW find a place to lay your head !

    If you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone, then YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM !

    We've gone so far the other way . . . bent over backwards not to offend anyone.

    Only AMERICANS seems to care when American Citizens are being offended !

    WAKE UP America ! ! !

    If you do not Pass this on, may your fingers cramp !

    Made in the U S A & PROUD OF IT!!!!! ……this is the rest of the story…..i agree 100%

  11. …quid pro quo? Conflict of interest? 99 year leases? And when they snap that wind farms aren't economically rational… what? Will our government give them permits to drill our oil? Its a no brainer, giving our enemy (according to them) control over large areas of American soil is a dangerous move. Paying them to do so with our tax dollars …is spit on our faces.

  12. Hey get use to it the people in power here in the US have been against the American workers for a long time. They think it is unfair that we can work and obtain some wealth. And the fools that supported and voted for obummer should be ran out of the country on a rail, with tar and feathers.
    So quit your complaining and get out and make more money so the gov can take it and give it to some one who does not work or to some foreign country to make them equal to us. Part of the problem with the people (and I use that word loosely) have never had to work for what they have. They were born in to wealth and they think all people are wealthy. The system is set up so that a working class person cannot run for congress or prez. One of the first qualifications (after being a good liar) is how much money you have, and if you are not already one of the "elite" then you are out.
    Look how the msm treats anyone that tries to run that is not rich.

  13. Classic Socialist move. 1.) Ignore the will of the people 2.) Move aggressively ahead with your intentions 3.) Concentrate power into the hands of the few at the expense of many 4.) Maliciously sacrifice the lives of anybody who gets in your way (in this case it is the American citizenry 5.) Lie to everybody….the truth is an inconvenience.

    Addendum: Why have we not been kept abreast of this deal with China? Harry Reid is a liar, a cheat, a thug, and an ideologue. More importantly and to our chagrin — he is still in power……he is an accomplice to our undoing as a country…..An investigation has to be in the offing to keep this guy in check…..Doug

  14. Each windmill will contain 700 pounds of a difficult to find substance. China owns or controls 97% of the "Rare Earth Metals" in the world. They bought up all the mines while USA was sleeping. 20 years ago, they bought a company called MagneTec in the USA that developed the method of making rare earth metals into much more efficient generators and motors. They moved the entire company to China.
    So, why should we complain now? They got us where they want us.

  15. So how many of you are buying (or have already bought) Chinese-made toys, clothing or appliances for Christmas presents?

    • Gary in Colo says:

      We really don't have a large selection of choices readily available at retail level.
      I try my best to at least check location of mfgr. and will select American made if
      available. In many instances I just forgo purchase altogether, but more often than not,
      if need is urgent, I'm stuck with the Chineese product. But that is all at the individual
      comsumer level.
      There is a recently opened new wind generator plant down in Pueblo that could
      certainly use the business.
      Granted, they will not be entirely American made, subassemblies in every product that
      is final assy. in USA for reasons as stated by John Klng.

  16. The production of the windmills should stay in the USA!

    We get enough crap from China, NO!NO!NO!!!

  17. It sounds like all of our Government people are totally sold out to sabotaging our country !!
    May God have mercy on this countrys idiot leaders. Reid is too D. old to be in office !!
    When are the people going to take our country back for the Americans. The people in head offices are Not Americans anymore.

  18. And we wonder where all our jobs have gone…when are these Democrats going to quit trying to destroy this country? They have destroyed our middle class, manufacturing jobs; and the unions have priced themselves out of the marketplace by shipping all our jobs to China, who pay their people $1 a day in sweatshops. We are promoting the concept of slave labor in China…but we can't 'see' it for ourselves, therefore, it doesn't exist? That wouldn't be tolerated in this country, but we exacerbate the situation by continuing to buy goods from China. If the government won't rein in the trade deficit, we as a people must do it by refusing to buy goods made in China at slave labor wages. I'd rather pay more for a product made by American citizens who need jobs.

    • Gary in Colo says:

      It's funny that they always use the phrase "that Republicans ship our jobs oversees with tax
      breaks"!
      Tax increases domestically, regulations, banned mfgr materials, union wages, etc.
      But I wouldn't say that the unions shipped our jobs to China. The Chineese have just
      provide a labor market that the unions can't compete with.

  19. tommy2sweet says:

    when will we realize there are more than one "manchurian candidate" in washington today. Joe McCarthy was on th right track!

  20. William L. Sasman says:

    Thats about Ried's speed. Anything for anyone except an american. The dems are good at stuff as this. I guess if the deal goes throug all the way Mr. Ried's pockets will jingle.

  21. Just another reason we the people cannot TRUST the likes of Harry Reid, Pelosi, Shumur and of course Barack Hussein Obummer !!

  22. We have enough things built in china. We don't need anymore.
    What is the matter with this government? We need to put the American people to work and to
    build things here!

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