Saturday, October 6, 2012

A fortune Blown away, DC Donnelly Wind Machine II

Previously, we discussed how Joe Donnelly has supported the folly of wind energy with taxpayer dollars here: Joe Donnelly, the Windy Machine

Now let's look at some examples close to home. Spurred on by a claim by one Liberal that wind energy is fantastic, pays for itself, and more we decided to expound on the subject. And ironically, start with the very project that was claimed to be so exemplary of the wind energy paradigm by that same liberal: City Bus.

Specifically, the project is the wind turbine system in mind belongs to Lafayette City Bus in Lafayette Indiana. The website is http://northernpower.kiosk-view.com/citybus and has a running view of total generated electricity plus status of each of the three turbines. Ostensibly, the purpose of the turbine system was to charge the hybrid buses and provide power for the offices. Construction was funded by the stimulus program that Joe Donnelly voted for.

That stimulus money approved by Joe Donnelly amounted to $2.18 million dollars according to news reports:



Lafayette bus building turns to turbines for power
General Manager Martin Sennet says the turbines could save the bus system $30,000 to $40,000 a year in electricity costs
...
Money for the project comes from a $2.18 million federal grant that's part of a program designed to reduce emissions from public transit providers.
->http://www.wthr.com/story/14594661/lafayette-bus-building-turns-to-turbines-for-power

And:

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces Final Recovery Act Transit Grant

In announcing a $2.2 million grant for Indiana’s Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation, or “CityBus,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the final grant for public transit awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Recovery Act transit projects created approximately 10,000 jobs across the county.

CityBus will use the $2.2 million to install three wind turbine units that will cut energy costs for three transit buildings in Lafayette, Indiana.  The turbines are expected to generate 72,000 kilowatt hours per year, enough to power the entire facility.
->http://www.fta.dot.gov/12297_12039.html
So how has the turbine installation worked out?
I have taken snapshots of savings for a couple of months, here are the latest:

KWH savings

Dollar Savings
OK, so how does this relate to the projected life of wind turbines, generally estimated at 20 years (or less)? Here is a calculation of the savings over 20 years, minus the "investment" and minus the cost of money (interest on the investment), estimated at a flat interest rate of 10% and also at the US Treasury Bond rate for 20 years.


So there you have it. Of course, this is an estimate, but it is one that Joe Donnelly could have made, and chosen not to have wasted taxpayer money. And this IS what is so typical of Joe Donnelly's ideas of what is good for you, since he thinks he apparently knows better than you. And he echos Pres. Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and others. Obama for instance, thinks your electricity costs should necessarily skyrocket, bankrupting coal companies and electric companies along the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpTIhyMa-Nw

Let me reduce this to the simple facts:
Joe Donnelly spends your tax dollars at 3.5 times the rate that you the taxpayer would. And you the taxpayer would be better off by that number if you just kept the money and invested it in a 20 year Treasury Bond. And the economy would be even better if you invested in good mutual funds, thus propelling business to grow and prosper.

It is past time to retire Joe Donnelly. Elect Richard Mourdock to the U. S. Senate this November.

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