LITTLE ROCK, AR — December 4, 2024
Arkansas lawmakers gathered in early December to discuss the implications of wind energy projects in the state, turning to testimony from Representative Mary Dye of Washington State for insights. The Senate Committee on Children and Youth explored the economic, environmental, and social impacts of wind energy, drawing on Washington’s 15-year history with the technology.
Representative Dye shared stark lessons about wind energy’s economic effects on rural communities. "Our largest export out of farming country is our kids. They don't come back. And we don't have an economy or an economic base to support that," she said, highlighting how these projects often fail to deliver sustained economic benefits.
Dye explained that local governments might initially see increased tax revenue, but this benefit quickly fades due to rapid depreciation of wind turbines. “So, while the stockholders for Puget Sound Energy are making bank on rapid depreciation, the rate payers are having to pay for that. And then it shifts the tax burden on to the local community.” She pointed to Garfield County in Washington, where wind energy accounts for 50% of property tax revenue. "We built a $6 million government service sector that will now transfer over to the farmers because the farmers are the tax base."
Lawmakers also heard about the environmental consequences of wind turbines, particularly their impact on wildlife. Dye raised concerns about bird mortality, including protected species like bald eagles. "I understand that there was a point where California started removing some of their wind turbines because they were just knocking the California condor to the ground," she said.
Safety risks were also a concern, with Dye noting that turbines can catch fire, especially in fire-prone areas. “They have a ten-acre storage, battery storage, lithium-ion battery storage. None of our volunteer firefighters are trained on how would you fight an industrial scale lithium-ion battery? And it's just watch it burn is the current standard of practice.”
Dye highlighted how the global supply chain for wind and solar energy is fraught with ethical issues. “The magnets in these turbines? They're all made in China,” she stated, adding that solar panels are similarly dependent on foreign manufacturing.
She painted a grim picture of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a key component for solar panels. “Those children are dragging cobalt out with their bare hands into wicker baskets. The mine that I have video of has 50,000 children in there mining the materials for the green transformation or revolution that we're experiencing here.”
Dye argued that these dependencies weaken the United States. “This is a massive transfer of wealth from our rural communities to global corporations and adversarial nations. It weakens us economically and militarily.”
Lawmakers expressed their own concerns about the feasibility of wind energy in the state. Senator Bryan King noted that wind developers have targeted areas like Carroll County, but questioned the fire risks and economic viability. "Right now we do not have a tax structure for wind turbines," he said, adding that the lack of a clear framework could create problems.
Senator Gary Stubblefield criticized the reliance on subsidies. "We wouldn't be building these things were it not for government subsidies. That is the only reason we're building," he said. Stubblefield also questioned the environmental reasoning behind wind energy, pointing to pollution from countries like China and India that continue to build coal plants. "Everything we do like this is not going to change the temperature one iota."
As Arkansas weighs the expansion of wind energy, the discussion highlighted a perceived need for thoughtful evaluation. Representative Dye urged the committee to carefully scrutinize proposed projects. "Before you build anything, ask who benefits and who pays," she said.
The session closed with lawmakers agreeing to further investigate wind energy’s potential impact on Arkansas’ rural communities, environment, and economy.
