The federal government has put the nation so far in debt that it has become common practice for the ‘Grok to remind anyone they are encouraging taxation without representation. You are spending the labor of Americans who won’t be born for years and have no voice but will be responsible for the spending and debt service.
When locals brag about it, I find myself offended. When it happens to be a solar farm – and in Derry, well – how could I resist taking a few shots?
The project, planned for about 10 acres of unused landfill property off Kendall Pond Road, has been researched and planned for several years.
And now, thanks to a $500,000 Congressional Directed Project grant opportunity, that could bring support for costs. Derry Public Works has been working through the United States Department of Energy in applying for and meeting all criteria to secure the grant funding. And getting that financial support could help the town save money on electricity costs as part of the planned solar project that could be in place by next November, with Burlington, Vermont-based Encore Renewable Energy handling the work.
Some will say, whether they believe it or not, that by doing this, they are saving the planet for their grandchildren or great-grandchildren. Those who will bear the cost burden of this exercise. As if this might be a fair exchange. Sadly, none of that is correct. The carbon footprint of the mining and manufacture of their components is significant. The decommissioning of aged-out panels, which will no longer even be in use when Derry’s descendants are old enough to work and begin to pay the debt service, has a high environmental cost. True, we may have figured that out by then, but any electricity savings today’s residents might realize are dwarfed by the debt cost burden created by spending money that doesn’t even exist.
Parity is impossible, even if you think solar farms can save the planet – a proposition even wildly progressive filmmaker Michale Moore does not believe.
The only nice thing I have to say about this is that they chose to put it over an unused landfill, but it would be better for everyone now and in generations to come if locals would stop pretending that grants from the Feds are free money. There is no such thing, and bribing today’s taxpayers with the promise of a few shekels at the expense of future taxpayers needs to stop, but voters everywhere need to understand this and vote in every election.
Every. Damn. One.
The wider the margin in favor of sanity, the harder they are to steal.
One more point, and maybe this is a homework assignment for our readers in Derry. What strings have the Feds attached to this grant that the town likely has not shared?
