I’m finding plenty of holes in Jeanne’s energy initiatives of late.  If you are unfamiliar with them, they are on her policy page.  I’m not linking to it anymore unless she changes it.  And I’m thinking she might have to.

Wind

Jeanne Shaheen has been blowing a lot of hot air about Wind Farms as renewable energy for New Hampshire and I guess the world.  Well in Texas, where they already have them, there’s already  a problem

…Seems the owner of the transmission lines have started charging “congestion fees” to transport the new power from the turbines. And even in Texas, the construction of more power lines are being held up by environmental groups filing suits and lobbying government agencies at all levels.

Were not Texas.  We wouldn’t need the power to go far.  But we don’t have the kind of open space you need for the kind of wind farm that can produce enough energy to be of much value.  We’d just be paying that much more for electricity from turbines we had to pay for with our tax dollars in the first place. (Wind get’s a lot of federal subsidies.)  Of course none of this matters because I suspect Shaheen doesn’t expect they’ll ever actually get built in New Hampshire.  I think that’s part of her diabolical plan.

Read on…

Jeanne’s got extensive history with New Hampshire and almost all of it centers around Trial lawyers.  The “unresolvable” school funding debate, the power deregulation and PUC mess,  and if she becomes a Senator, how far away can fights with environmentalists be over Wind farms that look good on a policy page but not littered across our “pristine” landscape; killing birds, and detracting from the tourist appeal she actually claims to champion elsewhere on her policy pages.  She knows they’ll only result in a slew of lawsuits that cost New Hampshire more money and line the pockets of her trial lawyer buddies. 

Trial lawyers love Jeanne.  While her benefactors have been pointing their finger at Senator Sununu, squawking about some 200k from the oil industry, she’s booked almost $200,000 in campaign contributions just from trial lawyers.  So is it a coincidence that every time she’s been in a position of authority  in this state that trial lawyers have been the only winners in New Hampshire politics? 

Sununu’s plan would actually lower energy prices by increasing supply.  It looks like Shaheen’s plan will just make more trail lawyers rich while doing nothing for energy production or prices.  Jeanne’s not exactly known for lowering prices is she?

Wood chip ethanol

Wood chip ethanol is probably a non-starter as well Jeanne.  Thanks to Democrats in congress stonewalling oil production (even just in this century) the demand for wood-pellets, which are processed out of the by-products of the lumber industry, are rising rapidly.  All on their own.  Because of supply and demand.  Without government price supports.  And no federal funding.  No bureaucracy Jeanne, oh God the humanity of it all!

So people are buying pellet and wood stoves to heat their homes as an alternative to just oil based energy sources.  How industrious of them.  And with no central planning.  I bet that will be great for the lumber industry in New Hampshire.  Increased demand could mean better prices, more profits, and more jobs. All without you.  Go figure?

To be honest, who but a pandering democrat would claim we should build huge ugly processing plants to make wood chip ethanol in the North Country in the first place, when it can’t even begin to operate without massive government funding?  Or were you expecting the trial lawyers to line up to work the environmental lawsuits for this one too? 

Well, unless we drill more oil the wood pellet manufacturers will continue to chew up all your feed stock for wood-chip ethanol.   Can you run on a “Drill more oil” policy after all the posturing about the environment or will you lose funding from some of the single issue PACs that make up even more of your campaign cash than trial lawyers?  You know Jeanne I heard a rumor that even Harry Reid is thinking about some drilling.  He’s probably just pandering for votes as well–you know popular opinion is leaning that way.  Maybe you’d better call him and ask what you should do.

Jobs from Renewable energy?

No wind, no wood chips, I guess that kills your  “job creation from renewable energy” plan as well, unless you were thinking that all these extra jobs for trial lawyers all along.  Would they be trial lawyers from New Hampshire Jeanne?  Middle class Trial lawyers to be exact?  You might be able to spin that one in your favor.  But I don’t think you’ll be able to sell it on your policy page under Energy and Environment.  Call a trial lawyer.  Maybe you can sue your web-master or the dope that actually wrote those policies for you. Or was that you?