The obsession with emissions has damaged America and the world at large. The Biden administration chose a war on fossil fuels that gave away our energy independence, drove up energy prices and stoked inflation. The higher prices have also filled the coffers of Russia and Iran to make war on Ukraine and Israel.
I always cringe when I hear both Democrats and Republicans declare that we need an “all of the above'' energy strategy in our rich oil and gas state. It is that line of thinking that led to one of the worst financial mistakes Oklahoma policy makers ever made. The tax credit for wind power developers cost well over $1 billion dollars and only resulted in around 450 permanent jobs. That’s over $2 million dollars per job! Think about what that money could have done for teachers, law enforcement and roads.
And guess what happened when the massive Winter Storm Yuri hit in February 2021? All those subsidized wind turbines failed and hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans were without power. Natural gas prices from marketers—not our terrific oil and gas producers—went up 1,000%, and taxpayers subsequently were nailed with the borrowing costs of nearly $3 billion to save the utility companies, who bought the natural gas to keep the lights on and our houses heated.
I’m glad to see that the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office has announced an investigation this past week into possible unlawful activity, but policy makers need to learn that jumping into the emission obsession world is not the right path for our state.