BP's Financial Information Misleading

 Today BP wind energy has a half page add in the Watertown  Daily Times  promoting their Cape Vincent Wind project by extolling the financial benefits of wind for our community.

They have facts and figures highlighting the tax benefits for our community unfortunately their math is not based on facts and the information that they are giving is misleading.

 In their add they state that their numbers are based on a previously approved PILOT agreement ,  assuming the wind farm generates approximately 200- 285 Megawatts .    

A PILOT  agreement is a payment in lieu of taxes (also sometimes abbreviated "PILT"), made to compensate a local government for some or all of the tax revenue that it loses because of the nature of the ownership or use of a particular piece of real property.[1]

 In their recently released Public Involvement Plan to the Public Service Commission , BP  promoted the terms of the defunct Galloo Island PILOT plan to estimate  PILOT payments for BP Alternative Energy's 200/285 megawatt project .[2]

 The Payment -in -Lieu -of Taxes plan for the Galloo Island Wind Farm was not supposed to be a model for other wind power projects.  The Galloo PILOT is a consequence of the JCIDA's failure to follow the intent of the Legislature.[3]

A PILOT has not been negotiated for the Cape Vincent project, the developer's reliance on the Galloo plan to project payments to municipalities is a troubling sign that it will be presumed as the basis for the future talks.  [3]

A PILOT  allows the developer to make reduced payments to taxing jurisdictions instead of paying property taxes. The Galloo PILOT was approved along with a sales tax exemption and sale-leaseback agreement, which eliminates mortgage recording taxes.  The PILOT for the 252-megawatt project will run 20 years and have base and supplemental payments .[4]

 On the wind farm aspect, the JCIDA had worked for months on developing a uniform policy before the Galloo Island Wind Farm's developer pressed for an individual payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement.

 The Galloo PILOT was different from the standard PILOT laid out in the agency's policy and those changes were approved  after months of intense pressure

[5] If the wind farm operator ceases operation and doesn't pay the agency the PILOT, the agency returns title to the developer .[5]

 The Galloo draft policy included a separate clause for renewable energy PILOTs, which allows for a fixed base payment per megawatt, increasing each year, and supplemental payments based on high electricity prices.

 .[5]  JCIDA Board member John Doldo Jr. said the Galloo Island project wasn't lucrative enough for the taxing jurisdictions. He said the PILOT payments represented less than 14 percent of full taxation. "If you give that much away, there must've been a need to give that much," he said. Mr. Doldo based his numbers on the cost of the project " about $537 million of on-island investment .[5] 
Only about one mediocre paying job is created for every 10 turbines installed that's hardly job creation. Government watchdog groups say the absence of uniform standards makes the whole PILOT program open to abuse, because each wind company gets to negotiate its own private deal with the IDA.

 In addition, wind companies that fail to meet their original IDA job creation promises rarely get penalized .[6] New Yorkers in general are beginning to become completely fed up with PILOTs, IDAs, wind farms and seeing their tax dollars squandered by politicians and bureaucrats to offshore ownership. Taxpayers are beginning to revolt against the wind developers, IDAs and local governments and the November 2009 election results underscore this attitude .[6]

Once again the taxpayer is paying higher taxes to support a corrupt industry and people say the wind is free. Think about this - 65% of a commercial wind farm is being paid for with your American tax dollars thanks to stimulus money, NYSERDA, PTC (Production Tax Credits), rapid depreciation schedules, PILOTs, etc. while the foreign owner enjoys the profits while raping your community .[6] PILOTs are supposed to make jobs for communities but with wind farms this never happens .[6] PILOTs should be completely repealed and eliminated and taxpayers should demand the full value of tax revenue from the wind project and nothing less

.[6]

 [1]~ Pilot Finance Wikipedia

[2] BP's Community outreach

[3]. Watertown Daily Times Wind PILOT

[4] JCIDA gives Nod to Galloo Wind PILOT

[5] JCIDA's tax-exempt policy for wind farms won't include local, county issues

[6]. Beware NY Wind: PILOT Agreements - Corporate Welfare Ad Nauseum