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Wednesday, October 29th, 2014

How Cheap Wind Energy Threatens To Upend The Kansas Governor’s Race And Upset The Koch Brothers

Author:     Ari Phillips
Source:     Think Progress
Publication Date:     October 27, 2014 at 1:09 pm
 Link: How Cheap Wind Energy Threatens To Upend The Kansas Governor’s Race And Upset The Koch Brothers
Stephan:   Kansas is going to be a particularly interesting election because the state has been made a test case of the economic and social policies of the Corporatist Theocratic Right. As anyone who looks at the data can plainly see these policies have been a disaster. The question is: are the normally very conservative voters of Kansas moved by facts or bias. This report discusses an aspect of the question corporate media has pretty much overlooked but which I think might prove to be dispositive.

money-money-money-in-the-windV4Kansas Governor Sam Brownback once supported wind energy, but that was before petrochemical billionaires and Kansas natives Charles and David Koch became his largest campaign donors. Now, Brownback and the Kochs find themselves enmeshed in a highly competitive governor’s race, one that has become a referendum on the much-heralded notion that scaling back government and slashing taxes for the wealthy will lead to economic growth.

A key aspect of this debate hinges on the role of renewable energy in the state and the future of the Kansas’ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), a law requiring a certain portion of a state’s energy mix come from renewable sources. The Koch brothers have devoted a significant amount of time and money into repealing the standard and as of late, Brownback has wavered in his support. His Democratic opponent, Paul Davis, has taken a stand, saying he would “veto a bill that repeals our RPS” during the first gubernatorial debate.
The future of wind in Kansas depends upon the continuation of the RPS.

“Kansas has some of the greatest potential for wind energy in the United […]

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