{"id":809848,"date":"2022-09-23T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=589367"},"modified":"2022-09-23T10:30:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T10:30:00","slug":"compared-to-oil-and-gas-offshore-wind-is-125-times-better-for-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/09\/23\/compared-to-oil-and-gas-offshore-wind-is-125-times-better-for-taxpayers\/","title":{"rendered":"Compared to oil and gas, offshore wind is 125 times better for taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Not only is offshore wind power better for the planet compared to oil and gas, it’s also better for taxpayers. That’s according to a new analysis<\/a> from the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan policy research institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAmericans are getting significantly more return on investment from offshore wind energy lease sales than they are from oil and gas lease sales\u201d per acre, said Michael Freeman, a conservation policy analyst for the Center and author of the report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Offshore leases are essentially patches<\/a> of publicly-owned waters rented out by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for energy production \u2014 a process governed by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA<\/a>. The money made from these leases goes to the U.S. Treasury Department, and, through public program funding, back into the pockets of taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From 2019 to 2021, the average winning bid from offshore oil and gas lease sales was $47 per acre. By contrast, the average winning bid for a wind lease sale was 125 times higher \u2014 just over $5,900 per acre. And that number is likely to get even higher given the American wind industry is still in its relative infancy, said Jenny Rowland-Shea, the Director of Public Lands for the Center for American Progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With such a high return on investment, the new analysis suggests the potential for further offshore wind leases could be a promising source of public revenue in comparison to oil and gas leases, while also reducing energy and fuel costs. Freeman said this money could be redistributed to taxpayers in the form of funding federal agencies or paying for health and education programs: \u201cExpanding offshore wind energy is good for [taxpayers\u2019] driving, for their wallet, for the air that they breathe.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n