Civitas Review Online

With one $25 million-dollar pier currently under construction in Nags Head, Dare County and Aquarium officials have shifted focus to the next of the three proposed piers. Partnered with the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, the next “$25 million-dollar pier” will be located in Emerald Isle on land donated by the town.

At a meeting of  Pier Advisory Committee last week, Aquarium Society Director of Development Jay Barnes presented that he had spoken with both Sen. Preston (R – Carteret) and Rep. McElraft (R – Carteret) and “both are very supportive” of the project.

No, don’t adjust your browser settings. You read that right.

Despite the “lashing” the first pier received following funding by General Assembly at a time when other priorities were being cut, two supposed conservative Republicans, Sen. Preston and Rep. McElraft, are in support of yet another taxpayer funded pier. There is currently one privately owned fishing pier in Emerald Isle.

The Aquarium Society has (finally) commissioned an economic impact study to be conducted by the economics department at UNC – Wilmington on the three proposed piers. Supporters hope this study will “give some credibility to the arguments we make about how important the piers are.”

I suppose we shall see if we can expect another “Aquarium Satellite Areas Funding” bill to come sailing through the General Assembly again soon.  I wonder if Basnight Construction will get some work on this one too?

We first brought you news of the hiring of a “Part-Time Pier Construction Observer” over the summer. This temporary employee has an 11-month contract (July 23, 2009 – June 23, 2010), working 20 hours per week at an hourly rate of $44.03 (roughly $38,000 total). Main duties of this State-funded position include giving guided tours for elected officials and informing stakeholders if a crisis should arise (or if the crane falls down).  Essentially, taxpayer funds are being used to have someone sit around and wait for Sen. Basnight show up and want a tour.

Funny, that’s not what I was thinking when legislators argued “job creation” in favor of this project.

The authorizing legislation (House Bill 628) claimed the creation of 555 on-site jobs, yet it seems no more than 30 men are working on an average afternoon.

The Aquariums Division have proposed the creation of 11 full-time year-round pier staff positions including a Pier Manager, Aquarist/Exhibits Tech, Rental & Events Coordinator, Admissions Manager and Housekeeper. Funding of these positions will cost $557,064 according to a drafted budget.

Aquarium officials believe these positions will be funded by revenue from pier walk-ons, fishing passes and equipment rentals. Yet, quick math indicates that the Pier would need at least 153 visitors paying at least the $10 per day average for a fishing pass all 365 days of a year to break-even. Any budget shortfalls will be covered by the Aquarium’s Admissions fund, supported by your tax-dollars.

It’s becoming clear that this $25 million pier will end up costing taxpayers much, much more.

Be sure to check out the live web-cam of construction here.

A webcam streaming live from Basnight’s $25 million fishing pier in Nags Head is now up and running. Check it out here, hosted by the Division of N.C. Aquariums. For just $3,000, the web camera, cabling and software was purchased by the Aquarium Society and linked to the existing state-funded N.C. Aquariums web site.

Be sure to watch in the coming weeks as the remaining concrete piles are driven and three 90 foot wind turbines are installed.

Just a side note, depending on your bandwidth, the “slow pan” might seem a bit choppy.

According to the Capital Trail Motions Index posted online by the North Carolina Court System, defendants seeking to make a motion under the new Racial Justice Act should consult hire “CDPL’s Trial Assistance Unit” prior to filing.

The Center for Death Penalty Litigation, a North Carolina based non-profit, receives nearly all of its funding through State government grants and contracts. And, according to their website, CDPL represents one-third of all inmates currently on death row.

Although the death penalty is currently legal in North Carolina, the state spends upwards of $1 million each year funding a non-profit seeking to fight and find various loopholes around it. But one can’t help but wonder the Center’s actual stance on the issue, because without the death penalty, would they even have a cause to exist?

How’s this for an analogy: Could you imagine if as an application requirement for a tax incentive the Department of Commerce directed you to N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law?

Southwest Airlines has introduced a “green” plane concept. By taking a standard Boeing 737-700 and replacing much of the cabin with “green” features, the plane itself ends up weighing about 472 pounds less. This saved weight translates into lower fuel costs over time. Should all of Southwest’s planes go “green”, it would result in up to $10.3 million a year in savings.

Seems like a good idea, right?

But what about that upfront cost? How much did it cost to “go green”? Standard, Boeing 737-700s cost approximately $40 million a piece. Thus far, no one has been able to answer this question at Southwest, but as a frequent Southwest flyer myself, my interest is certainly piqued.

This past Saturday 150 activists skipped the fair and instead marched in downtown Raleigh. Their goal? Asking Governor Perdue to halt construction of Duke Energy’s Cliffside coal-fired power plant in Rutherford County.

Opponents argue that if Governor Perdue would enforce the Clean Air Act it would prevent the facility from qualifying for a permit renewal because the upgraded faciltiy would not do enough to limit carbon emissions, essentially crippling and closing the plant. Earlier efforts include House Bill 811/Senate Bill 1044 calling for a “Moratorium on Coal-Fired Plants,” sponsored by Reps. Harrison, Luebke and Fisher, and Sen. Kinnard in the name of economic relief and renewable energy.

However, supporters continue to argue that significant upgrades have been and will continue to be made to the facility. Construction began in 2007 after the State’s Utility Commission determined this plant would be the most cost effective way for Duke Energy to provide power. The plant has a current capacity of 760 megawatts, or roughly enough power for 125,o00 homes.

Once again, it seems people are letting trendy “green” determine their opinion, rather than looking at real cost to the consumers.

Governor Perdue has been doing some blogging during her trip abroad, most recently on the subject of green energy, arguing:

“The bottom line is this.  Energy – how we make, how we store it, and how we use it – will be the next frontier for business, for governments and for innovators.”

Uh, last I checked energy is currently a rather large frontier here in North Carolina. As home to several national and statewide companies the business of making, storing and using it is nothing new.

Citing the research dollars being “poured” into alternative energy technology in Japan, Perdue argues that green is not simply trendy but “economically essential in the long term”. Yes, by definition, fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy that will run out at an unknown date. Thus, renewable energy is essential for the long term. But please don’t get me started on the “trendy” remark.

Yet, as long as the “green” energy (wind, solar, waste) our legislators are pushing continues to cost double and triple our traditional energy sources, it will simply remain uneconomical. Mandating the use of intermittent sources including solar and wind, simply because they seem most “green” will only end up doing more harm than good.

This latest case of “pier pressure” shows just how far our elected officials will go with little to no further planning.

While there is currently no plan for design or construction (much less funding plans), Town officials in Carolina Beach have proposed a property tax increase of 1.5 cents per $100 in value to pay for two acres of beach front property valued at $4 million.

At a public meeting held Tuesday, Town officials in Carolina Beach discussed the land to be used  for a fishing pier, parking lot and other amenities, receiving mixed reactions.

Like the two other state-owned fishing piers (Jennette’s and Emerald Isle), the pier in Carolina Beach would be partnered with the Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Today’s Washington Post profiles Governor Granholm (D) the first female governor of Michigan (elected in 2002) and her priority of bringing “green” jobs to her state.

In 2006, Granholm used traditional techniques, you know, $37 million in tax breaks and Super Bowl tickets for executives, to bring a solar panel manufacturer into a town that had just lost 3,000 jobs to outsourcing. However, not only did just 80 of the 400 jobs go to those who had been laid off, but the plant is now furloughing employees as a result of the economic downturn.

Our own Governor Perdue has made a similar pledge, declaring that “green is gold”  for North Carolina and is pushing for $28 million to provide loans for and support new “green” businesses in the state.  She also has a long track record supporting incentives (although business executives would likely need to settle for NASCAR tickets).

Simply because a business is “green” does not make it any less immune to failure or market realities. Obviously, and as Governor Granholm learned, solar panels tend to become less of a priority among unemployed consumers.

Recent legislative activty indicates that going “green” remains a high priority for the State with  implementation of additional tax credits and revolving loan funds. And yet these are simply the beginning of another long set of incentive failures for North Carolina.

An article posted on WRAL.com today discussed the highlights of a public meeting held in Buxton (an Outer Banks community) on the possibility of an offshore wind farm in the area. According to researchers:

“If all the usable waters are fully developed, offshore wind farms could supply 130 percent of all the power used by North Carolina in 2007.”

Yes, I’m sure if we spent a few million dollars on tax subsidies for the construction of several hundred turbines (not to mention system upgrades, underwater cables, etc.) and spread them out over several hundred square miles, we would likely generate a fair amount power. But at what point does the actual cost outweigh the perceived benefits?

“Wind generates about 1 percent of the country’s electricity but is the fastest-growing type of renewable power.”

Let’s just say there’s a reason it’s only 1%. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the capacity factor of the conventional power plant ranges between 40 – 80%, while the average wind facility’s capacity factor ranges between 25 – 40%.

Meaning, that when you look at what a plant was capable of generating over a year,  a wind facility generates roughly 25 – 40% of that amount. Why? Well because wind, by nature, is intermittent and thus it’s impossible to count on it to blow at any consistent rate over any amount of time.

Supporters of wind energy will claim that it’s not fair to compare the capacity factor of wind to other types of energy, say nuclear for example, because they’re are too different. However, just for reference, the average nuclear plant has a capacity factor of 93%. In this case, I’d say “different” is better.

Wind power is only “growing” in popularity because of new and continued tax rebates and government subsidies (including funds from the Obama administration’s stimulus package).

So short answer: Yes, offshore wind energy costs far too much to be truly good.