Hurts our economic competitiveness

For the other candidates' statements, click here: Charlie Baker, Gov. Deval Patrick, Dr. Jill Stein.

My feeling is that the Cape Wind project is the perfect example to the wrong approach to renewable energy investment. Cape Wind is set to cost more than two billion dollars to construct and six to seven billion dollars in overall cost. That’s five billion above wholesale market price. And the cost to rate payers and tax payers across the state is enormous given the already high costs of electricity here in the state of Massachusetts.

The negotiated contract has set the price here in Massachusetts, at 18.7 cents. And the thing that struck me is a guaranteed increase of three and a half percent per year. Not many private businesses get a guarantee from state government or from a major utility for price controls and price increases and I think that is going in the wrong direction. And it’s going to make our state less competitive.

The reason we have high unemployment in the state in addition to the national and global recession, is our state is not competitive. We have among the highest tax rates, highest cost per employee, and as Charlie said, one of the highest electricity rates in the entire country. Cape Wind is only going to add to that. It is unconscionable that we’re going to spend more on this offshore wind farm than others in other parts of the country and other countries spend on offshore wind themselves. And onshore wind would’ve been much cheaper, much more efficient way to deliver energy and renewable energy here in Massachusetts.

The subsidies are not going back to Massachusetts companies. Only eleven percent of the subsidies make their way back to Massachusetts which means the other eighty-nine percent go to other states and other countries. Clearly, this is not the right path to bring energy independence to this state. We should look at the alternatives such as nuclear and natural gas and others to supplement that process and I look forward to the debate today on this issue.

Treasurer Tim Cahill is the Independent candidate for governor.