Dominion Virginia Power is not anyone's idea of a poor company. Yet the federal government is giving it a half-million dollars out of the goodness of Uncle Sam's heart.
The money will help Dominion underwrite an analysis of possible offshore wind projects. Dominion CEO Tom Farrell already has said the company is interested in pursuing such endeavors. It's not clear why the company, which enjoys a government-guaranteed return on investment, needs federal money for this.
Meanwhile, Washington also is doling out your tax dollars to French conglomerate Alstom Power — it has offices in Richmond — to encourage its development of offshore wind. Alstom, whose annual sales reach into the billions of dollars, will get more than $4 million from Uncle Sam to do turbine research.
In each of these cases, one of two conditions applies. One, the company was going to do the research anyway. In that case, there is no reason for taxpayers to pick up the tab. Or the company was not going to do the research. In that case, the public is paying to reallocate capital to less-productive uses.
Gov. Bob McDonnell applauded the subsidies, even as Republicans in Congress vow to lower the deficit. Deficit reduction as envisioned by the tea party and its allies would mean grants such as these would not occur.
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