Schumer: No Hearings (For Now) on Chinese-Backed Texas Wind Farm
Barely a week after it was announced, a $1.5 billion, Chinese-backed 600-megawatt Texas wind farm is in hot water.
In a letter released today, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) urged Energy Secretary Steven Chu and the Obama administration to deny the wind project’s Chinese backers stimulus funds — they were seeking $450 million in government money – to finance a portion of the project.
Is Senator Schumer’s letter a first salvo on the way to hearings? A spokesman with the senator’s Washington office tells us that’s not likely. “We’re sending the letter for now in the hopes that the secretary would deny the funding,” he explains.
In his letter to Secretary Chu, Schumer writes (scroll below for a full copy of the letter):
The idea that stimulus funds would be used to create jobs overseas is quite troubling and, therefore, I urge you to reject any request for stimulus money unless the high-value components, including the wind turbines, are manufactured in the United States.
