<But he asked whether developers possess "sufficient legal authority to take federal or state lands without the proper reimbursement."
In Louisiana, Kennedy said, oil and gas companies drilling offshore paid $72 million to the state over the last three years. Oil companies paid New Mexico $385 million in 2001.
If the wind farm company pays up, Kennedy's opposition would probably vanish.
Like most state politicians, Kennedy is currently looking for any way to milk money from any possible source to rescue budgets bloated by the spending sprees most states engaged in during the economic boom. Raising state taxes is politically unpopular. Other politicians, like Hillary Clinton, are trying to suck down Federal funding for states under various guises.
Nobody is doing anything realistic to cut spending, although as usual, they are threatening to cut the most critical and popular stuff first.
Current Events » in reply to Ted Kennedy's oposition to renewable energy
Follow the money