{"id":2399078,"date":"2025-02-05T08:05:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T13:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/green-energy-cronies-scam-taxpayers-out-of-billions-of-dollars\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T08:09:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T13:09:36","slug":"green-energy-cronies-scam-taxpayers-out-of-billions-of-dollars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/green-energy-cronies-scam-taxpayers-out-of-billions-of-dollars\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Energy Cronies Scam Taxpayers Out Of Billions Of Dollars"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgreen-energy-cronies-scam-taxpayers-out-of-billions-of-dollars%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2399078&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the article\u2063 discusses the bankruptcy of Canoo, an \u200belectric\u2063 vehicle startup\u2064 that had promised \u2063Oklahoma $100 million \u2062in incentives but failed to deliver on its commitments. Initially \u200dhailed as\u2064 a significant partnership, Californian Canoo was expected to create \u200d2,000 jobs\u2063 in Oklahoma. However, by April 2023, \u200bconstruction on its promised plant had not begun, adn Canoo&#8217;s job creation projections\u200c were downgraded. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">company faced numerous legal troubles<\/a>, \u200bincluding \u200ba settlement with the SEC over\u200b misrepresentations.<\/p>\n<p>Despite \u200dthese issues, Oklahoma procured three electric vehicles from Canoo, but revelations showed that these vehicles were manufactured \u200bout of state, raising questions about the company&#8217;s integrity. Furthermore, many \u200bpromised\u200b engineers never relocated \u200cto Oklahoma. Local news revealed that Canoo had\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-s-dirty-open-secret-about-that-chinese-government-controlled-lab-in-wuhan\/\" title=\"D.C.\u2019s Dirty Open ...ret About That \u2018Chinese ...ernment-Controlled Lab\u2019 In Wuhan\">received taxpayer money<\/a>\u200b without fulfilling obligations, leading to public \u200banger.<\/p>\n<p>The article also highlights\u2064 a broader pattern of corporate welfare tied \u200cto <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-top-energy-regulator-previously-lobbied-for-offshore-wind-farm-approved-by-administration\/\" title=\"Biden&#039;s Top Energy Regulator Previously Lobbied for Offshore ... Farm Approved by Administration\">green energy initiatives<\/a> in Oklahoma, citing another company, NextEra, which has drawn significant subsidies yet protested local\u200d tax valuations. As citizens grow increasingly aware of these issues,\u200b there are\u200d movements to \u200btackle perceived green \u2064energy \u200bfraud and reduce taxpayer-funded corporate incentives.\u2064 The author\u200c urges accountability from officials who manage these taxpayer funds.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklahoman.com\/story\/business\/manufacturing\/2025\/01\/17\/electric-vehicle-startup-canoo-filing-for-bankruptcy-closing-okc-plant\/77793623007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Canoo, the electric vehicle startup that was promised $100 million in incentives, files for bankruptcy<\/a>,&rdquo; read the headline from The Oklahoman in mid-January, angering Oklahoma taxpayers opposed to both tax subsidies and the &ldquo;green energy&rdquo; agenda.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s one more of the many green energy scams draining the pocketbooks of taxpayers across the nation &mdash; think <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/adamandrzejewski\/2021\/04\/12\/remembering-solyndra--how-many-570m-green-energy-failures-are-hidden-inside-bidens-instructure-proposal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Solyndra and its $570 million bailout<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Canoo began its public-private partnership with Oklahoma in 2021with the state <a href=\"https:\/\/www.okcommerce.gov\/gov-stitt-department-of-commerce-secure-historic-electric-vehicle-manufacturing-investment-for-ok\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Commerce Department<\/a> declaring the deal &ldquo;historic&rdquo; and Gov. Kevin Stitt gushing about how &ldquo;thrilled&rdquo; he was that Oklahoma would become &ldquo;an innovation leader in electric vehicle technology.&rdquo; Of course, Canoo CEO Tony Aquila congratulated Stitt for successfully wooing their promised 2,000 jobs to the state.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.readfrontier.org\/stories\/oklahoma-trims-millions-in-pledged-incentives-to-ev-maker-canoo-after-delays-and-shifting-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">But by April of 2023<\/a>, Canoo had yet to start construction on its promised plant in Pryor, Oklahoma, and hadn&rsquo;t finalized plans for an Oklahoma City plant either, causing Oklahoma&rsquo;s Commerce Department to pull at least one incentive deal and amend others. Yet, after Canoo promised to buy a factory site in Oklahoma City, <a href=\"https:\/\/okcfox.com\/news\/local\/okc-city-council-canoo-manufacturing-plant-councilwoman-nikki-nice-mayor-david-holt-electric-vehicle-ev-1m-incentive-package-governor-kevin-stitt-panasonic-jobs-employment-oklahoma-december-20-2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its city council voted to give it $1 million<\/a> in incentives for job creation, <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.canoo.com\/news-presentations\/press-releases\/detail\/116\/canoo-delivering-first-made-in-oklahoma-electric-vehicles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">though Canoo&rsquo;s job creation promise had now shrunk to 1,300<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Canoo Begins To Sink<\/h2>\n<p>In August of 2023, Canoo agreed to a $1.5 million settlement of a lawsuit in which the Securities and Exchange Commission accused it of&nbsp;&ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org\/violation-tracker\/-canoo-inc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">material misstatements in documents filed with the SEC and sent to investors<\/a>.&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kosu.org\/local-news\/2024-04-03\/despite-incentives-from-oklahoma-canoo-says-it-expects-continuing-losses-for-the-foreseeable-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Local news media<\/a> also published Canoo&rsquo;s 2023 SEC filings showing nearly $800 million in losses over the past several years. Canoo CEO Aquila was reportedly being paid more in reimbursements <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2024\/04\/01\/canoo-spent-double-its-annual-revenue-on-the-ceos-private-jet-in-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">for his private jet<\/a> than Canoo was posting in earnings for several years.<\/p>\n<p>Yet months later, <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/omes\/newsroom\/2023\/state-receives-first-made-in-oklahoma-electric-vehicles-from-canoo.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oklahoma paid Canoo $119,850<\/a> for three electric Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs), which were assigned to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Corrections and had signed a no-bid contract <a href=\"https:\/\/www.readfrontier.org\/stories\/oklahoma-officials-waived-competitive-bidding-to-give-ev-startup-canoo-a-potentially-lucrative-statewide-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to buy up to 1,000 vehicles over five years<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Stitt <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/omes\/newsroom\/2023\/state-receives-first-made-in-oklahoma-electric-vehicles-from-canoo.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">praised<\/a> the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for &ldquo;working hard to deliver taxpayers more for their money while finding ambitious new ways to improve our fleet&rdquo; and Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnel said,&nbsp;&ldquo;Beyond innovation, Canoo is creating over 1,300 jobs in Oklahoma, marking a significant economic impact for the state.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A Canoo press release from March 2024 announced &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/investors.canoo.com\/news-presentations\/press-releases\/detail\/131\/canoos-oklahoma-city-manufacturing-facility-approved-as\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Canoo&rsquo;s Oklahoma City Manufacturing Facility Approved as Foreign Trade Zone<\/a>&rdquo; and that this &ldquo;facility currently employs more than 100 workers and will support as many as 1,100 good-paying manufacturing jobs at full capacity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Canoo&rsquo;s 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.canoo.com\/news-presentations\/press-releases\/detail\/154\/canoo-inc-announces-third-quarter-2024-results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">third quarter results<\/a> looked dismal, however, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/investors.canoo.com\/news-presentations\/press-releases\/detail\/157\/canoo-announces-furloughs-and-factory-idle-as-it-focuses-on\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">December Canoo press release<\/a> announced, &ldquo;the company has furloughed 82 employees, both salaried and hourly, and idling its factories in Oklahoma while it works to finalize securing the capital necessary to move forward with its operations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Two of the three state agencies using Canoo vehicles were seeing &ldquo;limited use&rdquo; for the vehicles because of lack of accessible charging stations, and Canoo&rsquo;s labor furloughs brought the number of employees below the threshold necessary for it to collect many of the promised remaining incentives, The Frontier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.readfrontier.org\/stories\/oklahoma-pledged-millions-to-ev-startup-canoo-but-now-the-company-is-fighting-work-furloughs-and-supplier-lawsuits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Lies and No Apologies<\/h2>\n<p>And then came the real news. Dec. 19, 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/kfor.com\/news\/local\/former-employee-canoo-never-built-vehicles-in-oklahoma-most-employees-never-moved-to-oklahoma\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">local news station KFOR<\/a> reported that a &ldquo;former high-level Canoo employee who recently left the company within the past few months&rdquo; had come forward with the revelation that Canoo never built any vehicles in Oklahoma. The three vehicles the state of Oklahoma purchased were built in Justin, Texas, by a separate company called AFV.<\/p>\n<p>Not only that, but 140 engineers Canoo promised to relocate to Oklahoma from California never made the move, instead flying back and forth from the West Coast when necessary.<\/p>\n<p>KFOR says they reached out to the governor&rsquo;s office for a statement, but they never heard a word. They reached out to the state Department of Commerce, which said that it had only given Canoo $1 million and might attempt a &ldquo;claw back.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Why did Gov. Stitt have plenty of time to sit in front of the cameras extolling his phenomenal &ldquo;get&rdquo; for the state of Oklahoma but he doesn&rsquo;t have enough time to get in front of the cameras and apologize to Oklahomans for abusing their tax dollars?<\/p>\n<p>Did someone &mdash; <em>anyone<\/em> &mdash; from the state bother to look into this company <em>before<\/em> promising it millions in taxpayer dollars?<\/p>\n<h2>Paying For The Wind<\/h2>\n<p>For the answer, we can look at a pattern. Though former Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklahoman.com\/story\/business\/energy-resource\/2017\/04\/18\/oklahoma-governor-signs-bills-to-end-wind-incentive-airfield-loophole\/60605185007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revoked tax credits<\/a> for new wind energy companies in 2017, wind energy company <a href=\"https:\/\/subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org\/?company_op=starts&amp;company=nextera&amp;state=OK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NextEra received $191 million in Oklahoma Investment\/New Jobs credits<\/a> during both 2022 and 2023, and the wind power generation industry has hauled in an estimated $<a href=\"https:\/\/www.okenergytoday.com\/2024\/02\/oil-and-gas-fight-with-wind-is-resurrected-in-oklahoma\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1.25 billion in subsidies since 2013<\/a>. Oklahoma employed about 400 people in the &ldquo;wind electric power generation&rdquo; sector from 2021 to 2023, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/data.bls.gov\/cew\/apps\/data_views\/data_views.htm#tab=Tables\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>. With $191 million in tax credits, Oklahoma is paying about $382,000 per worker &mdash; about seven times more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/oes\/current\/oes_OK.htm#00-0000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the average Oklahoma wage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As NextEra is sponging up fat Oklahoma tax credits, they&rsquo;re protesting the county tax valuations for their wind installations. For example, one school district saw <a href=\"https:\/\/nondoc.com\/2021\/10\/14\/oklahoma-property-tax-protests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NextEra protest 70 percent of its property taxes<\/a> in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oscn.net\/applications\/oscn\/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=493002\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oklahoma Supreme Court<\/a> took up the issue of wind installations&rsquo; ad valorem tax assessments and agreed with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-blocks-ruling-that-barred-biden-admin-from-demanding-social-media-censorship\/\" title=\"Court stops ruling that prevented Biden administration from demanding social media censorship.\">previous district court ruling<\/a> that federal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-12\/EERE-wind-WETOFunding-TaxdayFactsheet-FY23-Dec-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Production Tax Credits<\/a> are not taxable and must be removed from county property tax valuations, leaving one school district with a <a href=\"https:\/\/nondoc.com\/2022\/11\/29\/kingfisher-wind-ruling-affects-school-finances\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$35 million state aid loss and a $40 million<\/a> hole in their sinking fund. <a href=\"https:\/\/nondoc.com\/2022\/11\/29\/kingfisher-wind-ruling-affects-school-finances\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Other schools will be now be affected<\/a>, as the ruling will cause counties with wind installations to reassess those property values.<\/p>\n<p>This stings. Wall Street listed, private investor-backed NextEra has benefited from <a href=\"https:\/\/subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org\/?parent=nextera-energy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$2.4 billion<\/a> in federal funds in addition to the nearly $1 billion in public funding provided it by the state of Oklahoma, yet they object to returning taxpayer dollars to school districts in the counties where they have wind turbine installations.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, NextEra spent nearly $6 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/clients\/summary?cycle=2024&amp;id=D000000321\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in lobbying expenditures<\/a> in 2024 to curry favor with 16 different federal agencies and <a href=\"https:\/\/guardian.ok.gov\/PublicSite\/SearchPages\/Search.aspx?SearchTypeCodeHook=02BBD822-D2D7-4375-8ACD-B46849F6E8E7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">funds three lobbyists<\/a> at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Last year, NextEra&rsquo;s directors were sued for &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/news\/florida-politics\/2022\/01\/27\/fpl-parent-company-investigates-after-dark-money-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">political misconduct<\/a>&rdquo;&nbsp;after a series of dark money-funded attempts to move votes away from a Florida Democrat during the 2020 election cycle. Isn&rsquo;t this tantamount to taxpayers funding lobbyists to get more tax dollars?<\/p>\n<h2>Americans Taking Action<\/h2>\n<p>Fortunately, Americans are catching on to the green scam and the taxpayer handouts that fuel it. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.okenergytoday.com\/2025\/01\/stop-the-green-scam-rally-goers-urged-to-fight-fight-fight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">January began with a rally against green energy<\/a> at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Legislative Organization Day and several bills have been filed for this session to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.okenergytoday.com\/2025\/01\/legislator-targets-wind-farms-in-filed-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rein in green energy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/oksenate.gov\/press-releases\/wingard-files-bill-eliminate-wind-energy-tax-credit-save-taxpayers-money\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reduce or stop taxpayer subsidies<\/a>. This is good news, but billions of dollars of taxpayer money is being given away elsewhere as corporate welfare , as at least one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.okhouse.gov\/posts\/news-20250121_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oklahoma legislator<\/a> pointed out this month.<\/p>\n<p>Those who oversee projects such as the Canoo debacle and billions in corporate welfare should be made to apologize for their cavalier and irresponsible handling of citizens&rsquo; hard-earned cash. Yet Gov. Stitt&rsquo;s office has shown that they will simply not respond to requests for comment and will try to ride off scot-free to their next ill-fated plan backed with someone else&rsquo;s money.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jenni White has a master&#8217;s in biology and has had careers in advertising, biology, epidemiology, and teaching. She is the former education director and co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/reclaimoklahomaparentempowerment.blogspot.com\/\">Reclaiming Oklahoma Parent Empowerment<\/a> and has written for publications including The Pulse, the Heartland Institute, and American Thinker. She is a homeschooling mother of five and helps her husband run their microfarm. She can be reached at jenni.rope2.0@gmail.com.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canoo, the EV startup promised $100M in incentives, files for bankruptcy,&#8221; angering Oklahoma taxpayers against tax subsidies and green energy schemes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3574,"featured_media":2399079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/7413871318_2ba236229f_k-e1738602896665.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[49845,45246,33430,13450,8956],"class_list":["post-2399078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-government-corruption","tag-green-energy","tag-renewable-energy","tag-scams","tag-taxpayers"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/7413871318_2ba236229f_k-e1738602896665.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3574"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2399078"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2399082,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399078\/revisions\/2399082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2399079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2399078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2399078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2399078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}