If you live outside Colorado, you probably havenââ¬â¢t heard of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory ââ¬â NREL for short. Itââ¬â¢s the place where solar panels, windmills and corn are deemed the energy source of the future and companies who support such endeavors are courted.
And the public pays those decision-makers well: NRELââ¬â¢s top executive, Dr. Dan Arvizu, makes close to a million dollars per year. His two top lieutenants rake in more than half a million each and nine others make more than $350,000 a year.
But what is really going on there? Energy expert Amy Oliver Cooke drove out to the site, which looks something like Nevadaââ¬â¢s Area 51 with its remote location and forbidding concrete buildings. NREL had started a construction project and Cooke wanted to see for herself. She didnââ¬â¢t get far: a man in an SUV seemingly appeared out of nowhere, stopped her car, and told her to leave.
ââ¬ÅA beefy looking fellow told me, ââ¬ËItââ¬â¢s top secret,ââ¬â¢ said Cooke, director of the Energy Policy Center at the Independence Institute think tank. ââ¬ÅI said, ââ¬ËIââ¬â¢m a taxpayer and I want to see what youââ¬â¢re buildingââ¬â¢ and he said it was it was ââ¬Ëtop secret so we can bring Americans a better future.ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬Â
http://watchdog.org/62420/co-secret-energy-lab-spawns-million-dollar-govt-employee/