President of electrical engineering and manufacturing firm dismisses wind power

Legislators cross the line | Lewiston, ID - Lewiston, Idaho | News

PULLMAN - Idaho legislators made a trip across the border Tuesday, to Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman.

More than 150 SEL officials and legislators from across Idaho were on hand for a lunch, followed by a tour of the company's manufacturing facility.

"SEL has 1,800 people around the world, 1,200 of us work here in Pullman," said SEL Founder and President Ed Schweitzer, during an interview after he addressed the group. "Of the 1,200 here, 500 are constituents in Idaho."

"This northern Idaho tour is an opportunity for us to get to know who people in Idaho work for," said Democratic State Senator Nicole LeFavour of Boise. "In this case, it's this particular company that does pretty innovative work."

Schweitzer's speech, which ended to a standing ovation, covered the facility’s growth and efficient energy innovations. And Schweitzer was critical of the idea of mandating a switch to alternative energy production, like wind power.

"One of the questions involved, ‘should there be mandates?’ and my answer was emphatically ‘no,’ said Schweitzer. "I think that it's a pretty bad deal when legislators start engineering the power system."