Misconceptions of the green economy before Copenhagen climate summit

Lisa

November 22, 2009 4:13:40 PM

Throughout this dismal year, President Obama has promised that upwards of 5 million jobs would result from a huge injection of investment in alternative energy technology. The green jobs proposal was also the lynchpin of the European Union's alternative energy legislation, dubbed the "Community Strategy and Action Plan: Energy for the Future." Its goal: create a job boom by funding massive new investments in renewable energy. So far, we're left with sizable handouts, no coherent vision, few concrete results, and lots of speeches.

Wind turbine jobs blow in China's direction

Lisa

November 21, 2009 11:46:18 AM

The rush to America of foreign wind-turbine manufacturers shows that the Obama administration's plan for stimulating the creation of green-energy jobs is going in an odd direction. Two weeks ago, U.S. Renewable Energy Group, led by Dallas investor Cappy McGarr, announced plans to build a $1.5 billion wind energy farm in West Texas. About a third of the money would come from federal stimulus funds. ...There would be perhaps 330 jobs created in Texas. Most would be temporary construction jobs. Meanwhile, thousands of Chinese workers in the northeastern industrial city Shenyang would build the labor-intensive turbines.

Deal could undercut Ontario's green energy plan

Lisa

October 31, 2009 8:15:01 AM

Too clever for his own good? That might be the case for Energy Minister George Smitherman, who aims to turn Ontario into a renewable-energy superpower and create thousands of green-collar jobs. Both are great ideas. But a deal being made on the sidelines could undo much of what Smitherman and the Liberal government are trying to accomplish.

US wind turbines: Blame the Europeans - Or, blame the shortcomings of policy.

Lisa

October 30, 2009 6:16:42 AM

But if US wind turbine manufacturers want another foreign renewables contingent to worry about, there's always the Europeans. A study by non-profit group the Investigative Reporting Workshop found that 84 per cent of the $1.05bn handed out by the US government since September 1 has gone to foreign companies - mostly European. It's not an overwhelmingly surprising finding given that the US subsidiary of Spain's Iberdrola Renovables - the biggest wind farm operator in the world - was also the biggest recipient of the funds. And big European turbine manufacturers such as Vestas have been quite clear that they see the US as their big growth market.

Wind lobby huffs and puffs, but can't blow the facts away

Lisa

October 28, 2009 9:49:28 AM

In AWEA's blog post, they describe a national Renewable Electricity Standard as "a free-market" program. That is not accurate. In free markets, people are free to choose. A Renewable Electricity Standard forces people to buy wind, solar, and other government-approved energy sources. It is a mandate. Forcing someone to buy your product is not a free-market program by any definition. Contrary to AWEA's assertion that a Renewable Electricity Standard would lower energy prices, common sense and real-world evidence suggest otherwise.

The long view on energy

Lisa

October 24, 2009 8:09:07 PM

Short-term thinking on energy is going to cause some long-term problems Ask Paul Edmonds, vice president of National Semiconductor in South Portland. In August, he wrote in the Portland Press Herald, "An inefficient regulatory system and lack of long-term energy strategy are conspiring against Maine citizens and businesses." I was intrigued. So I called him. He told me, "High electricity costs are a threat to manufacturing competitiveness in Maine."

Wind turbine tax promise lacks substance

Lisa

October 22, 2009 11:07:08 AM

A well-rehearsed claim repeatedly trumpeted by wind project developers, and those wanting to join with them, promises substantial new property tax revenues as a windfall for our schools and counties. This argument becomes a tool used to disarm those neighbors who are opposed to these mammoth towers and the disruption to this agricultural community. As I have investigated these claims of promised new tax revenues, I was struck by what is not shared: Subsequent appeals of the taxes, attempts to claim the turbines are not real property and affects of accelerated depreciation on these turbines thereby rapidly reducing the taxable value.

Wind Power Just Hot Air

Lisa

October 21, 2009 12:56:15 AM

Wind power costs a lot to build and nothing to operate. Could it hammer the profits of power utilities that currently charge a premium to light your home by burning the decayed remains of ancient organisms? Investors shouldn't be too worried, according to Lasan Johong, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets. Johong says that increasing our reliance on wind power could actually raise power prices significantly.

Hand over your job if you want to dream in green

Lisa

October 05, 2009 5:10:35 PM

Policy fantasies are dangerous because they cause direct harm, replacing plans that might actually work, and because they spread economic illiteracy that can negatively influence future policies. ...Right now, one of the most dangerous policy fantasies is the distracting notion that government can create so-called green jobs and should strive to do so enthusiastically. While the principal proponent of the green jobs hokum, Van Jones, is now out of government, the idea still influences policy design.

Green job subsidies will destroy far more jobs than they create

Lisa

October 03, 2009 5:02:30 AM

Don't let the hype about "green jobs" fool you. The global warming bill approved earlier this year by the House of Representatives would destroy far more jobs than it could ever possibly create.

Cape Wind claims don't fit the bill

Lisa

September 14, 2009 10:04:55 AM

Over the past year, we have read several op-eds and letters to the editor debating the true cost of Cape Wind. After eight years of controversy, the Cape Wind developer has failed to prove that his costly private venture won't raise our electric bills. The Alliance has asked Gov. Deval Patrick to order an independent cost analysis to get Massachusetts ratepayers some well-deserved answers to the looming Cape Wind cost question. In the absence of a formal cost analysis, we can look to Europe, California, and perhaps most importantly, Texas, for lessons learned.

Humanity can't power progress with green faith

Lisa

July 24, 2009 9:06:56 AM

Environmentalists who oppose everything except renewable energy are condemning billions to poverty. ...Such opposition demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of where our electricity comes from, how much it costs, who pays for it and what the future global energy landscape looks like.

When wind power blows, jobs will fall

Lisa

July 19, 2009 12:28:04 AM

Miliband’s citing of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech in support of his policy of subsidising the construction of many thousands of otherwise uneconomic wind turbines might appear grotesque, even comical; but not if you genuinely believe that Britain’s switching from coal to wind power for its electricity generation will save the lives of countless Africans. I have no idea whether Miliband truly believes that it will - but if he does, he is deluded.

Information lacking on wind power

Lisa

July 16, 2009 6:10:34 PM

Performing a detailed feasibility study and siting analysis of wind turbine placement atop our Berkshire hills is dependent upon corporate proprietary information which could be purposely withheld (in restraint of trade) for fear that competition could gain an unfair advantage if it were divulged. Such a practice stifles competition from firms performing similar services ...but is particularly injurious to the industry which depends the most on the wise use of our land-based natural resources.

Energy proposal forgets economics

Lisa

July 10, 2009 5:54:00 PM

Of course, politicians are not alone. It's not unusual to find an economist who succumbs to the dark side of politics, letting political preferences override sound economic reasoning. A glaring example of politics overriding economics came June 26 when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act. ...In effect, politicians are willing to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy for the sake of green politics.

Ideology is driving our energy policy instead of economic reality

Lisa

July 02, 2009 7:25:59 AM

Last week the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) called for a halt on a proposed €30bn spend on the national energy infrastructure so that a proper assessment of future energy needs as well as the economic benefit of the massive investment in renewable power could be addressed. ...Plans are now afoot to deliver up to 7,800 MW of wind power on the island of Ireland, with a mixture of onshore and offshore projects in the pipeline. It may well help reduce our carbon emissions, but at what cost?

Green power faces many hurdles

Lisa

June 30, 2009 10:36:34 PM

Renewable energy faces many hurdles before it is "ready for prime-time", not the least of which is the ability for the industry to sustain itself long-term without government subsidies. Simply put, green energy has to provide sufficient profit for companies to invest in the infrastructure needed to produce it. Without government subsidies, that is not currently possible.

Green jobs blown in the wind

Lisa

June 30, 2009 2:11:18 AM

The expansion of wind and solar 'green power' will waste billions and destroy far more jobs than it supposedly creates. That is the damning message from what appears to be the first serious analysis anywhere in the world of the actual real world performance and impact of subsidising and force-feeding these very expensive and semi-useless alternative energy sources. That in itself is damning.

Lights out: Our 'alternative' energy future really means no energy at all

Lisa

June 28, 2009 8:02:41 AM

George Will: Tilting at green windmills

Lisa

June 23, 2009 10:10:12 PM

Calzada says Spain's torrential spending - no other nation has so aggressively supported production of electricity from renewable sources - on wind farms and other forms of alternative energy has indeed created jobs. His report concludes that they often are temporary and have received $752,000 to $800,000 each in subsidies; wind industry jobs cost even more, $1.4 million each. And each new job entails the loss of 2.2 other jobs.