Suicide by Idiocracy: Governments Pursue Big Solar and Wind Over a Cliff

The alternative energy market is still an artificial market; except for a handful of novelty customers rich enough to afford inefficient green tech, firms and households only choose green tech when subsidies bring the price within range or regulations force people to choose expensive green products.

Two years ago, when delusional greens thought they were on the way to a global carbon treaty, green tech looked hot. But as that project collapsed under its own weight, the prospects for the green market withered. The recession strengthened public opposition to expensive new green regulations, and the European financial crisis means that countries like Spain...and Greece have no more budgetary room for frills. _WRM

Government subsidies and mandates are still pushing the development of unreliable and expensive big wind and big solar projects. In fact, as a direct result of subsidies, big wind and big solar investments are rivaling investments in more reliable and traditional forms of energy. The resulting destruction will not occur as a result of the spending on wind and solar, but rather will be due to the lack of spending on more reliable forms of energy. Energy starvation -- with resulting failure of industries and loss of jobs -- will be the inevitable result of underinvestment in essential and reliable forms of energy.

Government subsidies for big wind and big solar are having other adverse effects. According to uber-technologist and venture capitalist Nathan Myhrvold, government support of the wind and solar industries is hampering essential innovation in those fields. The "kiss of death" for many industries seems to be the over-generous support of government, often as a form of payback for campaign supporters.

While US President Obama is complaining that the Chinese are subsidising their own solar industry, the Chinese are beginning to look into the Obama administration's support of insider wind and solar companies such as Solyndra. Investigations into corrupt dealings can be a two-way street, and Chinese crony capitalists do not appear to be willing to be pushed around by crony capitalists in the US.

Chinese solar firms are taking huge losses. And yet, despite the losses, Chinese solar companies continue pushing price levels downward for solar panels. The problem for the solar industry in China is unlikely to go away soon.