Ask other states how that energy policy is working out
The Indianapolis Star, www.indystar.com 5 January 2011
The Indianapolis Star, www.indystar.com 5 January 2011
Ask other states how that energy policy is working out In its Jan. 4 editorial (“We can’t stand still on energy”), The Star laments Indiana’s lack of movement on renewable-energy standards and net metering, stating that by failing to follow other states’ leads we are missing out on green jobs.
But other states’ experiences leave it far from self-evident that the few resultant green jobs would be worth the cost. Leave aside the execrable performance of states like California, which is hemorrhaging jobs. Even Texas, which is less prone to take leave of its fiscal senses than some other states, found that its tax breaks for wind farms cost nearly $1.6 million per job, despite federal wind-power subsidies that amount to half again the current spot price of natural gas.
Both net metering and renewable-energy standards are effectively subsidies by ratepayers for favored industries – wind and solar – that cannot compete on their own. Rather than mindlessly cheerleading for Rep. Ryan Dvorak’s net-metering proposal, The Star should be applauding the adults in the legislature who, instead of simply following the herd, actually are attempting to determine for themselves whether such measures are in Hoosiers’ best interest.
Joseph H. Born
Indianapolis
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/01/05/ask-other-states-how-that-energy-policy-is-working-out/