Time to acknowledge that Nevada's 'clean energy' emperor isn't wearing any clothes
Tonight, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will address the Nevada Legislature. Earlier this week, he tweeted that one of the things he'll be talking about is Nevada's "clean energy potential."
What a joke.
If this was 2009, we could debate about the "potential" of subsidizing so-called "clean energy" projects, like solar, wind and geothermal. We could debate about if "renewable energy" mandates are the key to diversifying Nevada's economy.
But it's not 2009. It's 2013, and four years later, we know that over $1.3 billion in government handouts to "clean energy" companies has resulted in just 288 permanent jobs. That's over $4.6 million a job.
But the problems with "clean energy" subsidies go beyond government picking winners and losers in the economy. Energy from these "renewable" sources is up to four times as expensive as energy from traditional sources — and solar and wind facilities require back up power for “intermittency issues.”
Reid's rhetoric can no longer distract us from the fact that we can all see that's Nevada's "clean-energy" emperor isn't wearing any clothes.
