Date published: 2005/09/16
The BBC says:
Consumers could be paying about a billion pounds a year to subsidise green energy projects like wind farms, according to a group of MPs.
The Public Accounts Committee said in some cases the government is paying out twice as much as the wind farm companies need to break even.
Fossil and nuclear fuels also receive government assistance.
But the Department of Trade and Industry said the subsidies were essential to develop renewable energy.
...
Devon Wind Power said the level of subsidy was "a matter for the government" and Renewable Energy Systems denied the subsidies were too much.Spokeswoman Rachel Ruffle said: "I don't think people mind paying a small subsidy for clean, green electricity.
"As more renewable energy schemes are built, then the price will come down.
"People want green electricity because they're concerned about climate change and pollution."
How surprising. Of course it's fair enough to subsidise promising new technology. Of more interest here is whether these "green" technologies are really green. The reason they are so expensive is that you have to spend an awful lot of money up front to implement them, and that means consuming an awful lot of energy (almost certainly produced mostly from oil). Consuming an awful lot of energy (or producing an awful lot of carbon) today to save some energy (or carbon) tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, etc., is not necessarily a great idea (one has to do some hard sums, and be honest when doing them).
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