By Institute for Energy Research ——Bio and Archives--May 21, 2010
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“It is not surprising that a program that gives away billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars is popular among rent-seeking corporations whose product would otherwise fail in the marketplace. Who can say no to free money? Of course, it is not free to the taxpayer, who pays not just once for the government give-away, but a second time in the form of increased energy prices. “As hard as Congress tries to make renewable energy competitive, whether through hand outs like this, or by penalizing traditional sources of energy, these forms of energy simply aren’t ready for the major leagues. “Make no mistake, a good farm system of diverse energy sources is very important, but they must be developed in the marketplace, not Washington. Renewable energy companies and their partners on Wall Street should put up their own money instead of standing in line for taxpayer-funded handouts. “Other nations, like Spain, have tried this and the results have been disastrous. Our government should learn from these mistakes instead of trying to repeat them.”Note: Spain had a robust renewable energy handout program that allowed them to claim first place in many renewable energy rankings. However, acknowledging that this was unsustainable, the Spanish government is currently in the process of slashing their “excessive subsidies.” Bloomberg recently reported on this “burst bubble.”
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The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.