The dirty secret of green energy is that it depends on subsidies. Whether it’s the credits extracted from other automakers that really fueled Tesla’s rise or the multiple tiers of subsidies for wind and solar, the only reason any of the green energy grift exists is through money extracted from consumers, taxpayers, and the economy in too many ways to even begin to count.
What happens when the subsidies are pulled? Go look at California, the home of solar, and one of the few places in the country where it’s even viable.
The state Public Utilities Commission in late 2022 slashed by about 75% the rate that utilities pay homeowners with new solar panels when they sell surplus power to the grid…
The state’s decision has caused consumer demand for residential solar to plummet since the new rate took effect. Solar companies say they’ve been shoved to the edge of a cliff, forcing them to lay off workers or even shut down.
Experts worry that the steep decline could stall the state’s battle against climate change. Solar power is critical to meeting California’s ambitious requirement to switch to 90% carbon-free electricity in 2035 and 100% in 2045. Large-scale and rooftop solar is projected to provide more than half of the grid’s power by 2045.
The imminent change in payments to customers drove a three-month surge in homeowners applying for solar connections leading up to the deadline. But then came a 90% decline last May compared to May of 2022, according to state data for areas served by Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric.
In all, about 82% fewer customers applied for solar connections from May through November of last year compared to a year earlier. Fewer than 4,000 customers applied in November, the last month with available data.
Deepak Rajagopal, an energy economist at UCLA’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability, said it’s no surprise that consumers balked at going solar after the reimbursement rate changed from what he called the “generous” system. He said the higher payments were a burden on people who don’t have solar.
“The state is betting so strongly on power from rooftop solar. They will have to recalibrate,” Rajagopal said.
There’s no recalibration.
Green energy depends on monstrous subsidies. But states, including California, have to tighten their belts and that means there isn’t as much free money floating as there was before.
Since ‘green energy’ is, ironically, unsustainable, it takes far more money to fund it than it can ever produce. Imagine the costs in subsidies to move the state to 90% green energy.
And since that’s going to be passed on to consumers, imagine the cost of cooling and heating a home? Imagine what it will cost to run hospitals and data centers?
Buying ‘carbon offsets’ becomes the only viable strategy. And that’s a massive scam that will entail doing business as usual while funding windmills no one wants or uses in Montana or Mumbai.
There’s no strategy here. Either we get off the green train or we all end up in the dark.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/without-subsidies-solar-demand-falls-80/