Green Agenda Faces Existential Crisis: Green Subsidies No Longer Affordable

Written by Dr. Benny Peiser, GWPF, via email | February 02 2012

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Across Europe, cash-strapped governments have come to the same conclusion: we can’t afford to prop up renewable technology. They are reacting accordingly. Subsidies for costly clean energy technologies, mainly solar and wind, are being slashed. With governments from Rome to Athens to London cutting basics such as pensions and healthcare, it is not surprising. Worries are increasing that Europe’s economic woes will claim yet another victim: the green agenda. --Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times, 29 January 2012

Spain's push to become a world leader in renewable energy risks collapsing after the government slammed the brakes on generous subsidies as part of an austerity drive. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government passed a decree on Friday to "temporarily suspend" subsidies for all new wind, solar, co-generation or waste incineration plants as it seeks to curb the public deficit. Industry leaders say the halt to the subsidies, combined with uncertainty over how long the suspension will last, will deflate investor interest in what was once one of Spain's most dynamic sectors. "This decision is one of the biggest blows ever to the sector," said the head of lobby group Fundacion Renovables, Javier Breva. "Who is going to invest in the renewable energy sector after this decree?" --Daniel Silva, AFP, 2 February 2012

Wind power is facing a make-or-break moment in Congress, with renewable-energy firms' projects on hold as lawmakers debate whether to extend subsidies for new wind farms this month. Previous delays in extending the wind-farm tax credit, first enacted in 1992, have led to drop-off in wind installations. Some in Congress say it is time to end subsidies for renewable energy. The wind industry "simply cannot continue to rely on the American taxpayer," said Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.), who has a bill that would cut many energy-related credits from the tax code. --Ryan Tracey, The Wall Street Journal, 2 February 2012

A plan to subsidise solar panels on homes was “one of the most ridiculous schemes ever dreamed up”, a Government minister has said. Lord Marland, an Energy minister, hit out at the cost of so-called feed-in tariffs, which the Government has axed as part of the cuts programme. He said: “This is one of the most ridiculous schemes that has ever been dreamed up. It is already going to cost the consumer £7billion for £400million of net present value. This is on a product where you need the electricity when the sun doesn't shine.” --Christopher Hope, The Daily Telegraph, 31 January 2012

The U.K. government will announce as early as next week plans to reduce subsidies for solar energy at routine intervals as part of an effort to curb a boom in installations, a person familiar with the plan said. --Alex Morales, Bloomberg, 2 February 2012

Cash-strapped Greece cut its subsidies for solar power producers on Wednesday, saying it could no longer afford to pay the current rates and that it had already licensed all the units it needs to meet its renewable energy targets. --Reuters, 1 February 2012

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# John 2012-02-02 11:04

It's about bloody time they stopped these green subsidies. They will never become economical. It might well be that this economic downturn is partly caused by these subsidies.

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# Joker 2012-02-02 11:24

That's a nice picture of wind turbines up there which should be a call to action to everyone in the UK.

Keep your fingers crossed, pray or do old Jedi war chant in the hope that the decision will be made tommorrow that Liberal Coalition Minister for Energy and Climate Change Mr Wind Turbine himself Chris Huhne will at last face criminal charges for perverting the course of justice.

Let's hope the ESSHAICHONETEE faced nasty little lying cheating hypocritical poor excuse for a human being gets what's coming to him.

If on the other hand he get's off scott free, we will all know for sure that all is not well.

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# Gator 2012-02-02 12:27

I read about a farmer in Spain who ripped out perfectly good pear trees from his families' land, land that had been theirs for generations. They put up bird shredders, with a promise from the government that they would receive handsome subsidies. The bank liked what they saw and loaned the farmer the money to build his bird killing zone. A year later the Spanish dictators reneged on the deal and the farmer lost his families' ancestral land.

Never trust your government. Keep them on a short leash, and starve them of power and money.

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