The costs of green energy
By The Bakersfield Californian
Sometimes, unintended consequences can be so ironic. California's almost solitary effort to save the world from global warming by mandating renewable electricity (33 percent by 2020) will actually add to the production of carbon dioxide.
Besides substantial carbon emissions necessary to produce and install massive wind and solar facilities, every megawatt of solar and wind electricity produced must be backed up by a carbon-fired, nuclear or hydroelectric source.
Becoming dependent on green energy and failure to have this backup will result in brownouts or blackouts. So, we have gas-fired turbines running inefficiently, in standby mode, when the sun and wind are producing.
Seems to me our "green California" effort has resulted in unnecessary duplication and great cost to all consumers: business, industry and homeowners alike. We pay at least 50 percent more for electricity than we should be paying, all thanks to California's green energy initiatives. Could this be another reason for industries (and jobs) to be finding more economical states in which to conduct their businesses? Oh, and why are we Californians heavily subsidizing green industries at a time when California is so out of money?
Fred Kloepper
Bakersfield
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