The harsh reality of wind and solar energy

The harsh reality of green energy does not match its spin. Gary Lamphier, writing in the Edmonton Journal,  tells us a story that the greenies want to sweep under the rug:

After all, when it comes to job creation, the green lobby isn't exactly dealing from strength. The renewable energy sector it so avidly promotes is full of investor disaster stories, bankruptcies, plant closures, job losses, red ink, foregone taxpayer loans, and allegations of political meddling.

It ain't a pretty picture, and it's one the enviro activists would rather sweep under a rug, safely out of public view. After all, the gritty truth undercuts their utopian dream of a clean, green energy future, one without fossil fuels.

Consider. Last year, the Wilderhill New Energy Index - a global index of nearly 100 green energy companies - plunged by 40 per cent. And that was no blip. Since the index was formed in January 2006, it has lost a third of its value.

Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Wind Energy Index, which includes 64 global companies, slumped by 22 per cent in 2011.

Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems, the world's largest wind turbine maker, shed two-thirds of its value last year. After turfing its CEO last fall, the company has repeatedly slashed its sales forecasts in the face of stiff competition from China.

Early this month, after Vestas posted a 2011 loss of $220 million US - four times bigger than analyst estimates - the company's chief financial officer quit. The company's stock closed Wednesday at just over $3, down from a 2008 high of nearly $50.

Solyndra, a California-based solar panel maker the U.S. administration enthusiastically supported - with Obama staging photo ops at the plant to affirm his green credentials - went bankrupt last fall, leaving taxpayers on the hook for a cool $535 million.

"Since the failure of the company, Obama's entire $80 billion clean-technology program has begun to look like a political liability for an administration about to enter a bruising re-election campaign," the Washington Post reported in December.

Read the entire article here

PS

The truth is that the wind and solar industries are totally dependent on tax subsidies for its existence. Fortunately the US Congress is beginning to realize that it is not worth wasting more tax payers´ money on these unprofitable and useless technologies. On Thursday it was reported that Congress would not be renewing a tax credit deal for wind energy projects.