Green power failure

The Amonix solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas went belly-up last week, closing its 214,000-square-foot facility just a year after it opened and becoming the latest tax-subsidized alternative energy operation to go bust.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval were among those who expressed high hopes that the Amonix plant would help Nevada develop a vibrant clean energy economy. But the business never would have opened if not for political muscle, public money and renewable portfolio mandates on utilities.

It's clearer than ever that no amount of government coercion will make this industry pencil out anytime soon.

Amonix received a $15.6 million grant from the Bush-era U.S. Department of Energy in 2007 for research and development. Last year, California-based Solyndra filed for bankruptcy after receiving $535 million in federal loan guarantees from the Obama administration. Colorado-based Abound Solar, which received $70 million in loan guarantees, filed for bankruptcy in June. Closer to home, Nevada Geothermal Power, which has received nearly $100 million in federal loan guarantees, has operated at a loss for years.

Taxpayers have been hit with another loss. These aren't job-creating investments. They're debt-growing giveaways. And while the Obama administration is married to its empty promises of millions of green jobs, plenty of Republicans have backed these failed enterprises, too.

If the American economy is to recover and prosper, it needs plentiful, inexpensive energy. Solar energy shows promise, yet it still costs three times as much as power produced by natural gas or coal. Those who wish to work at making solar power more efficient and affordable should be welcomed here. But they should perform that work with private capital. And if they can't find private capital, that tells you all you need to know.

Politicians of both parties have proved again why governments that run electrical utilities as political honey jars keep collapsing around the world. Private utilities should be left free to maximize return for their investors while offering consumers the cheapest possible power with the cheapest energy that can be produced within reasonable environmental standards - regardless of which happen to release harmless carbon dioxide. Tax subsidies for green energy don't cut it.

Source:http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/green-power-failure-163325956.html