Price Matters
The Bishop Hill blog reports that the high prices set for “green” energy made it worthwhile for entrepreneurs to generate “green” energy from solar panels 24 hours a day — they did this by using diesel generators to power lights to shine on the solar panels at night.
The WattsUpWithThat blog’s commentary on the Bishop Hill post notes that California regulators have so distorted electric power costs that it is now “cheaper to generate your own electricity running a diesel generator than it is to buy it from PG&E [Pacific Gas and Electric].”
California Dreamin’
People who believe they know what’s best for everyone – or assume they can create outcomes better than the market – are distorting the market for energy in California. This should not be too surprising. Regulations that are well-meaning, but poorly-conceived, have been distorting the market for health care for years and it’s only going to get worse.
It’s interesting when I meet people who are adamant about recycling. When you ask whether or not it takes more energy to recycle than to make the product again, they say, “At least it’s green,” as if the pollution created by recycling doesn’t matter as much as the psychic benefit from “going green.”
How about California Hallucinating?
Remember, this is La La land.