Ontario’s Power Trip: Power without the people.

Key quote: "OSEA’s political clout scored another victory last Friday when the Ontario government reversed itself on a plan — announced July 2 — to cut the massive subsidy price paid for small-scale solar electricity to 58¢ for each kilowatt hour from 80¢. The cut, to be imposed on 16,000 solar project applicants, would have saved $1-billion. But now, under lobbying from OSEA, Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid has reversed himself. The new price would be 64¢ but the old price of 80¢ would be paid on all projects for which applications had been received as of Aug. 13.

Read more: http://opinion.financialpost.com/2010/08/17/ontarios-power-trip-power-without-the-people/#ixzz0wx3KVu2D

Redrant: My Minneapolis, MN Xcel energy retail residential electric cost is around ten cents per kilowatt hour. (Old) nuke costs around two cents per KWH to produce, coal is around four cents per KWH. Peaker natural gas might be eight to ten cents per KWH and "big wind" might be ten to fifteen cents per KWH without subsidies. Compare that eighty cents to sixty-four cents paid for wholesale solar!

At Nellis Air Force Base, in the Nevada desert, (which has more sun) one-hundred million dollars was spent on a solar panel system. They claim that it will save one million dollars per year on electric costs. That 1% and solar panel have at best a 25 year working life and need cleaning and maintenance. http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/Gores_Dream.jpg Greg Lang