Energy non-economics

Here.

Excerpts:

The energy bill also mandates that electric utilities produce 15 percent of their power from "renewable sources," which makes no economic sense in many parts of the country. If nuclear energy can be produced for a third of the cost of a renewable, why should all consumers be saddled with higher prices to do things less efficiently? Again, the free-market price system tells producers what fuels they should use far more effectively than lordly senators and representatives ever can.
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One truly foolish and arrogant provision of the bill would mandate a phaseout of the standard incandescent electric light bulb. But the private sector has already invented high-brightness LEDs and other new lighting technologies that use a small fraction of electricity and last far longer than the traditional bulb. As the price of these new technologies drop, individual consumers will quickly switch over — as they are already doing — without the nannies in Congress telling them to do so. (LEDs have become standard for stop lights and are used on the White House Christmas tree this year).