Renewable-Energy Sticker Shock [Drew Thornley]

Planet Gore on National Review Online

The Lone Star State’s renewable-energy mandates — combined with the federal government’s generous tax credit for wind-energy production — have helped Texas become the nation’s leading installer of wind-energy capacity. You won’t find much opposition here to wind energy’s rapid expansion, because so much money is pouring into the state. It’s all fun and games — until Texas consumers pay the long-term price for everyone else’s short-term gain.

And pay they will. In my just published study, Texas Wind Energy: Past, Present, and Future (PDF here), we estimate that forcing even modest levels of wind-energy generation on Texans will cost ratepayers and taxpayers up to $4 billion a year, and at least $60 billion through 2025. Apply these numbers on a national scale with the idea of replacing coal or natural gas — or both — with wind, and the numbers become staggering.