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It's not that they didn't want to build them, many plans scrapped due to legal maneuvers by environmentalists groups or in the case of Kansas one governor:
Governor vetoes Kansas coal plant bill - Kansas City Star (http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1140243.html - broken link)
Certainly other factors play into it such as the possible drastic artificial increase in the cost of operating such a facility when/if the C&T becomes reality. Bottom line is coal is cheapest without such ridiculous and most likely unneeded regulation. The American taxpayer, industry and business's will be the ones to suffer long term paying much higher rates for electricity than they need too.
How many of you would walk into a store and offer to pay more than what the proprietor wanted? That's about what we'll be doing with electricity.
The study is specific to the economy where renewables is concerned and not an overall picture. In other words If they weren't pushing renewables they would have grown larger without that hanging around their necks.
Spanish policy shows that green dreams like renewable energy are achievable only through massive transfers of money from productive sectors to those seeking to get rich quick thanks to government mandates. And that the few jobs created greatly depend on maintaining impossible levels of growth. Even in Mr. Obama's Washington, you can't print enough greenbacks to pay for these green jobs
The study is specific to the economy where renewables is concerned and not an overall picture. In other words If they weren't pushing renewables they would have grown larger without that hanging around their necks.
When the unemployment rate in a country drops by 50% it really is a slight of hand to suggest that the country's policies are misguided. But the coal lobby will say that, I' sure.
When the unemployment rate in a country drops by 50% it really is a slight of hand to suggest that the country's policies are misguided.
Not that it's relevant to this discussion but apparently they were riding a housing boom for the last decade, now the bubble has burst and they are fighting very high unemployment numbers. A upward spiral that started in June 2007
Spain’s unemployment, already the highest in the European Union, shot up again in January, rising by the most in at least 13 years, marking the 10th consecutive monthly increase as Spain’s recession continues to deepen
The higher energy prices people are now paying I'm sure are not helping things.
Interesting assertion. How does one square that with the fact that Spain's economy grew at almost exactly the same rate as the US economy from 2000 - 2008 and it's unemployment rate steadily dropped to 50% of the 2000 level? Maybe somebody is making up stuff?
Did you notice date of the paper? March '09....Perhaps you revel in posting out of date and misleading data?
Not that it's relevant to this discussion but apparently they were riding a housing boom for the last decade, now the bubble has burst and they are fighting very high unemployment numbers. A upward spiral that started in June 2007
The higher energy prices people are now paying I'm sure are not helping things.
Well, unless I am reading it wrong (it's about Spain, correct?) - that sure sounds familiar.
Sure it isn't a report on the US?
Well, unless I am reading it wrong (it's about Spain, correct?) - that sure sounds familiar.
Sure it isn't a report on the US?
Not quite, the Spanish report mentions the collapse of the housing market. Go to page 29. Here's the citation:
Quote:
The residential houses started in Spain from 2004 to 2006 were 2,163,400 (Instituto Nacional de Estadística: “Estadísticas de la construcción”), on average more than 700,000 per year for a 45 million population. For comparative purposes, in the US, the number of started houses reached up to 1,716 millions in 2005 (US Census Bureau: “New residential construction”), which means the peak year of the real estate boom for 300 million people. In the US, comparing relative population, the equivalent of this overexpansion would be new residential houses started per year of 4,800,000.
What I noticed was that the paper was absolutely bullchit. During the period in question Spain had strong economic growth and declining unemployment.
Read it again or did you read any of it? The economy in Spain was enjoying good times like the rest of the world, but they weren't creating real long lasting jobs, now they are in a very bad position.
The renewable energy market there was driven by government mandates starting about 2000, the chickens are coming home to roost so to speak. How much the renewable drive has to do with their problems can certainly be debated but certainly exorbitantly high energy rates is not helping anything. You're not going to create good jobs in such a climate as they will go elsewhere seeking lower energy rates.
Another very good point made by that report is much of solar installed are really inefficient systems that they are now stuck with maintaining for their lifetime. As newer technologies become available within the next few decades that might actually be able to compete with coal investment in those technologies will yield a far greater return.
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