Spain scuttles clean-energy subsidies; promptly watches the industry go down like a sinking ship

Hotair ^ | May 30,2012 | ERIKA JOHNSEN

[Hojczyk]

Serious question, greenies: is a nation justified in completely running its economy into the ground, with all of the hardship and heartache that ensues, if it’s all for the sake of instilling the populace with what the government deems necessary environmental virtue?

Saddled with a budget deficit more than twice the European Union limit and a ballooning gap between income and costs in its power system, Spain halted subsidies for new renewable-energy projects in January. The surprise move by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy one month after taking office helped pierce investor confidence in stable aid for clean energy acrossEurope.

“They destroyed the Spanish market overnight with the moratorium,” European Wind Energy Association Chief Executive Officer Christian Kjaer said in an interview. “The wider implication of this is that if Spanish politicians can do that, probably most European politicians can do that.”

Spain’s $69 billion of investment in power capacity from 2004 to 2011 was about triple the spending per capita in the U.S. in that period, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance data and U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. Most of the 2012-2013 spending will be for the legacy of projects approved before the aid cuts to wind, solar, biomass and co-generation.

Investment in solar photovoltaic alone is headed to skid to as little as $107 million in 2013 from $879 million this year and $1.5 billion last year, New Energy Finance estimated. For new wind projects, investment should plunge to $963 million in 2013 and $244 million in 2014 from $2 billion this year.

[shove_it]

“The wider implication of this is that if Spanish politicians can do that, probably most European politicians can do that.”

Sounds like a plan.

[Red Badger]

Green is the new Red...........

[almost done by half]

“Spain’s $69 billion of investment in power capacity from 2004 to 2011.”

Incredible. Any wonder why they are on the rocks?

[mo]

So the adults are finally telling the scamsters to get lost!!

[kabar]

They are called watermelons—green on the outside, red on the inside.

[Blue Highway]

So the dopes on the left in this country and the dopes abroad worldwide still don’t get that green energy or green anything is devastating to the economy? Will they finally get it when they are dead and buried?

[Red Badger]

I prefer yellow watermelons..........

[fella]

Some people made a lot of money from this. The Spanish tax-payers deserve to know who they are and what political parties and individuals that they supported. In the old days pitchforks, torches and rope would quickly solve the problem. But people think they are more civilized now and besides the lawyers think they deserve all the money that they haven't already gotten out of this.

[VeniVidiVici]

Hard to believe that France is at the forefront of nuclear power production. Almost 80% of its electricity generation comes from nuclear plants.

Of course now with the Socialists back in power, they want to close down almost half of the French nuclear plants by 2025.