Matters not whether it’s your money, or the public purse.. doing the math is always a good first step.
Here’s a site shared with me by a reader.. if you are ‘on grid’, it may prove interesting to see what others are paying per KWH. A fun comparison is Yakima Washington and Honolulu Hawaii. Look at the cost per KWH difference and note the typical solar output.
http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/calculators/PVWATTS/version1/
A side note, our Governor here in Washington sided with wind farm developers to Mar the views of some of the most beautiful and scenic areas of our central cascade mountain range. In this same area is dirt cheap hydro that is in abundance a good portion of the year… fact is, it’s sometimes a ‘use it or lose it proposition.. the water either goes over the dam, or through the turbine. The reality is, we do no have the grid capacity to haul our dirt cheap hydro AND the far more expensive wind turbine power to market at the same time.
Just a little research suggests that the Governor was far more interested in siding with her political base than looking at the realities of the return on investment. Meanwhile we all pay for the subsidies which counters the great investments in dollars and ‘lives lost’ to develop our hydro power production capability.
Subsidies are the root of an evil tree, and all too many spend their time flailing at the branches.. subsidies are often little more than political favors, and the focus of our leaders is first and foremost their re-election.
