Tell me why the price goes up.
The wind is free, the sun is free, The hydro water is free.
The only expense is in the fabrication of the plant.
After that the energy to supply the plant is free.
Well, once the plants are in place, it needs upkeep. That is expensive. Then the owners must keep security by them all the time, because of copper thieves.
The up front capital costs for one. The need for storage/backup generation is another. Wind is awful for system stability. The rules up here in the PNW regarding wind generation has caused extra water spillage from our hydro projects which in turn KILLED FISH. Boondoggle.
Wind/Solar. The wind dies down, the sun goes down, the load is still there. What do you do?
At least with hydro, you can manage the system to match generation vs. load. X-USCE.
Tell me why there are 14,000 abandoned wind mills in America if it’s “free”.
In spite of your fantasy, there are operating costs, not the least of which is ensuring there is replacement energy available to compensate for lack of sunshine and wind.
As to your “only expense”, tell that to the company that spent 5 years fighting DiFi and the Sierra Club, to set-up a 500 Megawatt solar plant in the Mojave dessert, as they decried the “environmental impact”.
The company finally gave up, after considerable “only” expense with no return.
The simple fact is the enviro-whackos don’t want solutions that work.
These dirt firster’s don’t want the industry or the people anywhere on the planet.
There are numerous sources of info on the cost of power from renewables. I’ll quote some info released last month by the Climate Policy Initiative, based in San Fran.
Solar: $205/MWh (based on Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station). Then there is the 30% investment tax credit (paid by tax payers) worth $52/MWh. That gets the cost down to $153/MWh. Then there are property tax exemptions (paid by tax payers) worth $13/MWh. Now we are at $140/MWh. Accelerated depreciation (reduces current tax expense) worth $23/MWh. Now we are at $117/MWh. U.S loan guarantees for project financing (once again, the taxpayer is on the hook) worth $22/MWh. That puts us at $95/MWh.
I buy power for a utility in Washington state. Yesterday I was paying only $25/MWh on the open market. So, after socializing half the costs of that solar plant, it is still coming-in at four times higher than the market.
Watch your wallet. The govt is dinging you via tax subsidies and the local utility will be hitting you with those higher power costs.
For once, the SF Chronicle has it right.