Many and varied are the ways in which our federal government has found to waste taxpayer money - our money - over the years. But of all the ways Washington has found to toss our money down various ratholes, few are as egregious as the assorted "green energy" boondoggles.
These subsidies are particularly wasteful, not only because they are based on a false premise, namely that a low-energy-density source can replace a high-energy-density source, but because the money is carelessly distributed and often spent to no end, producing no practical result. The Biden administration was particularly bad about this, and now the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking into one such boondoggle, a $7 billion solar energy program, to find out just where all that money went.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is opening an audit into a $7 billion Biden-era solar deployment program, the OIG said in a Wednesday letter.
The OIG is auditing the Solar For All program, which is part of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Biden EPA used the program to route massive checks to sixty recipients — primarily state governments —around the country so that awardees could finance solar panel deployment in low-income areas. The Trump EPA is now following up on the program’s funding.
“Our objective is to describe the status of funds, top recipients, and potential risks and impacts of the EPA’s Solar for All program within the Office of the Administrator’s Office of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,” the letter reads. “We plan to conduct work at headquarters and regions, if necessary.”
You can read the entire letter mentioned here.
One of the primary failures already identified is that a lot of money went to some of the worst places. Solar power, after all, requires, you know, sunshine, and a lot of our money went to states that are among the least sunny.
For instance, the Executive Office of the State of New Hampshire received approximately $43.5 million from the program, and the Vermont Department of Public Service reaped nearly $62.5 million while the Maine Governor’s Energy Office raked in $62.1 from the Solar for All program. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Solar Radiation Database Physical Solar Model indicates that New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine are among the least-sunny states in the U.S.
A report from April 2024 has more details:
For example, the Executive Office of the State of New Hampshire received more than $43.5 million, while the Vermont Department of Public Service is being awarded nearly $62.5 million and the Maine Governor’s Energy Office is taking home $62.1 from the EPA, according to the agency. The NREL’s National Solar Radiation Database Physical Solar Model shows that New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine receive some of the least solar radiation in the country.
The Biden administration, it seems, wasn't troubled with such things.
See Related: The Energy Transition That Isn't - Growth of Renewables Just Isn't There
Of course, the Biden administration was more concerned with appeasing the climate scolds than with any practical applications. And there are practical applications for solar power, although normally as a supplement to traditional sources. It is low-energy-density, but can serve as a backup; even here in Alaska, where the electrical co-ops will often purchase back excess power, there are people - including some friends of ours - who generate enough power with a modest solar installation during our long summer days to pay for much of their electricity in the dark months. And we also know people who live off-grid and depend on solar, batteries, and diesel generators.
None of this should be subsidized, though. If there is a market for solar power, it will be because it makes economic sense, and for the people I mention here, it does. Places like Arizona and New Mexico may also have practical models for solar power. But the Biden administration seems to have been determined to throw good money after bad, in the interest of greenhouse gas reduction.
The fact is that every major technological leap in human history has been due to increases in energy density. Every technological activity humankind does, from smelting bronze to building microchips, requires energy, and every major step forward has been made possible by an increase in energy density. From wood to charcoal to coal to oil to natural gas, every step has in increase in energy density, and we already have the next step - nuclear power.
The left wants to take us backward. For the sake of our modern lifestyle, the shouting of the climate scolds must be ignored. We have to keep moving ahead.
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