So many of the Greens keep touting the inevitability of renewable energy overtaking traditional energy sources, including the newer nuclear technologies. But time after time the favored renewables fail to live up to the hype and, more often than not, cannot survive without government subsidies. Any truly viable energy source should be able to survive without the need for government funding, but after many decades of pushing for renewables like solar and wind, they are no more viable than they were at the beginning. (One of the truly effective renewables, hydro, is scorned by many of the Greens because it isn't politically correct and, if they had their way, every dam in the world world be torn down, even those that provide water and flood protection for large populations. As it is, even if every viable hydroelectric location were used, it wouldn't be able to meet anywhere near the demand.)
So this news must be devastating to the Renewables_Can_Meet_All_Of_Our_Energy_Needs_Particularly_If_We_Kill_Off_Two-Thirds_Of_The_Human_Population cabal: The Ivanpah solar plant could soon be shut down because it isn't producing anywhere near the promised amount of electricity.
This solar-thermal plant located out in the desert in California has only been able to produce between 45 and 68 percent of the promised electricity. That's after receiving $1.6 billion in loan guarantees. (That's 'billion' with a 'b'.) They also asking for an additional $539 million in grants to help pay off the $1.6 billion the project owes. Between the cost of the plant, the cost of operation and maintenance, electricity from the plant costs almost six times the cost of electricity from a natural gas-fueled power plant.
These are your tax dollars at work, dollars that either could have been spent elsewhere more effectively, or better yet, not spent at all.
