Study: Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Mandate Will Damage State Economy with Little-to-No Benefit to Environment
Posted by Dan McGrath in Bad Policy, Economics, Global Warming 'Solutions', Solar Power, Wind Power
Wind Turbine
By American Tradition Institute
As the new state legislature scrutinizes Minnesota’s restrictive energy policies, a study commissioned by the American Tradition Institute and the Minnesota Free Market Institute provides several reasons for lawmakers and new Gov. Mark Dayton to reverse the state’s damaging Renewable Portfolio Standard.
The study found that Minnesotans would pay $15 billion more for electricity between 2016 and 2025 because of the state’s RPS, as alternative energy is more costly and unreliable than conventional sources such as coal or natural gas. Meanwhile there will be negligible environmental benefit, as it is unlikely that use of renewables – especially wind, which the state mandates as a large percentage of its RPS – actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study was prepared by economists at the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston.
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I have always thought that if you want to get a windmill, and/or solar panels for your home, go for it. I think it would be a far better solution if they gave you a tax break for having those things installed at your own house. As it is now, there are thousands of those giant windmills that are already in operation in Minnesota, (just take a drive on I-90, you’ll see what I’m talking about.) And what have these vast arrays of giant turbines contributed to Mn energy production? Barely a fart! Wer’e going to blanket the state with turbines, and transmission lines, for an unreliable power source, to combat a made up problem!! It’s moronic! And it’s all thanks to Gov. Pawlenty, a supposed Republican.
Yes! And if you want to fill your own gas tank- drill a well in your backyard! Such brain-power here…. scary! Aren’t there already MANY and NEW transmission lives for conventional energy??!! Answer to neil… yes. And Duh.
You are exhibiting an extreme lack of knowledge about the issue.
wow- of course you are an expert, as usual, on everything…. how’s that oil well coming along in your back yard?
@Rob N. Hood- Sorry- We forgot only you liberals are correct and the rest of us are wrong.
Not an expert, just informed.
Nice (lame) DEFLECTION below. I also happen to be “informed” and we both can’t be right, so… I know, that still gives you no qualms or hesitation about your omniscience and/or ability to be correct and accurate about everything that relates to all angles of these most complex issues.
There is a big difference between informed and indoctrinated.
to capt. bob- I don’t claim what you imply, I only claim to employ logic and reasoning, i.e. using the frontal cortex the way God intended.
That’s why I will not vote for Pawlenty in the election, he has already said his little “green stage” was a mistake, I get annoyed when people admit mistakes as they beg for votes. It was pointed out to him a number of times how damaging it would be for the state, yet he thought he knew best. Sorry Tim, I don’t care how many times you apologize, you blew it.
Wow- such logic, reason and intelligence!!
To Neil above. Who’s indoctrinated? Just because someone dares challenge your seeming omniscience in everything under the sun, including the sun? You must attack that person rather than be even a bit introspective and/or humble? Very right-wing of you…
I’ve met Gov. Pawlenty before he was Governor and before he announced that he would. (Had a meeting in So. St. Paul before he announced) Politics does change individuals to a degree and even though we disagree, I would still support him if and when he states that this type of mandate as well as others are a farce. Until then no way. Agree with Neil, If someone wants solar/Wind out of their own pocket with no subsidy, go for it. Have no problem. Another “Mandate” from the intelligent ones that allegedly “know what is best for the stupid masses.” See the Star Trib letters to editor dated yesterday from an alleged poet where we, the people are not smart enough to know what is right for this country. I was personally repulsed that they even printed it. However, what can you say for the Red Star Tribune and I used to deliver their papers in the 50′s-60′s seven days a week!!
http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/20/why-it-seems-like-severe-weather-is-becoming-more-common-when-the-data-shows-otherwise/
“Analysis of trends and of aggregated time series on climatic (30-year) scale does not indicate consistent trends worldwide. Despite common perception, in general, the detected trends are more negative (less intense floods in most recent years) than positive. Similarly, Svensson et al. (2005) and Di Baldassarre et al. (2010) did not find systematical change neither in flood increasing or decreasing numbers nor change in flood magnitudes in their analysis.â€
“In recent years, the reach of communications technology has expanded and the speed with which natural disasters are reported has increased. With global news coverage, instant messaging, and Internet-enabled phones with cameras, is it any wonder that nothing related to severe weather or disaster escapes our notice anymore? This improved reporting makes it seem as if severe weather events and disasters are becoming much more frequent.”
Oh my gosh… cut and paste…! Didn’t you often chastise me for that? Oh, I never cited my “sources.” Big freakin’ deal.
It is Easter. Luke 23:46
Rob,
Read back what you posted. In this string of posts you mocked him first and lowered the bar for the conversation. You did not offer anything of substance in the argument. Neil actually made a good point that subsdies to individuals for saving energymay be more effective than giving it to the big energy companies. For instance in Germany families that intall solar pannels get big breaks on there power bill and some tax breaks. The Germans do the same for buisnesses to use wind generated energy. Now if it is good enoulgh for the socialists in Germany why don’t you like it? BECAUSE!!!!! Neil posted it so you have to be against it. Oh by the way. the sun lights up the whole world. Oil is not under everyones Back yard. I just wanted to remind you of thoes facts.
You’re entitled to your biased opinion, Jerk, as inaccurate as it may be. But don’t start crying when someone challenges it/you, otherwise stop visiting these sites. Also- I am certainly surprised to learn that despite the fall the the Berlin wall and not to mention the fall of communism there, that Germany is seen as Socialist to you. You Rightys love to keep yourselves afraid and in a lather over non-existent enemies/foes. It’s a psychological problem. Get help.
Oh I almost missed your ironic support of solar energy!!! I was OBVIOUSLY being sarcastic and making a relevent, facetious, and scathingly accurate point about the back-yard oil well. That being said, there are people who sell rights to small bits of land for natural gas fracking and extraction. Neil should perhaps look into that, and you as well.
You see, it is these kinds of things that prove the lack of communication skills and/or intelligence that separates Leftys from Rightys. Need any other clarifications?
P.S. I cannot, as an intelligent person, NOT be against much of what Neil posts, or you for that matter. What about Neil’s predilection to go out of his way completely when it comes to me or anyone else who dares call him out? Funny you missed that obvious fact. I’m sure you aren’t being hypocritical it must have been an honest over-sight.
You love sarcasm don’t you.
More honest than sarcastic. You can’t deal with honesty? It ain’t always pretty.
“Socialism is the philosophy of failure , the creed of ignorance , and the gospel of envy. ” Winston Churchill The definition of ignorant –an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware, or rob n hood.
George- when Churchill made that statement in my opinion, he was referring more to Communism, which at that time was the true enemy, and even as today inaccurately considered to be synonymous with Socialism. Of course they are two separate things (England has for a very long time, been more socialistic than America). If you want uotes from other famous people, including Americans, about the short-comings of Capitalism, I could post for the next year and I don’t think you mooks want me to do that. So nice try, but… lame.
Not only that, the same quote could EASILY be used to describe American Capitalism. Just sayin’.
Except the first part would read “Capitalism is the philosophy of Chapter 11…
Your constant sarcasm isn’t pretty. Hope that you do not talk down to your children as you do on this site. If so, God be with them.
The comments have been getting personal. I’ve been too busy to moderate them all but let’s keep the focus on the issues and off of commentators’ personalities – and familes! Rob’s kids don’t post here, so don’t drag them in, OK?
Not to pick on Paul – you’re all being very uncivil and that’s not what this site is about.
Wow, Paul the kettle is calling the pot black !!! Almost like he’s being hypocritical, but I know that just cannot be!
It’s not always what you say but how you say it. I will chose my words more carefully. I agree Dan, and yes I can get too personal sometimes. Must be in my genes when confronted by an entity you cannot see and disagree with. In my business we look them in the eye. Will be more careful in the future.
You may not see me Paul but that sure hasn’t stopped you from disagreeing…. about everything. Except for ethanol, I think we agreed on that… And Paul, it didn’t offend me, but it still amazes me that you don’t seem to mind or care that you are often hypocritical. To me that trait has always been a huge personality flaw in some people. Something to be aware of and work on… or not.
No disagreement, no discourse. Very simple.
I agree- no discourse. No disagreement? Really? Earth to Paul…
We agree to disagree.
And you agree to having no real discourse…
The GOP’s primary budget goal hasn’t changed. They want continued or even lower taxes for corporations and the wealthy, and they’ve pursued their goal in a systematic way. First they framed deficits, rather than unemployment or economic stagnation, as our most urgent problem. Then they pushed to make sure that most of the deficit reduction comes from spending cuts, not tax increases. And they want those revenue increases to hit the middle class rather than the wealthy, by keeping the top tax rates low and targeting tax “expenditures” which support middle-class health insurance and mortgages.
And while he could have been FDR 2, Obama has so far unfortunately been W 2. And yet the biased extremists believe the opposite. As boringly usual and predictable. They can’t even appreciate their continued good fortune, they are so blinded by illogic and bias. Amazing. It’s never enough for radical extremists.
Already made my statements on this subject know numerous times. Please Re-read.
No thank you. Don’t be lazy.
Suggest you go back and us your “print” button. Be efficient.
“Efficient” as in using a sheet of paper I don’t really want or need?? No wonder resources become scarce over time. Humans are generally very wasteful. You could say I was the one being lazy by not re-reading whatever. You would be using logic and reason if you had, but you didn’t. I was simply giving you the opportunity to use additional “discourse” since you have repeatedly indicated you like to do so. You were lying? Bored with logic and reason?
On the history channel and many other places, I have learned a lot about climate change and how it very likely has had a much greater impact on fauna/flora than we previously thought. The Nordics in Greenland for one example, Easter Island, the dinosaurs possibly another. If these theories are true, then we should be much more concerned about climate change no matter the cause. And by extension, if we do know humans are having an impact, even slightly, then it is in our best interest to use our big brains to try and mitigate that. Make sense, no? But for some reason you folks tend to act like young children and thow a hissy fit when you imagine you are being told what to do, or just because you don’t like something. You need to blame something or someone for your feelings of anger instead of working together to assist in something that ultimately impacts everyone, not just you and your feelings. And the other bottom line for me is this: why be so wasteful now when there will come a day when that particular resource will inevitably run out? History has many many serious examples of this. Why must humans keep making the same mistakes over and over again?
We cannot control natural occurances. Get used to it. Climate is cyclical and natural with floods, hurricanes, vulcano’s et al. Man is a fly speck in the total equation.
A fly speck that seems to be very very arrogant…. (not just you Paul, most humans)… hmmmm. Cognitive dissonence alert!
Then let the mosquito’s prevail and all man shall go under.
Now Liberals are powerful mosquitoes? Is that worse or better than being a fly speck? I’ve lost track… Or are you talking about real mosquitoes, the kind that carry malaria? Wha? Huh?
“The oil and gas industry pays its fair share in taxes” –Chevron CEO John Watson (Maybe in other countries but not in the USA).
US Uncut Chicago has compiled the U.S. and foreign income tax payments of major corporations and industries over the past three years. By far the greatest disparity exists in the oil industry, which paid only 4.4% to the U.S. government while paying 41.1% overseas, where the tax rates are generally lower. This is U.S. income tax avoidance. (what happens to you or I when we try to avoid paying our taxes?!)
To put it another way, the oil industry paid ten times more in taxes to foreign governments than to the US government. ExxonMobil, which reported 2/5 of its worldwide oil properties in the U.S., paid just 2% of its profits in federal income taxes while paying 40% of its profits to other countries (ExxonMobil 10-K, Review of Principal Ongoing Activities).
This ENVY of foreign tax rates is one of the seven deadly sins of the oil industry. The others:
GREED: Record profits and billions of dollars in subsidies and CEO salaries, but gas prices and profits keep going up. As the economy goes mostly down.
GLUTTONY: The Wall Street Journal reports that the big five oil firms are holding $70 billion in cash, and are spending money mainly on dividends and stock buybacks.
PRIDE: “Taking on the world’s toughest energy challenges.” (Exxon slogan)
SLOTH: Not taking on the alternative energy challenge. Even worse than inaction is Exxon’s ongoing attempts, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, to discredit reputable scientific findings on global warming. And the on-going covert action against renewables.
LUST: Coveting American research, infrastructure, economy, and national security while paying little in return.
Random rants with no reason. Never changes.
No reason? Well, coming from you Paul that statement is not shocking. You apparently couldn’t recognize or generate reason if your life depended on it. Par for the narrow-minded and impaired Rightwing course.
I deal in reality. There is a difference.
I know… your reality. That’s the problem…
I’ve noticed. Reality with you is a problem.
Right… my two college degrees, one a Master’s, must have been a fluke. I got them, with mostly A’s and B’s, without any knowledge or skill regarding reality or logic… gosh I’m a lucky numbskull!
Excellent. You can then answer a direct question intelligently. Waiting.
I just did, at least the “reality” comment. Remind me what extremely important question you are so obsessed with again? (and I guess I need to remind you that you have not answered all of my questions either- I give you that right, unbegrudgingly, as a gentlemen. Not that I am so afraid to answer any of your quesitons. It’s just that some questions are so inane as to be practically impossible to answer. Or have I answered it already? But you in your infinite wisdom and narcissistic reality require something different- so you can do a “gotcha” and feel childishly superior. Well, I did answer your question. Deal with it like a man. Or not.
I have. I got your undivided attention.
You win, of course. Your inane tenacity is borderline insanity.
Thank you.
Question. You have two degrees, one being a Masters for which you seem to relish and pontificate upon. Why are you not employed by the left wing elite liberals?, or are you? According to you, basically we, the right, live in a trailer down by the river, have no logic and reason, et al. Sorry, but logic and reason asks a simple question as to why a 49 year old with two degrees has to work two, three jobs, accordingly to all your posts and seems to cry about your problems? I find that extemely interesting or are you stretching the truth? My daughters have degrees, one is going after her Masters, the other as well. Would like to know what your problem is and who you will blame for you inequities in life. Simply curious.
I don’t “relish” or “pontificate” upon my degrees. Just rightfully proud. And used it to make a valid point.
Then use your degrees that you earned. Know many companies looking for people with your alleged background. Suggest you look into a job change?
You have no idea what you are talking about.
Oh yes I do.
Of course you think you do.
Pa-ka.
poo poo