More Credit Games Coming to Green Dreams

"You see. Renewables are a good idea, if they are allowed to continue."

Hey folks,

Happy Tuesday to ya. If you are like most, this is a short week. Today is back to reality. Well, except for my Son Joshua who is now out of school for the summer. I remember those days well. {Smile}

So I get this. "You see. Renewables are a good idea, if they are allowed to continue." Along with the following article. I'm not sure I get it. I'm being serious here. I'm not sure I get the point. It's by Manassas Patch - Renewable Energy in Virginia: 5 Things You Need to Know

Renewable energy is a vast, complicated topic. Here's what you need to know. By Lauren Sausser Email the author May 27, 2012

Understanding renewable energy can be complicated, but the reality is, electricity in Virginia is relatively cheap compared to other states.

The average household in Virginia pays $110 per month for electricity, Dominion Power spokesman Jim Norvelle said.

In Maryland, a Baltimore Gas and Electric customer who uses 1,000 kWh per month will pay between $125 and $132 month, according to that company.

Other states are even higher. A spokesman for Connecticut Light and Power said the majority of customers in that state pay $163 per month for 1,000 kWh of electricity.
So why bother with renewable sources when energy needs are already met at a good deal?

I just got my electric bill. $160.00 Uh SO? I guess according to the author of the piece, Lauren Sausser, that is too cheap? I'm not sure I agree with that. My last bill was $116.00 Now that is pretty cheap. So?

Here are five things you need to know about renewable energy:

1. The Virginia General Assembly has actually defined it for us: "'Renewable energy' means energy derived from sunlight, wind, falling water, biomass, sustainable or otherwise, (the definitions of which shall be liberally construed), energy from waste, municipal solid waste, wave motion, tides, and geothermal power, and does not include energy derived from coal, oil, natural gas or nuclear power. Renewable energy shall also include the proportion of the thermal or electric energy from a facility that results from the co-firing of biomass."

OK. So ANYTHING that is not Coal, Oil, or Gas. Got it.

2. The most expensive form of energy that can be converted into electricity is offshore wind.The United States have no offshore wind farms. Massachusetts is developing a project called Cape Wind.

In Virginia, Norvelle said Dominion has been awarded for a $5 million grant from the Department of Energy to look at innovative ways to reduce the cost of offshore wind development by 25 percent. The company has also expressed an interest to lease an area off the coast of Virginia that could be developed into a wind farm.

Wait. So this company has received $5 million of your money, to look at ways to reduce the cost? Is not given them free money a way to reduce their costs? There is still nothing being built. They are producing nothing. Yet, your money is being given to them. Not tax breaks, where they pay less, but rather they are actually receiving free money.

3. The General Assembly has recommended that 15 percent of electricity in Virginia come from renewable energy sources by 2025. This is only a recommended benchmark. If providers meet that goal, they can receive bonuses, but they will not be penalized if they miss the goal. Many state legislatures, including Maryland and New Jersey, have created mandatory "renewable portfolio standards," that require electricity providers to generate a certain percentage of power through renewable sources.

Which is nothing more than Politics. If there is nothing there, there is nothing there. There will be nothing to switch too. So? What then? Oh, more money. And here we go again. It's Al Gore's Carbon Credits all over again.

4. Any other electricity provider can sell the renewable energy in the form of "renewable energy certificates." This means that even though renewable energy is generated in Virginia, it's not necessarily being used by Virginians. Jim Norvelle explains how it works. " In Virginia, we are allowed to use low cost renewable energy credits to meet the state’s voluntary renewable portfolio standard.

One way that we keep the rates reasonsalbe, we purchase low cost RECs from out of the state for our use and meanwhile we can sell higher cost higher cost RECs that we generate at our facilities to other markets out of state and the cost benefit – the savings we get on the transactions – benefits our customers in Virginia by keeping rates reasonable."

So instead of actually producing a product, they are talking about playing games. We are not meeting the goal, but if we spend enough money, we can CLAIM we are meeting the goal, even know we are not. It's just like Al Gores Carbon Credit scheme. Polluting? OK. Just pay me like $10,000 a credit, and you can say you are carbon neutral. You do not have to change a thing. Just give us money. In this case, they do not have to produce a thing. Just pay money to say they are.

5. No state tax incentives exist in Virginia for homeowners to install solar panels. Last month, Gov. Bob McDonnell vetoed the "solar freedom bill," legislation that passed the General Assembly that would have made it illlegal for neighborhood associations to ban the installation of solar panels. 

So you see. {Laughing} This would all work out if those evil, I bet he is a republican,,,wait,,lets see,,yup. He's a republican. {Laughing}  So this evil republican, blocked a law that would have allowed a small group of people to receive more tax money. It also would dictate to HOAs what they can and can't force those that live in their communities to do. Sorry. I HATE HOAs. That's why I do not live in an area that has one. So I'm not fan. But it really was all about money.

I'm really not sure I get the point here AG. Seriously. Well, I get it. But I do not get how knowing these  "five facts" help the "green dream." I'm not sure what the point is to the article.{Sigh} We have the answer to helping the Economy, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Lowering the cost of energy, and everything, and even increasing our national security, right here in front of us. Doing it the right way, will also not cost the government a dime. Zero. Not one cent. No tax payer money needed. As a matter of fact, it will increase the revenue to all forms of Government. The only people standing in the way of this IS Barack Obama and the Liberals in Government. Sorry, but THOSE are facts we can use.
Peter

Sources:
Manassas Patch - Renewable Energy in Virginia: 5 Things You Need to Know