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Great, we can stop all incentives for renewable energy now that it is the cheapest way to generate energy. More seriously, where's the catch?

pydry 4y ago
We still need to build quicker and build more. This just demonstrates which forms of power would make effective use of taxpayer subsidies.
rcMgD2BwE72F 4y ago
We can definitely stop incentivize renewables when operators of fossil fuel plants pay for their externalities (including consequences of climate change). Spoiler: that's impossible because they would immediately go bankrupt.
- gregwebs 4y ago
  No need to get into climate change. The externality of pollution alone is much greater than any subsidy. Natural gas wouldn’t go bankrupt and it’s necessary to have natural gas peaker plants when you have renewables. In this report they state that the cost of fossil fuels is 2.9 trillion in the US alone (this number is higher than the IRENA report and some other analyses). https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Cost-of-fossil-fuels-briefing.pdf https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/... But we should look at each fuel individually. According to one study, air pollution costs of coal are 32 cents/kWh, 13 cents/kWh for oil, and 2 cents/kWh for natural gas. Other studies have come up with lower amounts. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-fossil-fuels https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-fossil-fuels
kaon123 4y ago
The catch is that other forms of energy are also greatly incentivised. Arguably even more than renewables (sorry can't be bothered to find a source). I live in a European country, and the first reaction by most governments here to rising gas prises was to subsidise gas [insert captain Picard facepalm here].
7952 4y ago
Setting prices in advance can still be good sense as it could be used to guarantee prices lower than wholesale prices when oil becomes expensive.

pydry 4y ago

We still need to build quicker and build more. This just demonstrates which forms of power would make effective use of taxpayer subsidies.

rcMgD2BwE72F 4y ago

We can definitely stop incentivize renewables when operators of fossil fuel plants pay for their externalities (including consequences of climate change). Spoiler: that's impossible because they would immediately go bankrupt.

gregwebs 4y ago
No need to get into climate change. The externality of pollution alone is much greater than any subsidy. Natural gas wouldn’t go bankrupt and it’s necessary to have natural gas peaker plants when you have renewables. In this report they state that the cost of fossil fuels is 2.9 trillion in the US alone (this number is higher than the IRENA report and some other analyses). https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Cost-of-fossil-fuels-briefing.pdf https://energyandcleanair.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/... But we should look at each fuel individually. According to one study, air pollution costs of coal are 32 cents/kWh, 13 cents/kWh for oil, and 2 cents/kWh for natural gas. Other studies have come up with lower amounts. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-fossil-fuels https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-fossil-fuels

kaon123 4y ago

The catch is that other forms of energy are also greatly incentivised. Arguably even more than renewables (sorry can't be bothered to find a source). I live in a European country, and the first reaction by most governments here to rising gas prises was to subsidise gas [insert captain Picard facepalm here].

7952 4y ago

Setting prices in advance can still be good sense as it could be used to guarantee prices lower than wholesale prices when oil becomes expensive.