4 ms·
I agree with the denotative message of your post (that we should let the energy market do its optimization unimpeded), but I'm guessing we disagree connotativel
by wyager 2y ago
I agree with the denotative message of your post (that we should let the energy market do its optimization unimpeded), but I'm guessing we disagree connotatively; most "green" solutions (especially wind, to a lesser degree solar) are only viable at all because of extreme distortions in the energy market induced by subsidies. Tariffs would of course also be distortionary, but it would be difficult for them to compete with the gross distortions that already exist! In the (loosely remembered) words of a friend who designs wind turbine blades and control systems: "we would build these things to be a lot more reliable if we weren't just trying to maximize subsidy revenue". I'm more immediately worried about these demand-side distortions than the hypothetical supply-side ones.
- jpgvm 2y agoOil subsidies dwarf solar/wind/hydro/nuclear combined that is without factoring in socialized costs of pollution and accidents.
- cscurmudgeon 2y agoThat means we should subsidize local solar/wind/hydro/nuclear more and not allow foreign subsidized companies to decimate local companies.
- tda 2y agoAt least in Europe, offshore wind farms (which are more expensive than on shore) don't need any subsidies to be profitable. The turning point was around 2018
- mytailorisrich 2y agoIs that true? Recently (a year-18 months ago?) there were big headlines in the UK when no-one bid for a batch of offshore farms because the guaranteed electricity price offered by the government was too low for investors.
- pjc50 2y agoThe strike price is also a cap. It's not precisely a market; nuclear also gets a (much higher) strike price agreement.
- cma 2y agoNuclear has many plausible trillion dollar accident scenarios. They are capped to a few billion in liability from a major subsidy left over from the cold war era.