European utilities: How to lose half a trillion euros | The Economist

A fascinating story about the combined effects of government policy and renewable electricity technology in Europe. Good intentions and massive subsidies have produced very high electricity consumer prices and decimated the finances of the electric utilities. The future seems even more uncertain as the consequences of these policies are destroying wealth with no demonstrable environmental benefit.

Are the same consequences in store for America?

European utilities: How to lose half a trillion euros | The Economist: "Those goals are now harder to achieve. Renewable energy has grabbed a growing share of the market, pushed wholesale prices down and succeeded in its goal of driving down the price of new technologies. But the subsidy cost also has been large, the environmental gains non-existent so far and the damage done to today’s utilities much greater than expected. Europe in general and Germany in particular see themselves as pioneers of low-carbon energy. If they are genuinely to be so, they will need to design a much better electricity system that rewards low-carbon energy without reducing reliability and imposing undue and unnecessary costs."

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