Comments on: $54 Million For New York State Solar Projects

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 21:35:00 +0000

I agree, in general.

Private industry is likely to be more innovative and faster to adapt than government organizations. Competition is likely drive down cost and improve quality when market forces are allowed to work.

But that does not mean we should trust the market. We should watch it like a hawk, otherwise the greediest will screw us.

By: JamesWimberley

JamesWimberley — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 21:00:00 +0000

You miss my point. Of course government should create the incentives needed for the energy transition. But for execution, by and large trust the market. The German government – responsible for the world’s most successful renewables policy – does not instal solar panels and wind turbines itself.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 17:26:00 +0000

The major responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens. (Yes, many fail, but that’s a different discussion.)

Citizens are being hurt by the pollution caused by burning coal. The government can’t simply close all coal plants, it would cause the economy to crash.

The workable solution is for the government to get involved in installing clean electricity generation which will allow coal to be phased out.

This is the connection that most “policy purists” fail to understand. It’s really no different than the government getting involved in creating a new vaccine to combat an emerging disease. Some private companies will profit in the process, but overall citizens will be well served.

By: JamesWimberley

JamesWimberley — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 17:10:00 +0000

A policy purist would say that government should not get into the business of putting panels on business roofs, and like the German government should concentrate on getting the incentives right. New York State should concentrate on the ample roofspace of its publicly owned schools, university campuses and the like. IKEA and Walmart can probably strike better deals through the sort of streamlined purchasing that public bodies can’t manage because of the elaborate procedures needed to protect taxpayers from abuse. Even on public facilities, it may make sense to privatise the installation, though New York is big enough to make this optional.

Still, even slightly inefficient state action is much, much better than doing nothing as in the Old South.