Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick apparently is not afraid to use muscle and obstruct commerce to get his wind blowing.
The Patrick administration is signaling it will hold hostage the proposed Nstar-Northeast Utilities merger unless the two electric companies agree to buy Cape Wind power and prove they have “outstanding track records” on clean-energy issues, reports the Boston Herald's Jay Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald correctly points out that Nstar has said it doesn’t want to buy Cape Wind’s power, which is twice as expensive as electricity generated from fossil fuels. Fitzy is also correct when he writes that in a recent speech Gov. Deval Patrick’s outgoing environmental and energy czar, Ian Bowles, that Bowles didn’t mention Nstar and Northeast Utilities by name, but did belittle their investment in a new transmission line that will bring hydroelectric power from Quebec into southern New England. “If a merger simply creates a new entity that is bigger, richer, and in control of a larger service territory - but uses that size, those resources, and a bigger footprint just to build big transmission projects it can then try to bake into its rate base - does this serve the public purposes established in the commonwealth’s laws?”
Bottom line: On a daily basis, free markets in Massachusetts are obstructed by the crony government officials in charge. The Big Wind project is just the biggest object lesson of what is going in the state where, at one time, American revolutionists roamed the land and would never have put up with such nonsense.
(Thanks2AT)
I would assert wind power might appear a lot more competitive compared to oil if oil fully carried it's development and delivery costs.
ReplyDeleteIt (oil) doesn't, so it appears a lot cheaper.
Simple proposal, add ALL costs to maintain US access to cheap oil to every barrel. That cost must include the cost of the wars used to protect US access to said same oil.
Think on that, give it serious honest and objective thought.