Europe’s stratospheric energy prices and economic doldrums are forcing a basic rethink of energy policies. The FT reports:
[There is] a growing fear in Europe that rising energy prices now pose a threat to the industrial competitiveness of a region mired in recession. It has been driven home by a steady stream of announcements from European manufacturers about plans to build new production facilities in the US. [...]Wind and solar power come at a premium; setting quotas for energy produced from these sources is going to drive prices up. This is what happens when you try and prop up technologies not ready to compete on their own merits. You become less competitive with regions that haven’t handicapped themselves.
The US, you’ll notice, has seen electricity prices drop over the past seven years, largely because of the shale energy revolution.
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