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Is there a change in the wind? | Good.is renewable energy "People don't like being forced to purchase things they may not want, which is why over half of us are hoping that the Supreme Court throws out the individual insurance mandate in President Barack Obama's health care plan." There's also a worldwide rebellion brewing against being forced to purchase expensive electricity produced by so-called "renewable" sources, now being exacerbated by the availability of very cheap natural gas from shale formations. But, here in the U.S. there are some 30 different statewide "renewable portfolio standards" (RPSs) that also mandate pricey power, usually under the guise of fighting dreaded global warming. RPSs command that a certain percentage of electricity has to come from wind, solar, geothermal, or biomass. Given that this power generally costs a lot more than what comes from a modern coal or gas plant, your local utility passes the cost on in the form of higher bills, which the various state utility commissions are only too happy to approve in the name of saving the planet. RPSs generally do not include hydroelectric power, which produces no carbon dioxide. It's also much more predictable than solar or wind, and costs about the same as the average for gas and coal combined. It's not in the portfolio standards because dams are soooo 20th century, and it isn't a darling of the green lobby, like solar, wind and biomass. But hydro can deliver more juice than solar is ever likely to. One needs to look no further than ethanol as a motor fuel, mandated by the feds. Sold as "renewable" and reducing pernicious carbon dioxide emissions, it actually produces more in its life cycle than simply burning an equivalent amount of gasoline. It also-unconscionably-consumes 40% of U.S. corn production, and we are the by far the world's largest producer of this important basic food. Having seen the ethanol debacle, will the states put solar and wind in thei