The Department of Energy Continues to Pour Taxpayer Money Down a Rar Hole

In the October 17th issue of Chemical & Engineering News, Jeff Johnson has a nice informative article on the Department of Energy's expenditures for loan guarantees and grants to promote "Clean" energy.


At the end of September, the Department of Energy awarded $4.7 billion loan support for four photovoltaic solar projects in California, $1.5 billion to install ground-level solar panels, $1.4 billion to install rooftop solar panels, $1.2 billion for a Solar Ranch, and $646 million for a thin-film solar project. This is all funded by the American Recovery & Reinvestment of 2009, which I previously strongly recommend should be repealed by Congress. In separate funding, the Department of Energy added another $1.12 billion in loan guarantees. Collectively, the Department of Energy is committing $26 billion to clean energy loans.

in addition, the Department has expenditures of $156 billion in Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) grants to inventors and "technology entrepreneurs". The ARPA-E grant projects involve biofuel production, alternatives to rare earth minerals, storage/transport/use of thermal energy, automating the electricity grid, and grid connection of photovoltaic (solar) generated electricity. Those funds are almost equally distributed among universities, small businesses, and large business.

I have previously said and will say again that these programs are a complete waste of taxpayer money. There is absolutely no need to try to replace the traditional sources of energy, such as natural gas and petroleum with solar and wind. We have in the US large reserves of oil, natural gas, and coal. These energy sources can be tapped at costs significantly below anything that could involve solar energy or wind.

I need to hear nothing about "clean" energy. Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is well-handled by the natural environment. All efforts by the Administration to connect CO2 atmospheric concentration with climate change have failed, in spite of the millions of dollars the various government agencies have poured into research to prove otherwise.

I have also recommended previously that the Department of Energy should be eliminated. It was originally set up by Congress and can be removed by Congress. From practical considerations, the Senate will obviously vote for its continued existence and the President will support it. However, the House must go on record as having taken the initiative, and after the forthcoming elections of 2012, we will be able to see some positive action through a new Senate and President.