Expensive green jobs, news from Spain

Spanish paper: Obama driving off ‘green energy’ cliff
By: David Freddoso
Chris Horner has been all over the story of Spain’s unimpressive experience with green energy. Spanish newspapers have finally called out the U.S. President for choosing a failed model for a “Green Economy.” From the other day:
On eight separate occasions, President Barack Obama has referred to the “green economy” policies enacted by Spain as being the model for what he envisioned for America.
Later came the revelation that Obama administration senior Energy Department official Cathy Zoi — someone with serious publicized conflict of interest issues — demanded an urgent U.S. response to the damaging report from the non-governmental Spanish experts so as to protect the Obama administration’s plans…But today’s leaked document reveals that even the socialist Spanish government now acknowledges the ruinous effects of green economic policy.

Now the Spanish press is on to the story. Buried on page 34 of today’s Gaceta is this headline:

Spain admits that the “green economy” it sold to Obama is a bust
Spanish government leaks a report acknowledging the grave economic consequences of betting on renewable energy

The first few lines:

The president of the United States, Barack Obama, does not appear to have chosen well in basing his “green economy” on Spain’s. After the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero demonized a study by various experts on the economic downsides of renewable energies, it just leaked an internal document from the Spanish cabinet which is even more negative.

Among the findings, paraphrased from the right sidebar:

* Green energy is 120 percent more expensive, simply due to the extra costs of solar and wind, and the evolution of the market is not going to bring down those costs any time soon.
* The clean energy sector is slated to receive 126 billion euros in the next 25 years, but no one knows where the money is going to come from . In 2009, the subsidies were worth 5 billion euros.
* Photovoltaic solar power accounts for 53 percent of the extra cost of renewables, whereas it produces only 11 percent of Spain’s renewable energy.
* Each “green job” comes at the expense of 2.2 traditional jobs.