LETTER: A green energy bust

To say we got a nice long run out of the Ivanpah solar plant near the Nevada-California border along Interstate 15 for the bargain price of $1.6 billion, paid for the U.S. taxpayers, would be an extravagant overstatement (Jan. 23 Review-Journal).

You’ve seen the sea of solar panels that cover what seems like a small city’s worth of acreage. The expiration date of two-thirds of the power output will be next year. Yep, Pacific Gas & Electric will no longer be buying power from Ivanpah after next year. Wow, a whopping 12 years of energy output since opening in 2014. That pales in comparison to a typical automobile’s life expectancy, which can be 20-plus years easily. But what the heck, easy come easy go. A billion here, a billion there. It’s just taxpayer monopoly money.

California energy ratepayers were promised that their bills would be cheaper over time but, not unsurprisingly, that did not come to fruition. Of course it didn’t. It was an experiment by the climate change loons who love wasting other people’s money to push forward their fantasy agenda when it was not ready for prime time.

Petro energy is here to stay. It’s a gift from the Creator. The wonderful pools of underground black gold have dependably powered economies for centuries and have the capability to continue for more to come. Wind and solar power are fickle depending on weather conditions. Energy from hydrocarbons is readily available and the most cost-effective source to power up the entire globe.