Comments about ‘Group pushes for Utah County community solar program’

"Fossil fuels are erroneously believed to be the cheapest source of power, and I'd say erroneously based on the true costs not being factored in — such as all the costs to the environment and public health."

The other problem is that fossil fuels are so highly subsidized -- from the subsidized water they consume to the tax breaks for drilling/mining to the subsidized railroad transportation or pipelines, etc. -- all subsidies that renewable energy technologies can't leveage becaue they don't use water, require ongoing drilling/mining, or ongoing transportation or pipeline use. These subsidies are embedded in tax code, so they're rarely up for reconsideration by our policymakers.

Ongoing subsidies distort the market prices, and keep us on price-volatile, polluting fossil fuels.

What we need is more price-stable energy, and renewables provide that. Wind provides price-stable electricity for the life of wind turbines (20 years), and solar provides price stable power for the life of panels (up to 40 years). What will the price be for oil and natural gas in 20 to 40 years? No idea... but we know the price of wind and solar.

To "Baron Scarpia" if oil receive subsidies, tell us, what is the dollar figure for their subsidies?

Meanwhile Solar and Wind projects receive over $20 per kwh.

You are also ignoring the environmental impact of the oil used to manufacture the composites in the wind turbines. You also ignore the impact of mining to extract the rare earth materials needed for solar panels. Solar panels also require a lot of water to keep them clean and operating optimally, do your figures account for the water needed to clean the solar panels?

You want to look at fossil fuels from cradle to grave, but refuse to do the same for wind and solar.