Europe Utility Costs Spike Due to Renewables Push
As it turns out, going green comes with a hefty price tag and at least a few media outlets have noticed. In Europe, the push toward renewables in order to meet carbon emission goals has “backfired,” driving costs way up, according to Business Insider.
A recent report by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers showed that in four years, Europe’s electricity costs have “spiked” by 17 percent for individuals and 21 percent for businesses, according to the Nov. 6 article.
According to Reuters, energy bills will consume 6 to 7 percent of the median household income in the U.K. The situation was already worse for some people. Reuters said one in six households paid more than 10 percent of their income on their heating bill. Forecasts say prices will keep rising.
Cheaper energy sources with enough to power Belgium, the Czech Republic and Portugal. have been “mothballed” en masse in Europe, according to Bloomberg.
Cost estimates for going green on a global level have ballooned. In 2009, the UN said it would cost $600 billion a year for the next decade. Two years later, that estimate had exploded to $1.9 trillion a year for the next 40 years. In spite of the huge potential costs, the liberal news media continue to warn of the threat of ‘catastrophic’ climate change and demand that action be taken. The Obama administration has used taxpayer money to support alternative energies, including the infamous Solyndra.
Windmills, sun powered roof panels, and even sailboats are just a few of the solutions global warming activists have come up with as sources for natural energy.
Despite the evidence that many green inventions do not work better and renewable energy sources can be very expensive to implement, the White House continues to support such initiatives. The same day Business Insider reported the impact of renewable energies on European wallets, the White House announced the “rooftop solar challenge” which it called “an initiative that empowers local governments across the nation to make it easier, cheaper, and faster for more Americans to go solar.”
— Kristine Marsh is Staff Writer for MRC Culture at the Media Research Center. Follow Kristine Marsh on Twitter.
