Think about it, the Chinese Government is heavily subsidizing windmills and solar panels to sell them in the United States. The United States Government is, in turn, further subsidizing the windmills and solar panels, because they are still too expensive (based on the amount of energy they create). And, even with all the subsidies,windmills and solar panels will never pay for themselves.

Via the NYT:

Trade lawyers in Washington have been saying for months that China’s export subsidies for clean energy were so extensive that they expected a trade case to be filed sooner or later. But multinational companies and trade associations in the clean energy business, as in many other industries, have been wary of doing so, fearing Chinese officials’ reputation for retaliating against joint ventures in their country and potentially denying market access to any company that takes sides against China.

With clean energy a stated priority of the Obama administration, as a jobs generator and for environmental reasons, the union says it hopes to gain support for its case by injecting the trade issue into the autumn Congressional campaigns.

Even though ‘green energy’ is a proven economic loser, it seems facts will not stand in the way of politicians beating the ‘green energy future’ and ‘green collar’ jobs drum. Even Michigan’s Republican candidate for Governor, Rick Snyder, has picked up the Jennifer Granholm (worst Governor in America) Green energy mantle:

As a member of the board of trustees of the Michigan Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Rick has gained great insight into the issues facing Michigan and the role that the state should play in the Great Lakes Region. As an entrepreneur, Rick understands how to quickly and efficiently transfer technology from the classroom to the marketplace, which will help protect Michigan’s environment and create “green collar” jobs.

Wonderful.

The future of energy in Michigan