Dutch Government Subsidies For "Green" Energy Windmills Going Bye Bye

Looks like the drug dealer feels the user has been suitably addicted.

Dutch fall out of love with windmills

When the Netherlands built its first sea-based wind turbines in 2006, they were seen as symbols of a greener future.

Towering over the waves of the North Sea like an army of giants, blades whipping through the wind, the turbines were the country's best hope to curb carbon emissions and meet growing demand for electricity.

The 36 turbines -- each one the height of a 30-storey building -- produce enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 100,000 households each year.

But five years later the green future looks a long way off. Faced with the need to cut its budget deficit, the Dutch government says offshore wind power is too expensive and that it cannot afford to subsidize the entire cost of 18 cents per kilowatt hour -- some 4.5 billion euros last year.

The government now plans to transfer the financial burden to households and industrial consumers in order to secure the funds for wind power and try to attract private sector investment.

Why don't they build the windmills on platforms, that can be towed out to sea and anchored, and brought back in for maintenance?

Like all new technologies, it is more expensive at first, but as it becomes more and more developed, costs will go down.

How is it that windmills in Holland aren't considered to be contributing to the view? Holland, the country famous for windmills? Maybe the oil companies are paying these people to complain. Wouldn't put it past them.

Of course it's expensive. Some people believe that windmills are cheaper then other methods of power.

"Even if you take everything into account, wind energy is not expensive. Take into account the hidden costs of fossil fuels. For example, transport of coal generates more carbon dioxide emissions and no-one calculates that into the electricity price."

That statement from the article made me chuckle! How much carbon emissions do the drilling and cable laying produce? Or the cost of the lubricants for the mills??? Funny thing is their is a choice. Use petroleum based lubes or use whale oil like they did in the old days. Conundrum alert! Use evil oil or kill whales!

When the deployment of a technology needs to be subsidised, it is not ready for commercial deployment. I am all for subsidizing research into renewables, but why subsidise deployment of wind turbines, when they are in a state not yet ready to provide cheap electricity?
Better way would be to fully internalize the cost of fossil power, and then let the market decide.