Public Utility Abuse

The deployment of wind and solar by power companies imposes unnecessary costs on consumers. The production cost of solar is 11 cents/kwh and the production cost of wind is 14 cents/kwh.  The cost of coal and nuclear is 2 cents/kwh and the cost of gas is 3 cents/kwh. The cost of hydro is 0.2 cents/kwh and the cost of thermal is low in some areas. The power companies should be choosing the cheaper options.

The choices made by power companies as monopolies require complicity by public service commissions, but they are obviously approving higher cost methods and having us pay for it.

It is true that the cost of wind and solar equipment is reduced by increasing the volume of equipment manufactured, but wind and solar costs are 5 times higher than the lower cost options.

Wind and solar should continue to be developed for application to private homeowners and large farmers and ranchers who can get “off the grid” and choose to do it. The other use for wind and solar in vast isolated areas is obvious.

Living off the grid is possible with cellphones, septic tanks, water wells, LP gas and electricity from wind, solar and thermal with generator back up. Ranchers would avoid sewer, water and electric bills. They would pay for LP gas, cellphones and wifi. There would be no telephone poles, no gas lines and no water or sewer lines. There should be homeschooling and internet schooling, so there should be no school buses and lower school taxes and no utility fee taxes.

Farmers, ranchers and isolated communities would need to pay for whatever equipment they need. Solar and wind can power water well pumps and provide night lighting.

Electricity fueled by coal, gas, oil, nuclear and thermal uses heat to heat water to create steam to drive turbines to create electricity.  Electricity fueled by solar hydro and wind doesn’t require heat or fuel, but wind and solar result in higher production costs due to higher construction and maintenance costs and lower reliability.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader