Good Government

Posted on March 5, 2008
Filed Under Public Policy |

Here’s just one more reason why government should stay out of the business of providing services. If SF sunk these turbines in the Bay it is estimated, by the study that SF itself commissioned, that the cost per megawatt hour would be as much as eleven and a half times higher than PG&E’s retail electricity rate and produce far less electricity than Newsom has been promoting.

This, along with the $51 per mile hydrogen buses, is a good example of why politically motivated public officials are poor stewards of our economic welfare. It’s all well and good to talk about renewable energy, but when the price tag for one solution is hopelessly too expensive, to the point that it simply isn’t feasible, then quite talking about it and find something better to invest in.

With stories like this it is not difficult to extrapolate to why the once great state of California has a $16.5 billion deficit for a budget that has grown 40% under Governor Schwarzenegger. The state’s revenues are estimated to be over $120 billion for the next budget year, which means we have more revenue than we have ever had in the history of California. The problem is not that the state isn’t collecting enough taxes and fees, the problem is that they are spending too much money and borrowing to close the gap.

A study paid for by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission found that the turbines would cost as much as $15 million each and $750,000 a year to maintain. Though the technology would make it possible create power by harnessing tides in the bay, the small amount of power the turbines would generate does not make paying the hefty price tag worthwhile, the report concluded.

Newsom, however, said the findings won’t deter him from pushing ahead with the idea. On Tuesday, he said, “I am going to find a way to make it happen.

“I’m committed to it and am going to fight for it,” Newsom said. “I don’t care about the arguments against it. I care about the arguments for it.”

[From Newsom backs turbine power despite study]
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