Imagine that you are faced with a choice: Keep using a reliable source of energy or switch to one that produces 2% as much and only operates for 10 hours at a time. Remember that you’ve got to keep your lights and computer on, your smartphone charged, and the food in your fridge and freezer fresh. Not to mention keeping your shower water hot, the temperature in your home comfortable—and you certainly don’t have time to wash your dishes or your clothes by hand each day.
So, which energy source do you choose?
If you live in Wisconsin and green energy groups Power Wisconsin Forward and Clean Economy Coalition of Wisconsin get to choose, it will be the latter.
The Columbia Energy Center, Wisconsin’s largest coal plant, produces nearly 10% of the state’s electricity. With the help of $31 million in federal grants, the plant will be shut down and replaced by a “green energy” storage dome whose power output will be a mere 2% of the coal plant’s output. The energy dome only functions for 10 hours before needing to shut down and recharge.
Craig Ervin, a welder from Eau Claire, is baffled by these changes. “These green energy projects are a dumb investment for........