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Townhall...
Green Jobs Are Not
Evergreen Jobs
By Debra J. Saunders
After receiving at least $43 million in aid from the state of
Massachusetts, Evergreen Solar announced last month that it would be
closing its manufacturing plant in Devens, Mass., laying off its 800
workers and moving its manufacturing operations to China.
Warning: These are the “green jobs” that President Obama has touted as
part of his “winning the future” agenda.
The problem isn’t that Obama wants to direct federal dollars toward
research for alternative energy. It is in the national interest to have
affordable options when oil sources are depleted.
The problem is that Obama thinks that green jobs are the answer to the
anemic economy recovery. And he clings to that belief in the face of
contrary evidence.
Last May, the president came to solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra in
Fremont, Calif., to celebrate a new plant -- creating 3,000
construction jobs and 1,000 permanent workers. President Obama
exclaimed, “The true engine of economic growth will always be companies
like Solyndra.”
Within months, Solyndra, which has yet to turn a profit, announced that
it was canceling the expansion.
At best, you can describe Obamaland’s choice of venue as bad advance
work.
Michael El-Hillow, Evergreen Solar’s chief executive, explained in a
statement the reason for his company’s move: “While the United States
and other western industrial economies are beneficiaries of rapidly
declining installation costs of solar energy, we expect the United
States will continue to be at a disadvantage from a manufacturing
standpoint.”
Evergreen is -- this month anyway -- the third-largest solar panel
manufacturer in the United States. The Massachusetts plant opened in
2008 with much fanfare and generous taxpayer assistance. But just one
year later, The New York Times reported, company suits were talking to
Chinese officials, who could offer cheaper labor -- average monthly
wages below $300 as opposed to $5,400 in the Bay State -- sweetheart
loans and other incentives.
Harvard economist Edward L. Glaeser saw Evergreen leave Massachusetts
and opined in The New York Times that while he believed investing in
green technology, “(I)t always was a mistake to think that clean energy
was going to be a jobs bonanza.”
And: “We shouldn’t pretend that cheaper solar energy will end up
employing millions of our less-skilled citizens.”
This leaves American solons with two choices: Keep feeding the meter --
or cut your losses.
The high cost of subsidizing wind and solar power should seal the deal.
According to the California Energy Commission, the cost of photovoltaic
solar electricity is about 26 cents per kilowatt hour, as opposed to 13
cents for electricity powered by natural gas.
With the unemployment rate at 9 percent, Washington should be looking
to create jobs that aren’t going to run to China. Or, as Jack Gerard,
president of the American Petroleum Institute, told The New York Times,
“If the president really were serious about job creation, he would be
working with us to develop American oil and gas by American workers for
American consumers.”
American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Steven F. Hayward likes to
ask people which state has the lowest unemployment rate. The answer is
North Dakota, with an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent. “The reason is
they’ve had a huge oil and gas boom,” Hayward explained. They’ve
tripled their oil output.
As the price of oil spills over the $100-per-barrel mark, Washington
ought to reconsider the “green jobs” approach. As Hayward noted, “Brown
energy creates jobs and prosperity.”
Read it at Townhall
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