New Feed-in Tariff project applications are now being accepted, rates are down but so are equipment costs (partly due to threats from the WTO but we won't get into that right now). Depending on project size, rooftop solar energy is worth $0.329 - $0.396 per kWh, ground-mounted solar at $0.288 - $0.291 per kWh.
But wait, don't we currently pay only $0.09-$0.13 per kWh we use? The extra cost is paid by our tax dollars, this is an outrage!?
Not quite... The amount of subsidized tax dollars per kWh to other generation methods is very in-line with what goes towards solar energy. I challenge anyone to find a solid figure showing the per kWh cost of a nuclear energy plant in Ontario, filtering between all the pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear exaggerations out there. Figures you find likely won't sum the totals from procurement of nuclear fuel, plant construction, operation, refurbishments, decommissioning, and of course making sure the waste fuel is well contained for thousands of years. If you add up these estimates, they will show that nuclear is much more expensive than we think (or have been led to believe).
Now this isn't supposed to be a nuclear-bashing blog entry, I am trying to inform those that get in a fuss about tax dollars going towards renewable energy, because your tax dollars are going towards ALL forms of generation, renewable energy is a small piece of the pie right now. For some reason renewable energy costs are the most publicized, and takes the most heat when we pay for it (except perhaps cancelled natural gas plants), when renewable is the form of energy we should be most willing to support for our future.
But wait, don't we currently pay only $0.09-$0.13 per kWh we use? The extra cost is paid by our tax dollars, this is an outrage!?
Not quite... The amount of subsidized tax dollars per kWh to other generation methods is very in-line with what goes towards solar energy. I challenge anyone to find a solid figure showing the per kWh cost of a nuclear energy plant in Ontario, filtering between all the pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear exaggerations out there. Figures you find likely won't sum the totals from procurement of nuclear fuel, plant construction, operation, refurbishments, decommissioning, and of course making sure the waste fuel is well contained for thousands of years. If you add up these estimates, they will show that nuclear is much more expensive than we think (or have been led to believe).
Now this isn't supposed to be a nuclear-bashing blog entry, I am trying to inform those that get in a fuss about tax dollars going towards renewable energy, because your tax dollars are going towards ALL forms of generation, renewable energy is a small piece of the pie right now. For some reason renewable energy costs are the most publicized, and takes the most heat when we pay for it (except perhaps cancelled natural gas plants), when renewable is the form of energy we should be most willing to support for our future.
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