Why Taxpayer Subsidies of Solar Are Diabolical

From a "rare guest post" on Steven Landsburg's The Big Questions blog by David Bergeron, president and founder of solar-powered refrigerator company Sundanzer:

"Here is the real problem: Subsidies make solar appear viable today, so where is the motivation for an entrepreneur to risk money, or even focus on developing real energy alternatives when solar is “almost” there? How can an inventor justify striving with the effort it takes to really develop something great when he is competing against a straw man technology which can provide power at almost the same cost of traditional power sources today? But of course it really doesn't.

The answer is he can't justify the effort, so the next great thing is not developing, at least not with the sense of urgency it should be. Why enter a contest when you are competing against someone with an unfair advantage? You may be the faster swimmer, but your competitor is using flippers.

Solar subsidies are a placebo which is giving the general public a sense of security about our energy future and is robbing the motivation of those entrepreneurs that could actually address our energy problems. Subsidies are much worse that just wasteful, they're diabolical. They lull us into thinking we have almost solved the problem and they hinder us from seeking the real solutions."

HT: Jon Murphy

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