I’m in the Washington Times today, writing for the Commonwealth Foundation, about the folly of a national renewable electricity standard when the pursuit of "Green" mandates at the state level have failed miserably. I cite Pennsylvania as an example:

What other pains do alternative energy mandates inflict? According to Pennsylvania’s Public Utilities Commission, the annual cost of ownership for solar energy per kilowatt-hour is over 700 percent more than the cost of coal, and wind energy is almost 23 percent more expensive than coal. Meanwhile, state government provides more than $20 million annually for grants to alternative energy projects, and in 2008, Gov. Edward G. Rendell, a Democrat, signed into law another mandate for an additional $650 million to be given to "green" schemes. Try paying those higher utility and tax bills while fighting to keep your job.

Not surprisingly, those hefty sums for wind and solar still aren’t enough to keep the environmentalists happy, as groups like PennFuture have pushed for even greater mandates and subsidies this year.

As I wrote about a month ago, Americans are sick of Washington forcing these diktats on them, but they have not ceased. If I was an incumbent I would be extremely fearful one week from today.