Remember the president saying “think about what’s happening in countries like Spain, Germany, and Japan” — over and over again? (If not, check the video below.)
The truth about Spain and Germany having been established (and to the White House’s apparent surprise that anyone would actually check), now comes Japan for us to behold.
Thanks to Reuters — whose headline writer deserves kudos for candor — we read:
Japan seeks consumer burden to push renewable energy
TOKYO July 23 (Reuters) — Japanese consumers will have to pay higher electricity bills under a government plan to help triple the generating capacity of renewable energy in the next decade and cut CO2 emissions.
Utility firms will be required to buy at a fixed rate electricity generated from renewable sources of energy — mega solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and small hydro power — from as early as 2012, the trade ministry said on Friday.
The cost will be passed on to consumers in a scheme called a “feed-in” tariff, which is already used in countries including Germany and Spain.”
[Chuckle.] Maybe Japan ought to take Mr. Obama’s advice and think about what happened in Germany and Spain. We at Planet Gore can help direct them to the facts.
Kudos to the Japanese energy ministry, too (and note well the slight cultural difference): Instead of the government making fantastic claims about the riches that will flow from selling windmills to one another, they say “This is gonna hurt.” And it will. As Germany and Spain have shown.