From the Washington Post description of how Spain hopes to transform its economy and solve its unemployment problem by an even tighter embrace of alternative energy, this slight bit of realism sticks out:

A new $300 million thermo-solar plant in the arid mining town of Puertollano, about 100 miles south of Madrid in the Don Quixote country of Castile-La Mancha, offers a glimpse into Spanish hopes. The partnership between the large corporate utility Iberdrola and a national energy agency employed as many 650 workers to build the plant over the past two years. The huge plant was like manna from heaven for a host of companies stung by the recession. A maker of car mirrors retrofitted its assembly lines to produce the plant’s massive reflective panels, for example.
But Calzada’s recent study — which has come under fire by green advocates here and abroad — suggests that the government’s cost to create one job in leading alternative-energy sectors has averaged $855,000. It notes that although hundreds may be temporarily employed to build plants, a far smaller number gain permanent positions.
Because alternative-energy plants are more expensive than traditional power plants that burn fossil fuels, the government here has made green generation profitable by promising big subsidies for years to come. Though most Spaniards have so far seen only modest increases in their electricity bills, even government officials are warning that prices might suddenly jump in the coming years as more of the real costs are passed on to consumers.

And guess who loves himself some Spanish energy policy:

Obama pointed to Spain, Germany and Japan, where, he said “they’re making real investments in renewable energy” and “surging ahead of us, poised to take the lead in these new industries.”

Soaring unemployment and skyrocketing energy prices. If that is what is required to “take the lead” on green energy, can we just stay behind?