I recently got a direct mail flyer saying that my neighbor had installed photo voltaic panels on his roof and a solar hot water system and will be saving an estimated $1,500 annually. I say great for my neighbor and great for the entrepreneurial company that sold him that solar system. I thought this is the free market at its best.

But wait in the flyer Michael Van Beck, Director of Sales for Solaris Solar Energy states, "With the current generous Federal & State incentives, there has never been a better time to consider 'Going Green by Going Solar'". That is the rub. Why am I paying my tax dollars to subsidize my neighbors purchase of a solar system? This is not the free market system, rather is us just another example of the federal and state governments picking the winners and losers. This is government distorting the free market system to push an ideology.

On the same day I got the direct mail from Solaris, President Obama was in Florida at the grand opening of the largest commercial solar powered plant in America. The plant is located near Arcadia, Florida and was built by Florida Power and Light (FPL).

According to the Palm Beach Post:

"The president toured the site and spoke to about 150 FPL employees and construction workers who had built the $152 million solar plant. He was introduced by FPL Group Chairman Lew Hay, who said the renewable energy industry was 'on its deathbed' before the infusion of federal money in the stimulus bill." [Emphasis added]

So the Obama administration bails out another failed industry. But we also have to give credit to Governor Charlie Crist who made this all possible by imposing a cap on CO2 emissions and "pressuring" FPL to build this and other highly inefficient and costly solar power plants, which stop making electricity when the sun goes down or it gets cloudy. It does rain a lot in Arcadia.

Now let's take a closer look at the costs and benefits of the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. According to the Palm Beach Post article President Obama and John Genecco, President of FPL said the following:

The DeSoto County solar plant produces enough electricity for about 3,000 homes. By comparison, FPL's aging gas- and oil-fired plant in Riviera Beach supplies power to about 190,000 homes.

"This is not a silver bullet. It's just one piece," said John Genecco, FPL's director of project development. "It's not going to replace all of our traditional electric generation."

Obama touted the environmental benefits of the solar plant, saying it will have the effect on carbon emissions of removing 575,000 tons of greenhouse gases over 30 years, the equivalent of removing 4,500 automobiles a year from the road.

Obama noted that solar power and smart grid improvements by themselves will not replace the nation's reliance on fossil fuels.

According to the FPL website, "The DeSoto plant was constructed ahead of schedule in less than a year and $22 million under budget. With support from President Obama’s Recovery Act funding, the $150 million total cost of constructing the facility will represent an average of only 6 cents on a typical customer’s monthly bill over the lifetime of the plant."

So to build the DeSoto plant cost over $50,000 per home served, redistributed my tax dollars to help fund it, and will raise my electricity bill as all us FPL customers pay for it. But you see the amount is so small you will hardly notice it on your bill, right?

I again ask: Why am I paying for a solar plant in DeSoto County that only benefits DeSoto County? For the public good? To save the planet? Give me a break.

But wait it gets worse.

The next big FPL Solar Energy Center will be constructed on Babcock Ranch, a huge real estate development that is going bankrupt according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Zac Anderson reports:

Florida Power & Light plans to build one of the world's largest solar power plants of its kind on land owned by the struggling Babcock Ranch real estate venture.

The development is another sign of the pressure Gov. Charlie Crist is putting on Florida's big electric companies to produce more clean energy.

Crist is trying to pass legislation this year that would require electric companies to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. FPL's announcement was perfectly timed to put the energy company in a favorable light as debate over Crist's bill reaches high gear in the next few weeks.

With billions of dollars at stake, FPL is pushing for legislation that favors large energy companies and large solar plants over small-scale solar production on homes and businesses.

"The timing of this is suspiciously motivated to make sure they get the legislation they want in Tallahassee and extend their monopoly over renewable energy," said John Burges, a Sarasota-based expert on renewable energy financing. [Emphasis added]

According to Zac, "The group Market Watch called the Babcock loan "unfavorable" and said Babcock Ranch was unlikely to "execute on their original business plan in the original time frame." So us taxpayers are building a new solar plant on property owned by a bankrupt developer.

I love it when the Governor and legislature "pressure" companies to produce things they wouldn't in a free market system. I love it when public companies like FPL game the system to gain a monopoly, not by producing a better, cheaper or more efficient product, but rather via legislation. I love it when the end result of all of these efforts will have no, that's zero, impact on our climate. All of this paid for by tax payers and customers of FPL. Gee what a great program.