What is the outlook for renewable energy in electricity generation--particularly wind and solar power--as a substitute for such conventional fuels as coal and natural gas? Economist Benjamin Zycher evaluates the central arguments in favor of policies that would expand the use of renewables and concludes that all are deeply problematic. "Renewable" energy sources are far costlier than conventional fuels; and they create their own set of serious problems. The popular argument that increased use of renewables will create "green jobs" is likewise a fallacy: Such employment would be an economic drag, and because wind and solar power are costly and inefficient, the net economic impact is a negative one. Resource uses emerging from market competition are the best guides to effective, sustainable energy policies.

Benjamin Zycher is a visiting scholar at AEI.