Is Green Energy Manufacturing in Ontario a Bubble?

Here is some reporting from the Windsor Star on the debate over whether manufacturing development attracted to Ontario through the Green Energy Act is a bubble or not. The article is called “Brain power enduring source of jobs in Windsor-Essex”, March 30, 2011.

My views presented to the Windsor Star are only partially reported in the article. I consider the green power manufacturing development in Windsor to be a bubble for several reasons. The article accurately refers to my view of the unacceptability to consumers of the rates being paid to green energy producers. I also see a high probability that the protectionist elements of Green Energy Act will prove to be unsustainable, whether due to WTO challenges or domestic concerns to keep Ontario’s trade-oriented economy oriented toward trade. A further reason to be wary of a bubble is that the circumstances that have lead Samsung, and its allied businesses including CS Wind, to invest in Ontario are not transparent. Manufacturers providing equipment that meets real market demands at competitive prices have a future but those dependent on government subsidies and market distortions may not.