Ugh…you can always count on government to slow down progress.

In case you have not realized it yet, we are in the midst of a major energy crisis in this country. Now, some of you believe the solution to this crisis will come from the oh so wonderful government. You are wrong. The solution, as almost always, will come from the private sector. All the government has to do is get out of the way.

However, that is not happening. Solar thermal energy companies are getting a lesson in government regulations. These companies have proposed to build more than 130 solar power plants over 119 million surface acres of federally administered land in sun drenched, flat desert tracts of Arizona, Nevada and Southern California that is ideal for solar energy. These companies extract energy from the sun and then sell that energy to utility companies. It is estimated the projects have the potential to power 20 million homes, but the government has put a halt on new solar projects on public lands in order to study their environmental impact, which is estimated to take two years.

Solar energy is a fairly new industry, and most of these companies are new, struggling, hungry companies. It will be hard for them to stay afloat with a set back like this. This could stunt the growth of the energy.

This is your government at work solving the energy crisis. You can always count on government to slow down progress.

I want you to remember this story this winter when your power bills are through the roof.