Despite the dreams of mush heads, alternative energy sources remain economically marginal, meaning they cost a lot. The latest experiment in selling "green energy" is running into consumer price resistance in ultra-liberal Austin, TX. Marty Toohey of the Austin American-Statesman reports:For the past decade, Austin's ambition to become the world's clean-energy capital has been best exemplified by one effort: GreenChoice, a program that sells electricity generated entirely from renewable sources such as wind. Now the nationally renowned program is struggling to find buyers - the latest allotment is 99 percent unsold after seven months on the market - and Austin Energy is looking for ways to bring down the rising costs. In a normal market, a product that finds few buyers is a disaster for the producer. But, as is the case with so many alternative energy projects, market failure just means other people (in this case, the rate payers of the electrical utility) are on the hook to...(Read Full Post)