Remember “we have to look to Germany, Spain and Japan for successful ways to harness and expand renewable energy sources, grow our economy with green jobs, and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels?”  We paraphrase, but the White House frequently used such language to justify similar programs proposed for the US, while we reported on the economic disaster renewable energy initiatives had become in Germany and Spain, and we threw in wind energy in Denmark for good measure.

 Now Japan is acknowledging the same kinds of economic “benefits.”

TOKYO July 23 (Reuters) — Japanese consumers will have to pay higher electricity bills under a government plan to help triple the generating capacity of renewable energy in the next decade and cut CO2 emissions.  

Utility firms will be required to buy at a fixed rate electricity generated from renewable sources of energy — mega solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and small hydro power — from as early as 2012, the trade ministry said on Friday.  

The cost will be passed on to consumers in a scheme called a “feed-in” tariff, which is already used in countries including Germany and Spain.”

So the Japanese government’s commitment to growing the renewable energy segment of their electrical generating capacity isn’t working out so well, financially, and they are passing the additional expense on to the consumer rather than reevaluating the program.  But at least they are being honest with those consumers, and letting them know ahead of time that they will bear the cost of this program.

The movement hasn’t died in this country, either, so the next time somebody suggests that we need to expand our reliance on renewable energy, just remember, it’s gonna hurt our economy if we do.

How much more can our economy take?