Jon Huntsman talks wind, solar in New Hampshire

Jon Huntsman shared his thoughts on wind and solar power yesterday, while appearing as a guest on WGIR New Hampshire News Radio. Huntsman's comments apparently came in response to question posed by host Paul Wescott and were focused on Solyndra, the now bankrupt solar company that received federal stimulus funds back in 2009.

Here's what Huntsman had to say:

It’s another example of where subsidies just don’t work. 

Technology is going to take us forward at the pace of the free market. I have every confidence that 20-25 years from now we’re going to be drawing a whole lot more from the wind and from the sun. I think that’s inevitable.

The technology has to take us there. You can’t force that with subsidies.

And all the while, we’ve got to rely increasingly on fuels we have in great abundance in this country. We need a bridge from where we find ourselves to the future 25 years from now.

I think one the fundamental problems we’ve made in recent years is we’re trying to force technologies before their ready. We’re trying to force them into the marketplace before the economics actually work.

Everyone’s excited about moving into a new clean, environmentally friendly phase when it comes to energy and power generation. We have to realize the technology has to be there and the cost conversion has to be there from an economic standpoint and we’re not there yet.

So a sad chapter where subsidies have been thrown after technologies not yet ready for the marketplace and we see the result.