Re: Zero Emission Coal Fired Energy -- What would you pay?

Energy is actually an oligopoly (think oil).  The product is all the same and suppliers set their price to a leader.  When someone else tries to take the lead they either can't sell the stuff or they make such a small profit, they go out of business.  For an alternate energy to "take the lead" it has to be cheaper, and although solar and methane are "free" the dollars needed to put them into production are controlled by people who make their living from conventional oil.  Investors also expect a "reasonable" return on investment.  When there is no better place to invest, we will have the funds to produce alternate power.

For now, the people who control the money - rich people and Governments - certainly don't want individuals being independent and paying nothing to survive.  The whole power structure gets upended.

Independence Day will be when enough Americans make enough of their energy needs to survive independently - independent of any decision made by a politician or banker, a condition reached by conservation and alternate energy production.