California will spend more than $2.2 billion this year on alternative energy – five times more than any other state. The state’s expansive energy regulations require these huge investments in green energy, even when the projects don’t make financial sense.

These rules are hiking energy prices and killing jobs statewide. They have to go.

California’s energy regulations are the second-worst in the country, according to a new Pacific Research Institute study I co-authored that evaluates states based on how efficiently they allocate their energy resources.

Californians face some of the highest electric bills in the United States. The Golden State’s electricity prices are 59 percent higher than the national average.

One big reason why? The state’s “renewable portfolio standard,” which requires 33 percent of California’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. California’s current target exceeds all other states, except for Hawaii.

Renewable energy is pricey. Some types of solar energy, for instance, can cost almost four times more than natural gas. Utility companies ultimately pass on the increased costs of renewable energy to the consumer. Continued implementation of the renewable portfolio standard will drive up electric rates an additional 13 percent.

Contributing to higher energy costs is the state’s cap-and-trade program, which requires companies, like refineries and power plants, to purchase permits to emit carbon dioxide. These permits will increase gasoline prices by $0.49 to $1.83 per gallon by 2020, according to the Boston Consulting Group. The cost of the permits also forces power companies to charge consumers more for their electricity.

California’s energy regulations aren’t just expensive – they’re unworkable. Three major state agencies, an independent transmission system operator, the governor and the Legislature are all charged with implementing the state’s green energy mandates.

A recent report from Stanford’s Hoover Institution concluded that “ no single state entity is in charge of integrating initiatives and addressing gaps, decision making is slow and siloed, and – most importantly – there is no consolidated roadmap and decision-making schedule.”

California’s energy regulations seriously harm the state’s economy and job market. The state could lose 28,000 to 51,000 jobs from refinery closures alone, as regulations drive power suppliers out of state or out of business. The job losses and relocations will cause a projected $4.4 billion drop in annual tax revenue – something cash-strapped California can ill-afford.

Those losses will only increase if energy-intensive industries continue relocating out of state. Many firms, including Occidental Petroleum, Fluor and Calpine, have already left California for more energy-friendly locales like Texas.

There’s no chance that green energy companies will be able to replace those high-paying lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, California added just 2,500 green energy jobs from 2010-13.

California’s dysfunctional energy regulations jack up electric bills and gas prices and drive away job-creating businesses. Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on alternative-energy projects that are little more than pipe dreams, lawmakers should implement energy rules rooted in common sense and economic reality.

Wayne Winegarden is senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute.