A new study explains the driving impetus behind the country’s energy transition is the growth in federal subsidies for unreliable energy sources and the decrease in subsidies for reliables.
According to a new Energy Alliance study, subsidies for unreliable energy have skyrocketed this decade. From 2010 to 2019, just over $74 billion was allotted to unreliable energy. By 2029, that number is projected to reach around $245 billion.
Subsidies for fossil fuels, meanwhile, have vastly decreased. Between 2010 and 2019, they received nearly $38 billion in subsidies. That number is expected to lower to approximately $22.5 billion by 2029.
The only exceptions were subsidies for carbon sequestration—capturing, removing, and storing carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere—and other methods meant to reduce emissions.
“Despite what advocates say, subsidies for renewables are much greater than those for fossil fuels,” explained energy policy expert Bill Peacock, who authored the report. “There is no question that the federal government–not benefits from renewables–is driving the green energy transition.”
While subsidies for unreliable sources like wind and solar increased drastically, subsidies for nuclear, biofuels, and other fully or semi-reliable alternatives experienced modest upticks compared to unreliable energy.
Notably, nuclear subsidies are only slated to grow from $15.4 billion between 2010 and 2019 to $19.1 billion by 2029.
The Biden-Harris administration has made dramatically shifting U.S. energy policy over the next decade one of their top issues, exemplified by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Before President Joe Biden signed the IRA, the Energy Alliance noted that wind and solar subsidies were projected to total $66 billion between 2023 and 2029. However, that estimate jumped to $174.8 billion after the IRA.
“The subsidies are the only reason that wind and solar generation exist in the U.S. on a commercial scale,” said Peacock. “If Americans want to be able to afford travel across their states and country and avoid European—and California—style energy poverty, their only hope is for politicians to end subsidies for renewables and all other forms of energy.”
The study comes just days after Texas Scorecard released its latest documentary on unreliable energy sources entitled “Red Power,” which exposes the inefficiencies and national security threats posed by the increasing dependence on wind and solar energy.
Peacock, featured in the documentary, also released a study last month overviewing the role statewide subsidies on wind and solar had in raising the cost of electricity for Texans by $19.9 billion in 2023.
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