In the past 14 years, the U.S. has greatly increased energy subsidies for sources such as wind, solar, oil and gas, nuclear, and coal.
According to a recent Texas Public Policy Foundation study, from 2010 to 2023, oil and gas received $33 billion in subsidies, while wind received $65 billion and solar received $76 billion. Nuclear received about $26 billion, and coal received $20 billion.
Wind and solar also depend more on subsidies than oil and gas, with wind receiving 48 times more subsidies than oil and gas and solar receiving 168 times.
“Wind and solar are still a small part of the overall energy industry—with wind comprising 3.5% and solar comprising 2% of total U.S. energy production in 2023—and therefore depend on subsidies far more than other forms of energy production,” explained Brent Bennett, author of the study and policy director of TPPF’s Life:Powered.
The study highlights that wind and solar development greatly increased when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed, providing cash payments to developers to avoid the need to find financing. Prior to 2009, the wind and solar industries were small and received very few subsidies.
“Energy markets should be driven by competition, innovation, and consumer choices, not by government mandates and subsidies,” stated Bennett.
“Markets have chosen fossil fuels for their energy density, versatility and affordability, and continued attempts by the federal government to reduce fossil fuel consumption have only made energy less affordable and reliable for Americans,” wrote Bennett. “It’s time for a return to common sense energy policies that prioritize markets and energy freedom over the preferences of special interests in Washington, D.C.”
Wind and solar energy have come under scrutiny in Texas following devastating winter storms, where unreliable energy sources failed to provide dispatchable power.
Although it did not have a major impact on the data presented in the study, Bennett does forecast what subsidies could look like in the future due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
He projects that it could cost anywhere from $1.045 trillion to $1.2 trillion in total through 2031, which would triple the cost of subsidies from what they were from 2010 to 2022.
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