New Federal Subsidies for Unreliable Energy Sources Far Outpace Reliables

[Elderberry]

Texas Scorecard By Luca Cacciatore   | August 28, 2024

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.

“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.

More: https://texasscorecard.com/federal/new-federal-subsidies-for-unreliable-energy-sources-far-outpace-reliables/

[Bigun]

STOP! Subsidizing anything and let the marketplace work it's magic!

[Bigun]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SM70iYv_CU

[Hoodat]

STOP! Subsidizing anything and let the marketplace work it's magic!

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[Kamaji]

STOP! Subsidizing anything and let the marketplace work it's magic!

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The left is able to obfuscate so much on this issue, they subsidize the crap out of some Rube Goldberg energy scheme and claim it's doing great... or some other country does and they claim it does great there.

[Smokin Joe]

Well, the subsidies are only half of the equation. The bans (Alaska), restrictions, new regulations, and lack of permitting or lease sales are the other half. Traditional (proven reliable) energy forms are being killed with regulations and strangled by the absence of land to explore (and the resources to exploit), to the point that mining, etc. in Alaska has been banned. From sand and gravel to Gold and Rare Earths, and of course, oil and gas, the feds have imposed a shutdown on much of a state that is twice the size of Texas.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Well, the subsidies are only half of the equation. The bans (Alaska), restrictions, new regulations, and lack of permitting or lease sales are the other half. Traditional (proven reliable) energy forms are being killed with regulations and strangled by the absence of land to explore (and the resources to exploit), to the point that mining, etc. in Alaska has been banned. From sand and gravel to Gold and Rare Earths, and of course, oil and gas, the feds have imposed a shutdown on much of a state that is twice the size of Texas.

QFT

[IsailedawayfromFR]

STOP! Subsidizing anything and let the marketplace work it's magic!

Or, in other words, stop using my $ to pick winners and losers.

[Hoodat]

Or, in other words, stop using my $ to pick winners and losers.

No, just losers.  The government never picks winners.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

No, just losers.  The government never picks winners.

Well, there are a few chosen by the government who indeed do win with subsidies.

The Green Subsidy Scam
by Tyler Durden
Wednesday, Sep 04, 2024

Like the Jeopardy! game show, green energy subsidies have been Congress’ answer to every energy policy question. The first OPEC oil embargo of 1973-74 catalyzed decades of energy policy, including the formation of the Department of Energy. Wind, solar, and hydropower subsidies began in earnest with the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act of 1978. Similarly, subsidies for corn-based ethanol were enacted as part of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978. Both were designed to reduce the country’s dependence on Middle East oil.

The PURPA subsidies set off a race by independent developers to construct small generating plants whose output electric utilities were required to purchase at administratively set prices. In some cases, the subsidies were independent of how much electricity the plants actually produced, creating the moniker “PURPA machines,” because their real purpose was to extract subsidies; producing electricity was secondary.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 modified those subsidies, creating a “temporary” production tax credit for wind power and certain types of biomass generation. Congress also enacted an Investment Tax Credit, initially for solar energy, but later extended to all renewables, which could choose between the ITC and the PTC. Although the PTC was supposed to expire in 1999, it has been repeatedly extended and expanded, most recently in the Inflation Reduction Act. The PTC now includes all zero-emissions generation, including new nuclear plants. Under the IRA, the ITC has been increased, with qualifying green energy investments able to claim a credit of as much as 60% of their construction cost.

Moreover, the IRA extends the PTC and ITC until greenhouse gas emissions from electric generation fall to just 25% of their 2005 levels, after which they will be decreased gradually. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the expected date for reaching that goal is 2048.

The IRA also provides subsidies for “green” hydrogen, that is, hydrogen produced from emissions-free electricity, battery storage facilities, and facilities that capture carbon and bury it underground.

The overwhelming majority of green energy subsidies reward politically powerful constituencies and businesses whose primary purpose is not to build better energy mousetraps but to build only ones that qualify for the largest subsidies.
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/green-subsidy-scam

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Well, there are a few chosen by the government who indeed do win with subsidies.

The Green Subsidy Scam
by Tyler Durden
Wednesday, Sep 04, 2024

Like the Jeopardy! game show, green energy subsidies have been Congress’ answer to every energy policy question. The first OPEC oil embargo of 1973-74 catalyzed decades of energy policy, including the formation of the Department of Energy. Wind, solar, and hydropower subsidies began in earnest with the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act of 1978. Similarly, subsidies for corn-based ethanol were enacted as part of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978. Both were designed to reduce the country’s dependence on Middle East oil.

The PURPA subsidies set off a race by independent developers to construct small generating plants whose output electric utilities were required to purchase at administratively set prices. In some cases, the subsidies were independent of how much electricity the plants actually produced, creating the moniker “PURPA machines,” because their real purpose was to extract subsidies; producing electricity was secondary.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 modified those subsidies, creating a “temporary” production tax credit for wind power and certain types of biomass generation. Congress also enacted an Investment Tax Credit, initially for solar energy, but later extended to all renewables, which could choose between the ITC and the PTC. Although the PTC was supposed to expire in 1999, it has been repeatedly extended and expanded, most recently in the Inflation Reduction Act. The PTC now includes all zero-emissions generation, including new nuclear plants. Under the IRA, the ITC has been increased, with qualifying green energy investments able to claim a credit of as much as 60% of their construction cost.

Moreover, the IRA extends the PTC and ITC until greenhouse gas emissions from electric generation fall to just 25% of their 2005 levels, after which they will be decreased gradually. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the expected date for reaching that goal is 2048.

The IRA also provides subsidies for “green” hydrogen, that is, hydrogen produced from emissions-free electricity, battery storage facilities, and facilities that capture carbon and bury it underground.

The overwhelming majority of green energy subsidies reward politically powerful constituencies and businesses whose primary purpose is not to build better energy mousetraps but to build only ones that qualify for the largest subsidies.
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/green-subsidy-scam

Yes. It's called "crony capitalism".

[DefiantMassRINO]

Reliable energy is economical.  Unreliable energy is not economical.

Things that are economical don't require Government subsidies; they do require that Government get out of the way of persons willing to take capital risks to build private infrastructure.