Respectfully Tristan, I disagree, sorry. Name any such industry that was subsidised for decades and survived long term, please?
Even the very industry we are discussing here - electrical power generation and transmission - had a mighty AC versus DC commercial tussle for years, before AC won out and global governments started to invest in that technology once it had proved itself.
Many other industries that you are probably thinking of followed the same path. They had to prove themselves before governments would invest in them, otherwise they died a natural death.
Too much of this new "green think" nonsense associated with power generation and distribution is about governments trying to "pick winners" with the next big thing. And in reality they are not even a needed "new idea" like back in the day when we were moving from gas lamps to electric street lamps. We already have base load electrical power generation and distribution, and we will always need that base load power. None of this wind, solar and battery smoke and mirrors will ever change that. Ever.
We will always need reliable base load power generation and distribution, no matter how good "renewables" ever get. There's simply no way around that. Ever.
So if you think the planet needs saving in relation to electric power generation, that's fine, but you must also realise that the ONLY option for true "green" power is nuclear power plants. It's not hard, and no longer scary. We need to just get real, and get on with it in my opinion.
