Re, ... renewables such as solar and wind with lithium battery support and even without subsidies is the cheapest form of producing electricity . Far cheaper than coal which is heavily subsidised by the way.
March 12, 2019* According to the EIA in 2016, the most recent year for which complete data is available, the federal government spent just shy of $14 billion in energy subsidies and support. Subsidies for renewable energy totaled $6.682 billion, while those for fossil energy totaled a mere $489 million.
Of these subsidies, relatively little came as direct payments to renewable energy products. About 80 percent (or $5.6 billion) of the 2016 renewables subsidies came in the form of tax breaks.
“Targeted tax credits have become a popular way for government to award special treatment and artificially attract private-sector interest to politically favored and well-connected industries,”writes Katie Tubb, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation. “In short, they’re nothing more than subsidies doled out through the tax code. Not only is this fiscally irresponsible, but Congress alsodoes no serviceto these energy technologies and companies in the long run by subsidizing them.”
A majority of these tax breaks (51 percent) go to biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. The cost of ethanol to taxpayers reveals the impact of federal subsidy programs.
As of the end of 2018, 29 states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards, collectively accounting for 63 percent of retail electricity sales. These standards come at a cost to consumers, who pay more for utilities to finance the switch to clean energy.
Whether it takes the form of solar panels or biofuels, renewable energy has been struggling to compete with conventional energy. For decades, government subsidies have been helping to boost their competitiveness. As a result, even today, when the administration wishes to reduce subsidies, billions of dollars of tax credits and other perks are supporting the green energy industry.
https://www.insidesources.com/us-still-subsidizing-renewable-energy-to-the-tune-of-nearly-7-billion/
