AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Life:Powered project published the paper The Siren Song that Never Ends: Federal Energy Subsidies and Support from 2010 to 2023.
“Energy markets should be driven by competition, innovation, and consumer choices, not by government mandates and subsidies,” said Brent Bennett, policy director of Life:Powered and author of the study. “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. 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.”
Key Points:
- Over the past 14 years, wind, solar, nuclear, and fossil fuels have all received substantial federal subsidies—between $20 and $80 billion.
- While wind and solar have each received more than twice as much as oil and gas, the more important point is that they depend on federal subsidies for a far greater portion of their revenue.
- Wind has received 48 times and solar 168 times more subsidies per unit of electricity generated than oil and gas.
- The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will push federal energy subsidies to hundreds of billions annually, hampering the ability of energy markets to provide Americans with affordable, reliable energy.
- Studies that show certain resources receiving far more subsidies than others, especially studies that report hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. energy subsidies, are relying on cherry-picked data or inflated definitions of subsidies.
Download the One-Pager here.
Download the full paper here.