US Energy Secretary Calls For An End To All Subsidies For Solar & Wind | “End all subsidies for renewables, Energy Secretary Wright says. We say, “Why stop there? Get rid of all energy subsidies,

US Energy Secretary Calls For An End To All Subsidies For Solar & Wind



by chrisdh79

9 comments

  1. From the article: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who made his fortune by drilling holes in the Earth to access methane gas and then leaving taxpayers to clean up the mess his company made, visited the Ames National Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, to deliver a message. He said the US should mine and refine its own critical raw materials instead of letting other counties [ahem, CHINA, ahem] do it. He also said it is time to do away with all federal subsidies for wind power, according to the Des Moines Register.

    While he was there to cheer on the staff at the Ames National Laboratory, Wright also had some words of wisdom he shared with the press. He said federal incentives for wind energy “have been around for 33 years, and I think you’ve seen a mature industry develop.” Wind and solar energy need to “compete in the marketplace” like every other source of energy, he claimed.

    He is correct, of course. One of the bedrock principles of the MAGA movement is that government should not be picking winners and losers in the great capitalist marketplace, where Adam Smith’s unseen hand should not be influenced by favoritism in any way. At CleanTechnica, we agree completely. Let’s eliminate any and all subsidies for wind and solar — and coal, oil, and methane as well. Project 2025 is nothing if not a giant subsidy for the fossil fuel industry. Let’s get rid of that while we are at it.

    Wright, of course, is not clever enough to appreciate that his wealth is a direct byproduct of government policies that rewarded the pipeline companies that carry the methane his company wrested from the ground, that allowed his drilling rigs to torture the Earth and then walk away from the damage they did. Laws that allow drillers to sell their assets to other companies who then declare bankruptcy when the bill comes due for such cleanup measures are a subsidy.

  2. In 2022, fossil fuel subsidies in the United States totaled $757 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund.

  3. Do those oil subsidy numbers include things like cleaning up polluted dirt under gas station? Disposal of domestic oil tanks after conversion to heat pumps? Air pollution from refineries? Lost economic activity resulting from ozone?

    Tertiary effects, maybe they are called?

  4. The green energy industry isn’t bribing Trump enough. They need to learn from big oil.

  5. All energy production is subsidized..end all the tax breaks for fossil fuel production..let consumers “feel” the true cost of their energy consumption.

  9. This article is great at ripping the current administration, well deserved, but never mentions why all the people who support clean energy have not put up solar and drive an EV. Stop blaming the government, both parties suck at subsidies, and clean up your personal energy. We have a people problem, and right now a complaining blaming people problem, take responsibility.

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