Monday, October 09, 2017

Friendly Policies Keep US Oil and Coal Afloat Far More than We Thought - by David Roberts

Most energy subsidies go not to renewables but to producing more of the dirty stuff.


Value of Permanent Tax Breaks for Renewable Energy vs. Fossil Fuels, FY2016 (Credit: OCI) Click to Enlarge.
The coal industry and its allies in the Trump administration have recently devoted considerable energy to arguing that subsidies to renewable energy have distorted energy markets and helped drive coal out of business.  “Certain regulations and subsidies,” says Rick Perry, “are having a large impact on the functioning of markets, and thereby challenging our power generation mix.”  You can guess which regulations and subsidies he’s talking about.

This is nothing new, of course.  It is in keeping with a long conservative tradition of challenging the economic wisdom and effectiveness of energy subsidies.

At least, uh, some energy subsidies.

Energy analysts have made the point again and again that fossil fuels, not renewable energy, most benefit from supportive public policy.  Yet this fact, so inconvenient to the conservative worldview, never seems to sink in to the energy debate in a serious way.  The supports offered to fossil fuels are so old and familiar, they fade into the background.  It is support offered to challengers — typically temporary, fragmentary, and politically uncertain support — that is forever in the spotlight.

So let’s change that.  Let’s talk about “certain regulations and subsidies” — namely, the ones propping up US fossil fuels.

Three recent analyses can help.  The first does the yeoman’s work of tallying up federal and state energy subsidies.  The second shows the effect those subsidies have on oil and gas production.  And the third shows how thoroughly the US coal industry is propped up by regulatory policy.  Together, they paint a clear picture:  The profits of US fossil fuels are built on a foundation of government assistance.

Read more at Friendly Policies Keep US Oil and Coal Afloat Far More than We Thought

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