Federal Coronavirus Spending Excludes Renewable Energy Subsidies, A Benefit to All Americans

Earlier this week, American Experiment wrote about how some Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate had opposed the proposed pandemic relief spending bill because did not include more subsidies for the wind and solar industry, among other items on the liberal wish list that are totally irrelevant to the virus outbreak.

Thankfully, attempts to insert these pork-barrel projects into the bill failed, which benefits all Americans by not providing even more incentives for unreliable, weather-dependent resources that increase the cost of providing electricity to everyone.

It wasn’t due to lack of trying, though. According to an article in Utility Dive: 

“Despite a push from Democratic Senators and clean energy leaders to include tax credit extensions and other provisions in the package, Senate leadership chose instead to focus on healthcare and broader economic aid.”

“But industry stakeholders say several of the broader economic provisions could provide employment and other relief to the sector, and there is still opportunity for inclusion in inevitable future federal legislation that will be needed to address the industry-wide impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

It sounds like the Senate version got it right. After all, healthcare should probably be a bigger focus than subsidizing unreliable sources of energy during a pandemic, and as several in the solar industry have noted, the broader economic relief made available in the relief package also applies to the wind and solar industries, they just won’t get the same extra-special treatment they’ve always needed to stay afloat.

The decision not to extend the tax credits was an important step toward restoring some semblance of market signals to our woefully distorted energy markets. Never forget, renewable energy groups always claim they don’t need subsidies anymore as justification that they are truly competitive with other forms of energy, but they always change their tune when the subsidies are about to expire. The industry’s attempt to hijack the Coronavirus relief package shows just how desperate they are to keep lining their pockets with your money.