Green Energy Subsidies

Before we discuss the U.S., consider Spain, which annually spends $11 billion a year (~ 1% of its GDP) on green technology. By the end of this century (2099), and based on current Spanish commitments, the cumulative effect of all of this spending will have delayed the impact of global warming by 61 hours (source: Yale University).

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. fossil-fuel subsidies for 2010 totaled $4 billion (note: figure includes a $240 million clean coal credit). The same year, renewable energy sources received $14 billion in federal and state subsidies; this figure does not include the $2.5 billion nuclear energy subsidy.

Coal-powered electricity receives a 1/20th of 1-cent subsidy for every kilowatt-hour produced (vs. 5 cents for wind power and 77 cents per kilowatt hour for solar). Fossil fuels make up > 80% of global energy; modern green energy accounts for ~ 5%. This means renewables still receive 3x as much money in subsidies per energy unit. In Venezuela, gas sells for 5.8 cents a gallon, annually costing the Venezuelan government $22 billion (> 2x what it spends on health care each year).