Federal energy subsidies for wind

This month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released an important analysis on Federal energy subsidies with a focus on electricity production. The total Federal energy-specific subsidies to all forms of energy was estimated at $16.6 billion for fiscal year 2007, more than double the estimated amounts in 1999 as calculated in 2007 dollars.

Windaction.org was most interested in Table ES5 of the Executive Summary which itemizes subsidies paid per fuel-type as measured in megawatt hours (MWh) of generation. A subset of the table is listed below:

Wind proponents are quick to discuss absolute amounts paid in subsidies for coal, nuclear, and other traditional sources of generation. But when measured using a common unit (per MWh), subsidies for wind dwarf most fuel types at $23.37 MWh. Currently, wind receives 14+ times the subsidy paid for nuclear and a whopping 53x that of coal.

It's also apparent the Federal government does NOT treat all renewables equally. Subsidies for wind far exceed those paid for Biomass, Geothermal, Hydro, and Landfill gas combined.

Yet, given the unpredictable, intermittent nature of the fuel source, wind energy is the least able, of all renewables, to reliably supply generation during peak periods. Further, wind requires companion generation to address low or no winds conditions, and extensive, costly transmission upgrades to deliver power long distances to load centers.