Happy birthday, America. Here's your present: the federal government will no longer be shoveling your tax dollars into wind and solar projects that need a government IV drip to stay alive. As USA Journal reported, the subsidies for new wind and solar projects officially expired on Saturday, July 4th, closing the book on a 16-year spending binge that cost taxpayers north of $141 billion.
Let that number marinate for a second. $141 billion. That's billion with a B. Extracted from working Americans over the course of sixteen years and pumped into an industry that, after all that time and all that money, still can't make it on its own. If your kid asked for allowance for sixteen straight years and still couldn't afford lunch, you might start asking questions.
The deadline was set by the Working Families Tax Cuts, a piece of Trump administration tax legislation signed into law, which drew a hard line: no more federal tax credits for new solar or wind projects not already under construction as of Saturday. Congress passed it. The president signed it. And now the spigot is off.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright marked the occasion with a social media video that was, shall we say, not exactly a love letter to renewables. "The wind doesn't always blow, and the sun doesn't always shine," Wright said. "They drive up the system costs and increase Americans' electricity prices." Groundbreaking observation there, but also correct. Every time a wind farm takes an unscheduled nap because the breeze dies, natural gas or nuclear has to pick up the slack. Those backup sources have to stay running in the background the whole time, burning money like it's kindling, just waiting for the wind turbines to clock out early.
According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation's analysis, solar and wind gobbled up more federal subsidies than any other energy source in America during that period. More than nuclear. More than natural gas. More than anything. And what did America get for the investment? Higher electricity bills, a more fragile grid, hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland turned into solar panel graveyards that one decent hailstorm can turn into very expensive confetti, and a supply chain so dependent on Chinese rare earth minerals that Beijing probably sends a thank you card every quarter.
Now, nobody is saying solar panels are useless. If you live in Arizona and you want to slap some panels on your roof because the math works for your situation, knock yourself out. That's your money, your roof, your call. And if a company wants to build a wind farm without a federal handout, more power to them (literally). That's called a free market.
What is not a free market is the government dumping $141 billion onto the scale because a politically connected industry spent sixteen years promising it was almost ready to compete on its own. "Just one more subsidy" is starting to sound a lot like "just one more round" from the guy who's already lost his shirt at the poker table.
So this Independence Day, while fireworks are lighting up the sky, taxpayers can enjoy a little extra sparkle knowing the green energy gravy train has finally rolled into the station for the last time. Whether the industry can survive without its government life support remains to be seen, but at least now we get to find out.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
