Wind and solar
accounted for
more than 60%
of all new
electric power
generation
on the U.S.
power grid
in 2019.
Of the $18 billion
the United States
federal government
spends on
energy subsidies
each year,
over 60% goes to
renewable energy.
In 2017, wind and solar
developers received
$11.6 billion in credits.
Over 25 years later,
the U.S. Congress
decided to wind down
the investment
tax credit,
which reimburses
30% of the cost
of new solar systems
-- the tax credit
will drop to 10%,
for most companies,
by 2022.
The energy production
tax credit, which gives
wind power generators
a roughly two cent per
kilowatt boost, will follow
in 2021, decreasing
steadily to zero in 2025.
Research firm
IHS Markit
forecasts that
wind development
will peak next year
at 14 gigawatts
of new turbines,
not to reach
that high again
for at least
through 2050.
Solar installations
are expected
to grow quickly
through 2023
and then
gradually
decline.
IHS Markit
predicts solar
will expand
its generation
capacity by
10 gigawatts
in 2030 –
down 10% from
11 gigawatts of
new solar generation
installed in 2019.
A gigawatt can power
about 700,000 homes.
Federal tax credits
helped the state of Texas
become the U.S. leader
in wind energy, with about
27 gigawatts of installed
wind capacity
( more than one-fourth
of all electricity
generated by wind
in the United States ).
The Electric
Reliability
Council
of Texas,
projects that
installed solar
generating
capacity
will nearly
quadruple
to about
11 gigawatts
in 2021,
up from
3 gigawatts
at the end
of this year.
Without that tax credit,
wind and solar industries
will need to become
even more efficient,
to compete with
natural gas power
and nuclear power,
that will continue
to receive their
federal subsidies.
Under federal tax law,
oil and natural gas drillers
get lucrative deductions,
based on the amount
of energy they produce.
Nuclear power plants
receive a long list
of federal benefits,
including a
$500 million
cap on liability,
in the event
of a meltdown.
Wind energy
is a more
mature
technology
than solar.
Wind turbines
can't get
much larger,
using current
technology.
So engineers
are developing
wind farms,
where advanced
software adjusts
the angles of
individual
turbine blades
to improve
the flow of wind
across the
entire farm.