Green energy subsidies keep playing field level

The alternative energy programs in Iowa have generated 80% of our electricity and created approximately 6,000 jobs. Making homes and business more energy efficient has created an additional 18,000 jobs.

Solar and wind energy has benefited from various forms of government support. To the tune of $15 to $25 billion in 2024. Fossil fuels also receive various subsidies of $760 billion per year. Unlike solar and wind, those subsidies are not going away. In short, government subsidies for fossil fuels are over 33 times larger than subsidies received by alternative energy. These figures are from the Environmental and Energy Institute.

Yes, it takes energy to manufacture and build solar and wind energy, but they generate 20 to 30 times more energy than they use. At best, ethanol generates 1.64 times the energy it costs to make costs. In addition to the overwhelming scientific evidence of climate change, you have to wonder about hurricanes in North Carolina, forest fires in Canada, heat deaths in El Paso … I could go on.

We will always have fossil fuels. They are integral in the manufacture of steel, plastics, fertilizer and cement. Without fertilizer people starve, without plastics food preservation and medical procedures fail, no matter how many EV’s we have, we need roads to drive them on. The world is round, but the playing field should be a lot more even.

Casey Cook

Iowa City