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The short answer to the question of whether the government should stop providing subsidies to all energy sources is no. Rather, it becomes a question of prioritization on which energy sources should receive more federal dollars. Here we find ourselves standing in the gap between the end of the age of oil and the beginning of the renewable energy age; thus government subsidies are critical in fostering a slow and orderly transition. This also allows the industry to research and develop viable solutions to our energy crisis.

If you want a case study in the effectiveness of government subsidies in the renewable energy sector, look no further than Germany. On August 1, 2004, Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act (RESA) entered into force. The purpose of the Act is "to facilitate a sustainable development of energy supply, particularly for the sake of protecting our climate, nature and the environment, to reduce the costs of energy supply to the national economy, also by incorporating long-term external
effects, to protect nature and the environment, to contribute to avoiding conflicts over fossil
fuels and to promote the further development of technologies for the generation of electricity
from renewable energy sources."(1) The Act then sets a goal of 12.5 percent electricity generated from renewables by 2010 and 20 percent by 2020.

Germany's model has transformed its solar energy industry into the largest market in the world for photovoltaic panels. So booming is the country's solar sector that in June 2008, it slashed subsidies in order to keep the industry from growing too fast. Yet government subsidies have allowed German companies to further research and refine the technology, leading not only to advances but also to increased profit margins. The economic stimulus is far-reaching and has spurred tens of thousands of new green-collar jobs.

Indeed, government subsidies are highly important in spurring research and development in renewable energy programs. So in answer to the question of whether the government should stop providing subsidies to all energy sources, the answer is an unqualified "no." At the same time, our government should readjust its subsidy programs to give renewable energy top priority. After all, the future is in renewables, not dwindling supplies of finite fossil fuels.

SOURCE NOTES:
1. Act revising the legislation on renewable energy sources in the electricity sector of 21 July 2004, German Ministry for the Environment, Environmental Protection, and Reactor Safety. PDF file, http://www.erneuerbare-energie n.de/inhalt/6465.

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