Why is solar getting 250x more in tax credits than nuclear? John Mackey on Power Hungry Podcast
"Swampiest thing ever," Mackey on leadership (and H-E-B)
A departure from the usual email blast. Lorin and I are headed to Big Bend for the rest of the week to unplug, enjoy the desert, and do some birding. Thus, a Monday blast instead of the usual Friday epistle. Two items in today's blast:
Comparing solar subsidies with nuclear
John Mackey on the Power Hungry Podcast
Note: I snapped the photo at the top of this note on December 1. It's the Zilker Tree looming over Barton Springs at dusk.
Everyone loves solar energy. That was proved yet again last week when Congress pushed through a massive spending and Covid-relief bill that included extensions of the tax credits for solar and wind energy. Yesterday, I published a piece in Forbes that sought to answer a simple question: which form of energy gets the most love in the form of federal tax credits? Here's the top of the article:
The Washington Favor Factory never sleeps. Further proof of that fact arrived last week when Congress slapped together and passed two measures: a $1.4 trillion must-pass government spending bill and a $900 billion Covid-relief bill.
The 5,593-page bill, which may be vetoed by lame-duck President Donald Trump, is the longest piece of legislation ever passed by Congress and is packed with a panoply of carve-outs and tax favors. Which industries got the biggest favors inserted into legislation that The Hill columnist Joe Concha called “the swampiest thing ever”?
Without a doubt, it was the solar- and wind-energy sectors.
Since I published the piece, Trump has said he will sign the legislation. That means that the solar and wind sectors will continue to get lucrative tax credits that distort electricity markets and do so at the expense of nuclear and gas-fired generators.
As you can see from the graphic at the top of this email, when compared by the amount of energy produced, solar and wind are getting vastly more than nuclear or hydrocarbons. I wrote, "America’s nuclear sector received about $13.1 million in tax incentives per exajoule (EJ) while the solar sector soaked up $3.3 billion per EJ – or 253 times the amount given to nuclear. The wind sector got $2 billion per EJ, or about 158 times as much as nuclear." I continued, "Even the unloved and unfashionable hydrocarbon sector (who loves coal, oil, or natural gas these days?) got more than the nuclear crowd. According to the CRS data, in 2018, hydrocarbon producers got tax incentives of about $47 million per EJ, or about four times as much per EJ as the nuclear sector."
The enormous amounts of money being allocated for solar and wind -- and the never-ending extensions of the tax credits for them -- show that energy policy in Washington isn't being aimed at climate change. It's about money.
John Mackey talks leadership
I have known John Mackey, the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, for many years. He is energetic, thoughtful, and without doubt, one of America's foremost evangelists for capitalism and business. He came on the Power Hungry Podcast last week to talk about his latest book, Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business, which he co-authored with Carter Phipps and Steve McIntosh.
We talked about the dearth of leadership in America, socialism, capitalism, veganism, Whole Foods’ merger with Amazon, and animal rights. We talked for a long while about why leaders must have integrity. "Integrity doesn't mean just you tell the truth," he said. "Honesty is part of it. But so is is trustworthiness, authenticity, honor, these are all aspects that make up integrity." We also talked about competition. John said that Texas-based grocer H-E-B "is the the best competitor Whole Foods competes against anywhere. That's what I think about them. They're the best. I'd rather compete against Walmart than H-E-B.”
It was an interesting conversation. If you have a few minutes over the holiday, please give it a listen and tell your friends and family to do the same.
Adios, 2020!
Before I sign off, a sincere thanks to all of you. This has been an eventful year, one that none of us will soon forget. I have been lucky to be able to continue publishing and talking about the topics that I love: energy, power, innovation, and politics. And I'm even more fortunate to have an audience who wants to hear about them. Thanks 1,000,000 for your support. I look forward to engaging further in 2021.
If you are so inclined:
1. Subscribe to the Power Hungry Podcast and give it a positive review.
2. Rent or buy Juice on iTunes or Amazon Prime.
3. Buy A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations and give it a positive review.
4. Follow me and Juice on Twitter.
5. Need a speaker for your meeting or webinar? Email me!
Thanks!