Chris Edwards
My National Review op-ed today examines subsidies for wind power, solar power, lithium batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs). The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included about $1 trillion in subsidies for these and other ostensibly green technologies. Next year, the Republicans will aim to cut these subsidies to trim deficits and level the playing field in the energy industry.
There is another reason why Republicans should reassess the IRA subsidies: the environmental damage that wind, solar, battery, and EVs may impose if their footprints continue to expand. In the mad dash to limit CO2 emissions, traditional environmental concerns seem to have been pushed aside. Congressional Republicans should hold hearings next year on the anti-green effects of the IRA’s green subsidies.
I was surprised to find, for example, that the Biden administration finalized a plan this year to cover 538,000 football fields of public lands in the West with metal-and-glass solar panel structures. That would be an extraordinary imposition on the natural environment that deserves more scrutiny by Congress and the public.
Another issue my op-ed discusses is that solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium batteries may cause massive trash problems. Scientists are working on these issues, but they loom large because of the short lifespans of these energy technologies.
EVs are much heavier than gas-powered vehicles, which increases damage from accidents, wears tires faster, and increases particulate emissions. Wind turbines currently kill about 1 million birds annually in the United States and more than 1 million bats, and the Biden administration plans vast increases in wind installations.
Solar panel and lithium battery manufacturing have very problematic supply chains. The Biden administration, for example, is subsidizing water-intensive lithium mining in arid regions of the West, which will cause added stress on already tapped-out rivers and aquifers.
The NRO piece discusses these and other concerns. The incoming Congress should thoroughly review both the costs and green impacts of the IRA subsidies.