The latest Energy In Brief posting by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is very instructive on the topic of U.S. government subsidies for energy. I consider it recommended reading for anyone who wants to understand the level of government investment and how it effects energy production in the U.S.

In total, renewable energies were subsidized to the tune of $4.8 billion in 2007. That number put renewable subsidies ahead of any other type of energy source by over $2 billion.

There is detail on the amount of subsidies per unit of production as well. Wind producers were paid $23.37 per megawatt hour. Solar producers were paid $24.34 per megawatt hour. Biomass and Geothermal were subsidized at a very paltry rate of $.89 and $.92 per megawatt hour respectively.

The posting covers all types of subsidized energy and also includes comparatively generous subsidies for refined coal ($2.37 billion) and natural gas ($2.149 billion). Because coal and natural gas are so heavily relied upon for electric generation the cost per megawatt hour for either of them is very low. Natural Gas is subsidized at $.25 per megawatt hour and Coal is subsidized at $.44 per megawatt hour.

The wind industry was the largest beneficiary among renewable industries having received $666 million in production credits in 2007.

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In conjunction with their plan for Boulder, Xcel energy has created this video that explains their vision for the Smart Grid. I recommend that you take a few minutes to view the video below if you want to get a better picture of the future of electricity in the home. You can find out more about Xcel’s Smart Grid initiative and on their website which contains several other interesting items including a white paper and some graphics showing a Smart Grid city and home.

Video on YouTube