Ed. Note: This repost is timely given the end of the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit for unstarted wind and solar projects as of July 4, 2026, (One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025). For started (‘safe harbor’) projects, it is business-as-usual, which explains why the projects were started in the first place. If an unstarted project is completed by year-end (highly unlikely), it would also receive the ITC and PTC. Yesterday, the solar chronology was presented.

Wind power has relied on the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit, first established in 1992. The PTC has been extended 12 times: 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2022 (IRA).

Source: Energy Bad Boys.

The 2008 extension is not mentioned in the above graph.…

Ed. Note: This repost is timely given the end of the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit for unstarted projects as of July 4, 2026, pursuant to the One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025. For started (‘safe harbor’) projects, it is business-as-usual, which explains why the projects were started in the first place. If an unstarted project is completed by year-end (highly unlikely), it would also receive the ITC and PTC. Tomorrow, the history of wind power tax subsidization is chronicled.

“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.”

– Milton and Rose Friedman, Tyranny of the Status Quo (1983), 115.

Aaron Nichols on LinkedIn provided a history of federal solar tax subsidies, beginning with Jimmy Carter. His point was to show that the numerous extensions (14 by my count) were bipartisan.…

Ed note: Travis Fisher, a protege of economist Roy Cordato at North Carolina State University, has blossomed into one of America’s top energy analysts and public policy entrepreneurs. With a grounding in classical liberalism and Austrian school (realistic) economics, Fisher represents the future of applied energy analysis. “Travis stood out because he was genuinely interested in ideas,” recalls Professor Cordato. “His intense interest, as a graduate student, led him to do an independent study with me in Austrian Political Economy, which he has built upon ever since.” 

Travis Fisher has emerged as a thoughtful, principled, and influential voice in contemporary American energy policy. As Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, he brings a rare combination of intellectual rigor, hands-on governmental experience, and an unwavering commitment to free-market principles.…

“There’s a thing out there called a ‘climate husher.’ Anyone who cares about what fossil fuel pollution is doing to Earth’s natural systems needs to ignore these so-called ‘climate hushers’ – people who think Dems should stop talking about climate.” – Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

Climate messaging is a mess as the Progressive Left tries to square the energy circle with affordability. Traditional messages have flunked. Complained one activist:

Maybe the problem isn’t climate denial. Maybe it’s climate messaging. We’ve been attempting to scare or shame people into caring, and it’s not effective. Is it time to completely rethink how we talk about climate and sustainability? We’ve spent years trying to influence people through fear, data, and moral urgency. The results? Mixed.

The latest despair comes from Bill McKibben in his Earth Day post, Let’s TALK Climate.…