Subsidies and External Costs in Electric Power Generation: A comparative review of estimates

This review examines the availability and consistency of data regarding subsidies for electricity generation across nuclear, fossil fuel, and renewable energy technologies, concluding that there is a significant lack of robust national estimates.

• There is a lack of consistent information and data regarding subsidies for electricity generation, and existing global estimates are limited, necessitating the development of robust national estimates for further evaluation.
• While there are widespread claims that nuclear, fossil fuel, and renewable generation types all benefit from subsidies at the expense of others, the actual extent of government subsidization is generally unclear.
• A small portion of the growing literature on energy subsidies focuses specifically on electricity generation, and an even smaller subset of that literature attempts to quantify those subsidies.

APA

Kitson,, L. K. W. M. (2011). Subsidies and External Costs in Electric Power Generation: A comparative review of estimates. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/subsidies-and-external-costs-electric-power-generation-comparative-review

Chicago

Kitson,, Lucy Kitson,Peter Wooders,Tom Moerenhout,Lucy. Subsidies and External Costs in Electric Power Generation: A comparative review of estimates. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2011. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/subsidies-and-external-costs-electric-power-generation-comparative-review.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kitson, |first1=Lucy Kitson,Peter Wooders,Tom Moerenhout,Lucy |title=Subsidies and External Costs in Electric Power Generation: A comparative review of estimates |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=16 September 2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/subsidies-and-external-costs-electric-power-generation-comparative-review |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kitson2011subsidies, author = {Kitson,, Lucy Kitson,Peter Wooders,Tom Moerenhout,Lucy}, title = {{Subsidies and External Costs in Electric Power Generation: A comparative review of estimates}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/subsidies-and-external-costs-electric-power-generation-comparative-review}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }