Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past

The Rocky Mountain Institute contends that the U.S. government has historically provided far more subsidies to fossil fuels than to renewables, citing $72 billion for fossil fuels versus $29 billion for renewables between 2002 and 2008. The document argues that wind and solar are rapidly becoming cost-competitive, noting a 43% decline in solar PV installed costs from 1998 to 2010. It further highlights the economic burden of fossil fuel externalities, estimated at $63 billion annually, and dismisses the Keystone XL pipeline as a viable energy security solution because it does not support the electricity system.

• U.S. government subsidies for fossil fuels significantly exceeded those for renewable energy from 2002 to 2008, with fossil fuel subsidies totaling approximately $72 billion and renewable energy subsidies totaling $29 billion.
• The capacity-weighted average installed costs of solar PV in the United States decreased by 43% in real 2010 dollars between 1998 and 2010, dropping from $11.00 per watt to $6.20 per watt.
• Air pollution from fossil fuel-based electricity generation creates annual externality costs for the U.S. economy estimated at $63 billion, with coal generation accounting for more than $53 billion of those damages.
• The Keystone XL pipeline is characterized as a 'red herring' for national energy security because it does not support the existing electricity system, which utilizes less than 2% oil, nor does it power future electric vehicles.

APA

Newcomb, J., & Lacy, V. (2011). Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/

Chicago

Newcomb, James, and Virginia Lacy. Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past. RMI, 2011. https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Newcomb |first1=James |last2=Lacy |first2=Virginia |title=Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past |publisher=RMI |date=8 November 2011 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{newcomb2011debate, author = {Newcomb, James and Lacy, Virginia}, title = {{Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2011}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }