This write up by Stephen Lacey on Climate Progress does a great job of discussing energy subsidies in the U.S.

In particular, the article discusses the falsity of assertions that renewables receive the lion’s share of energy subsidies. In fact, they receive much less than fossil fuels do, under most operationalizations of “subsidy”. The success of the “subsidy dependence” narrative in political discourse is disturbing, and very dangerous. As this article notes, the Republican platform has recycled their tried-and-true “winners and losers” soundbyte–thus marginalizing renewables in the Republican base–the very people least likely to support renewable energy development.

The simple fact is, as the referenced report from The Breakthrough Institute notes, that the natural gas boom is a direct result of federal investment in R&D. The partnership of private initiative and public investment in energy is a fully normal, historical, and fruitful way to develop new, clean, energy technologies–whether for solar, wind, natural gas, oil, or coal. A little courage from Republicans (dare I say, like G.W. Bush showed a bit of) in honestly evaluating and communicating renewables would go a long, long way.