where does all the money in energy investments go?

Great breakdown of Energy Information Administration data regarding where federal tax incentives and subsidies go with respect to energy investments. See here. Apparently the Federal Government is spending double the amount on energy subsidies than we did over a decade ago. This shouldn't be surprising since the price of energy is increasing and affecting every facet of our lives.

Interesting to note is the breakdown in renewable and alternative fuels. Tax breaks have shifted more towards renewable sources of energy. The government gave about $4 B in tax breaks for renewable energy producers; unfortunately $3 B of this went to ethanol refiners and blenders. Oops.

Of note is that wind and solar are getting a ton of money, which is good. Even with all the spending on renewable sources, coal still receives the lion's share of federal funding. While funding for coal has dropped, the actual amount is still very large.

It looks like throwing some money at our energy problems has done some good, as the Senate voted to extend the Production Tax Credits for solar installations (both residential and commercial), wind, and biomass continuing to make these options attractive.

I'd be interested to see a breakdown of investment by company, ie: is BP really throwing money at alternatives. Are they really Beyond Petroleum? Ecomagination from GE? It would be informative to see the numbers.

As Jay-Z put it:

We can talk, but money talks so talk mo' bucks

¹ Izzo off of The Blueprint.