Daily Caller held its first live event at ClearPath Action on Tuesday, with key experts discussing the “future of America’s energy.”
Kenny Stein, Vice President of Policy at the Energy Research Institute; Discussed Daily Wire News Foundation Associate Editor The history of renewable energy subsidies with Nick Pope.
Tuesday Discussion It centers around the origins of renewable energy subsidies and the potential impact of the “big beautiful bill” on American energy. (Related: Experts discuss emergency American energy state at daily caller live events)
Stein specializes in domestic and international energy policy, environmental regulations and policy, electrical grids and a variety of other topics, according to his IER. Bio.
I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to sit together @ksteinEnergy of @ierenergy In today’s first (and not the last!) article @dailycaller Live. Our full discussion is below. Kenny advocated for the removal of green energy subsidies in the GOP settlement bill. we… https://t.co/injk4hok1l
– Nickpope (@RealNickpope) June 24, 2025
The grant was intended to last for a short period of time when they were first implemented, Stein said. But like many government programs, they remain as is, he added.
Stein said “the subsidies debate has long passed,” but he said the government has continued to approve their extension debate since 2015.
In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed by former President Joe Biden to codify benefits.
Stein said subsidies would be ideally abolished, but today’s political landscape makes that goal difficult to achieve.
“Unfortunately, energy policy has become very partisan, very polarized, and there is not much agreement even on the margins on both sides,” he said.
Stein said the subsidies have driven America’s progress, particularly when it comes to urban infrastructure and growth. He said changes to the energy law could improve this issue.
“It takes too long to build things in this country. It’s not just about energy infrastructure. It’s all about roads, housing, dams,” Stein said. “But that requires a rather radical restructuring of environmental law.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uamayq2ivmc
Stein previously pointed to European countries that “clean” them to “clean” their energy sources, but they have to rely on countries like France, which are now operating in nuclear power.
Using that example, Stein said it is important for individual states to manage how energy is produced, rather than relying on the federal government for regulation. (Related: Democrats blame grid operators for the energy crisis of their work)
“It’s important that the investment structure is based on what makes the most sense for a particular location, not on state government mandatory or subsidized, rather than on what’s federally subsidized,” Stein said. “Too much energy investments are now a harvest of subsidies rather than planning the future.”
Stein said changes to the grid plan could lead to higher prices in the short term, but said prices are likely to drop as energy reliability stabilizes over the long term.
“In the last few years, there have been a lot of technology development, even things like AI and cloud. There are plenty of opportunities out there to improve the functionality of the grid in ways that improve reliability.”
The Energy Research Institute (IER) is a non-profit organization that researches domestic and foreign government energy businesses.
