While the federal government has been handling the COVID-19 crisis, many renewable energy companies have been using this time to extend the Production Tax Credit, which is a subsidy used to help wind and solar companies. 

According to a report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, subsidies are created to help support energy production, however, once they are introduced, it's rare to see them go away. 

"Subsidies create a group of businesses that depend on government support to remain profitable and those businesses become very effective at lobbying politicians to maintain that support," the report states. "The main effect of energy subsidies is to create demand for more subsidies in a self-perpetuating process that has wasted taxpayer money and distorted energy markets for decades."

But the renewable industry continues to receive funding in subsidies from the federal government year after year, Kentucky Today reported. Wind and solar companies also receive the most subsidies out of all energy sources, researchers have said. The Texas Public Policy Foundation report shows that they receive 26 times more subsidies than coal and 113 times more than solar. 

In total, wind and solar energy costs over $39 billion a year in taxes. But oil and natural gas, nuclear, coal, hydropower and goethermal altogether cost less than wind and solar, according to the Texas Public Policy report. 

Many states are paying for these subsidies even if most of their energy comes from different sources, according to Kentucky Today. In Kentucky, less than 1% of energy comes from wind and solar companies, yet Kentucky residents continue to pay for subsidies for these companies. 

Not only do these companies create costly subsidies, but wind and solar energy is highly unreliable since they can only be guaranteed to work if the sun is up or wind is blowing. 

Since they aren't reliable, fossil fuels are often used when wind and solar energy fail. Not only does this support their unreliability, but it racks up more costs for taxpayers and wastes their money. 

When states like Kentucky pay for these subsidies for wind and solar companies that are rarely used in the state, it means Kentucky is paying for other states to use this energy, according to Kentucky Today. Wind and solar subsidies should be eliminated in states that don't use wind and solar power, Kentucky Today reported.

"Instead of correcting supposed flaws in energy markets, energy subsidies create more flaws by fostering industries and sub-industries that depend on government support for their existence and profitability," the Texas Public Policy report states. "As with all forms of cronyism, energy subsidies are a tragedy of the commons in which politically connected businesses profit at the expense of taxpayers who do not notice the effects enough to demand changes. In order to effect that change, voters and businesses that pay for the subsidies should pressure lawmakers to eliminate these damaging policies."