Farm subsidies are justified based on a perception of unfair competition.  That farmers would make a loss without help.<p>You can actually make exactly the same argument about renewable energy.  We invested in  clean energy because it is a superior, but more expensive product.  Fossil fuels are able to compete unfairly by selling a dirty product for less. Without subsidies solar would be forced to track the price of fossil fuels.  As oil gets cheaper, solar becomes less profitable.