Well if energy companies can make profit they cant run sustainably; which means others dependent on them cant grow either. Since when do people on HN started thinking of profit as opposite of &quot;forward thinking&quot; is beyond me.<p>Of course I wont count government subsidies as profit because after all the poor Americans who end up paying tax aren&#x27;t paying for that energy willingly. Arguments for massive government subsidies such as $8K for rich people&#x27;s car Tesla is that this might speed up the economy of scale for these businesses and that it will eventually be affordable for ordinary people. ( Of course also the dubious claim that this all might help reduce some environmental problems.)<p>I am worried that specific government subsidies for say Wind or Solar might be hurting some innovation in radically different directions.