Federal subsidies for renewable energy projects more than doubled from 2016 to 2022, according to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Federal subsidies for renewable energy projects, which include tax expenditures, R&D spending, and the Energy Department's loan guarantee program, more than doubled to $15.6 billion last year from $7.4 billion in 2016. Tax expenditures, which account for 93% of total subsidies, more than tripled to $15.3 billion from $5.6 billion.

Nearly half (46%) of all energy-related federal subsidies and 67% of energy-focused tax spending went toward renewables. A large share of the credits were directed toward wind and solar-powered energy, with a slightly smaller share invested in biofuels, specifi🗹cally ethanol and biodiesels.

Although federal spending on renewable energy has more than doubled since 2016, it's varied considerably through the years by amount and composition. Direct expenditures, where the government directly funds certain industries and businesses, totaled over $1 billion in 20𝔉♓16 and 2017 but slowed to a trickle afterward.

Meanwhile, tax spending nearly doubled to just over $10 trillion in 2018 from $5.6 trillion the year before and has risen almost every year since. The year 2020 was the biggest for spending on renewables, accounting for 21% of all expenditures during this period.