Many Americans are familiar with the biblical parable of the talents. A farmer goes on a long trip and gives varying amounts of money to three of his servants. When he returns, the servant who received five talents has traded successfully and turned them into 10; the servant who received two talents has turned them into four. But the servant who received one talent buried it out of fear. He is punished for failing to use what he had appropriately.

This parable is relevant to America’s energy policy. We have many “talents,” each at different stages of development. Solar power is a talent with promise, but its dependence on weather conditions and government subsidies means it isn’t always reliable. Wind power is also a talent, but similarly dependent on subsidies and subject to the happenstance of the wind (little in the summer when demand for electricity is high).