New energy???

I didn't watch Obama's State of the Union speech...and to be fair, I have never really watched those things. Why...they are simply words. Let's face it...actions speak louder than words. From parts that I have heard, Obama once again mentioned how oil is bad and how clean energy, like windmills and solar energy are good. He also keeps referring to these as new energy...but there is nothing new about them. In fact, the first patent on a solar panel was in 1888. Windmills were patented in the 1800's also. Do you consider anything that has been around over 100 hundred years new?
We, Americans, use massive amounts of energy...therefore we have to get it in bulk, and get it cheap. Think about this...over the last 100 years or more...solar panels and windmills have never made mass amounts of energy to divert our dependence on oil. This just seems so idealistic. Here's the other thing...if these "new" energy types were so efficient and productive, there wouldn't be a need for the government to subsidize them. If it were that good of a deal, the private sector would take the idea and run with it for business. So, my advice...sift through what's going on. What's the goal of our current administration when it comes to energy? Sounds fishy...