Congress

Published on September 27th, 2011 | by Jeremy Bloom

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GOP’s Solyndra witch-hunt screws other solar programs

Why is the GOP trying to turn the bankruptcy of solar power company Solyndra into a big huge scandal? Sure, they want to embarrass the Obama administration, but more than that – it’s actually having real-world consequences for other solar projects.

The latest casualty: A program that would have installed solar roofs on military housing. It would have single-handedly doubled the number of solar roofs in the country, but thanks to the witch-hunt atmosphere in Washington, the project has been put on hold.

Susan Kraemer reports at Cleantechnica:

In partnership with military housing developers, SolarCity was to have installed as many as 160,000 solar roofs on military family housing, supplying cheaper and cleaner electricity from their own roofs. Its SolarStrong military program would have doubled the number of solar roof installations in the US – there are only 166,000 solar rooftops as of this spring. Solar City would get a $275 million loan from USRG Renewable Finance for the project, and the Department of Energy would provide the loan guarantee.

But, due to the Solyndra witch hunt, the project has been halted.

Secretary Chu received a letter from the [House of Representatives’ Energy] committee on September 20th warning of a slew of new requirements as part of the Solyndra witch hunt. As a result, the Department of Energy contacted SolarCity with the news that it will be impossible to finalize the loan guarantee for the 371 MW SolarStrong project on time.

Meanwhile, as we reported yesterday, the GOP is trying to make it look like the public doesn’t want the government to support solar power. Which is nonsense.

And so we fall farther and farther behind the Chinese, who continue to support their own burgeoning solar industry…

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More on solar, Solyndra and subsidies:

• House GOP plans new witch hunt over solar bankruptcy
• Big political winner for Dems – Clean energy
• The true story on power – fossil fuels and nuclear get huge subsidies, wind power not so much
• Clean Energy: Yep, China is Seriously Eating Our Lunch
• Voters oppose government support for clean energy? Not so fast…

(Solyndragatepocalypse image by Mark Fiore)
 

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Tags: GOP, scandal, solar energy, Solyndra, witch-hunt

About the Author

Jeremy Bloom Jeremy Bloom is the Editor of RedGreenAndBlue. He just moved to Los Angeles, and continues trying to change the world in positive ways.

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• http://Web eddie york

  Why on earth would Obama approve Solyndra for a $535 Million Dollar Loan after Bush rejected them for being to high a risk?

  Why must you lie?

  “WSJ’s Ryan Tracy reports a new Congressional report says warnings about Solyndra’s competitive abilities came out before the government awarded the company a $535 million loan guarantee and the company’s subsequent collapse.”

  • Jeremy Bloom

    Um… Bush didn’t reject Solyndra. Their loan approval was in process from 2007, but was approved after Obama came into office.

    See here:

    Additionally, Fox News is reporting that House Republicans have been massaging the truth a bit by selectively releasing emails that make it seem as though the Bush administration put the kibosh on the Solyndra loans. According to emails obtained by Fox News, though, the Bush administration said Solyndra’s application “has merit,” and recommended that the vetting process continue.
    Those same emails also show that Solyndra officials pressed hard to get the deal done in the waning days of the Bush administration, hardly the actions of a company who had bought and paid for the new guy.

    And did you actually LISTEN to the WSJ report? There was NOTHING wrong with Solyndra. The only red flags were that the price of solar was dropping, and so it might be harder for Solyndra to compete. Yet, the WSJ – and you – make it sound like there was something horribly wrong with this company, and therefor with this investment. Well guess what? Sometimes MARKET FORCES push companies into bankruptcy. You make an investment and you take your chances – that’s how it works. But there was nothing wrong with the fundamentals of the company, which is what you bozos keep trying to imply.