New York Times Editorial On Solyndra

Sept 25, 2011 – The New York Times has an editorial today about Solyndra.

The Solyndra ‘Panic’

In August, Solyndra, a California-based solar panel maker, announced it would file for bankruptcy. The collapse cost 1,100 workers their jobs and American taxpayers $535 million in loan guarantees that Solyndra had received under a Congressionally authorized program to encourage young companies to develop clean-energy technologies.

President Obama had hailed Solyndra as a model investment and the face of “a brighter and more prosperous future.” Republicans have now pounced on the bankruptcy as proof the loan program is a bust, the president’s sig­nature green jobs program is a fraud, and the country’s solar energy business is in decline.

None of that is true. Solyndra made a bad bet, investing heavily in a new type of solar array just as the price of silicon, the main ingredient in competitors’ solar cells, was dropping. Its demise should not spell the end of federal investment in the alternative fuels and energy sources that are critical to reducing green­house gas emissions, easing this country’s dependence on fossil fuels and keeping it competitive in the race for clean-energy jobs.

The United States, which three years ago led the world in investments in clean energy, has fallen behind China and Germany. The failure of one company is no reason to stop our efforts to catch up with those countries.

There are important issues here that need a hard look. The Justice Department is investigating whether Solyndra was upfront about its problems with investors. A House committee is asking whether the company’s loan application was hurried along so that the White House could trumpet its job creation efforts.

The administration claims to have exercised due diligence and seems to have been forthcoming in responding to Congress. The company has been less so; two senior executives, citing the Justice Department inquiry, took the Fifth Amendment when they appeared before a Congressional committee on Friday.

It is important to note that some of the loud­est criticism is coming from House Republicans who want to undermine Obama, belittle global warming and discredit clean fuels. Their agenda was on display Thursday at a hearing led by Rep. Darrell Issa called “How Obama’s Green Energy Agenda Is Killing Jobs.”

The truth of the matter is that when judged by its diverse portfolio, the loan program appears, at least so far, to have performed well. The Solyndra investment represents less than 2 percent of nearly $40 billion in loan guarantees for about three dozen projects. Some of them have provided thousands of jobs in Michigan and other recession-battered states.

As for the doomed solar industry, highly competitive firms remain. Jobs in the industry have doubled to roughly 100,000 since 2003.

Recent studies suggest that, globally, renew­able energy will grow faster than any other energy source in the coming decades. The sur­est way to guarantee that America gets its fair share of that business and those jobs would be to enact an energy strategy that raises the price of older, dirtier fuels. Failing that, continued government support is essential.

Read more at GreenEnergyForEarth.com