WSJ: Big Solar “fleecing the American public”

Companies cash in on tax credits and ‘net-metering’ schemes.

Solar panels at Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Solar in Hughsville, Maryland. (Source: Getty Images)

(Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal) – The Department of Energy’s Inspector General revealed last week that the legendary solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra—a poster baby of the Obama stimulus—lied to the feds to get a $535 million loan guarantee before going bust in 2011. Solyndra is a cautionary tale, but the Obama Administration is still throwing caution to the sun.

The IG report, which follows a four-year investigation by the IG and FBI, describes how Solyndra engaged in a “pattern of false and misleading assertions,” including inflating the value of corporate contracts and sales, to win a giant loan guarantee in 2009.

All evidence suggests that DOE was a willing victim. The IG notes that DOE loan officers felt “tremendous pressure” from the White House and Congress to rush through loan-guarantee applications. In their haste, DOE officials failed “to ask specific questions, and require specific assurances” and overlooked major red flags.

The larger problem is that the White House is more concerned with boosting the politically favored solar industry than protecting taxpayer dollars. More troubling, the solar industry may be growing too big to fail, and the Administration is assisting another taxpayer solar scam.

To read the full column, click here.