-----------------------------
From the New Yorker:
A Waste Of Energy?
by James Surowiecki
Two years ago, the solar company Solyndra was a darling of the Obama Administration. The company had received more than five hundred million dollars in loan guarantees from the Department of Energy...
Vice-President Joe Biden spoke by video at the plant’s groundbreaking ceremony, saying that the company was creating “the jobs of the future.” The following May, Obama gave a speech at the factory, and declared, “The true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra.”
...Solyndra had a huge problem: the company burned through its pile of cash ... it declared bankruptcy and fired eleven hundred workers... its offices were raided by the F.B.I. ... allegations of corruption are flying; critics of the Administration are arguing that the whole idea of government support for green companies should be abandoned as a pure boondoggle....
Washington being what it is, the backlash against green subsidies is no surprise. But it’s an overreaction every bit as hysterical as the pro-Solyndra hype was...
Putting money into alternative energy is as close as we can get to levelling the playing field. Solyndra was a big bet that happened to go bad. But we probably need to be making more bets like it.
------------
Link: http://www.newyorker.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.