The latest political squabbling over the No More Solyndras Act is a reminder that politically entrenched energy subsidies enjoy bipartisan support. The No More Solyndras Act prohibits any new loan guarantees from Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For applications that are already under consideration or have …
The Energy Department can’t figure out how hundreds of thousands of dollars in “green energy” stimulus money earmarked for manufacturing equipment was spent, according to a new report from the agency’s Inspector General. DOE’s IG stated in a July 2012 audit report that $500,000 of equipment bought with stimulus money to …
Chinese government subsidies—as much as $35 billion—were responsible for the downfall of Abound Solar, not a flawed federal government loan-approval process, according to testimony delivered before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. Executives from the bankrupt solar panel manufacturer pointed to predatory pricing by Chinese solar companies underwritten …
A federally-funded solar production facility in Nevada has ceased operations, according to a former employee at the facility. The closure could prove troublesome for the company’s political allies. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the North Las Vegas production facility for solar panel manufacturer Amonix has not operated since May. …
At a Friday visit to the Golden, Colorado, campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar characterized the bankruptcies and delays that have plagued the solar manufacturing sector as “just minor (and expected) blips for the industry.” Salazar told Denver’s alt-weekly Westword, “Any time you’re dealing with an …
While nuclear energy is unique, uranium, its primary fuel, occurs naturally within the earth much like other, better understood energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. In each case, extracting the fuel is an essential first step in the production of power. Despite the similarities, uranium mining can …
Instead of rallying together to fight the Obama Administration’s backdoor environmental regulations, which have exorbitant costs and minimal benefit, some conservative organizations are working with liberal groups to push costs higher by piling on a carbon tax. This would be nothing more than an enormously high, regressive energy tax that …
Global-warming alarmists have reemerged with a vengeance following the recent heat wave featuring record temperatures across the nation and dozens of wildfires throughout the West. But how much has global warming contributed? At least two climate change scientists refused to identify any possible threshold, with one declaring, “I honestly don’t …
A venture capital executive with ties to defunct solar company Solyndra has been hired as the new chief of the Defense Department program heading up the Pentagon’s renewable energy push. Arati Prabhakar, a former partner at U.S. Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that backed Solyndra, has been …