Solyndra, a solar power company that got more than half a billion dollars in loan guarantees from a Department of Energy Recovery Act program, went bankrupt at the beginning of September. The reason why it happened and who’s to blame is still unclear, but that’s not the main issue taking place in the political field.
Opponents of clean energy who favor fossil fuels want the U.S. public to think that clean energy is weak, unreliable, marginal, and dependent on government subsidies. They have been trying to make that case for a long while. They are trying to use Solyndra as a symbol, something to use as a stand-in to discredit not just the DOE loan program, but all government support for clean energy.
When “Climategate” first broke back in late 2009 right-wing conservatives opened a massive attack coordinated among ideological media, staffers, lobbyists, and politicians. When the left took action, it was too late.
This is what is happening now around Solyndra. The conservatives are going after this.
Hosts Celeste Carey and Cecil Prescod speak with Laurie Johnson, Chief Economist, Climate Center, National Resources Defense Council, about why clean energy shouldn’t be discredited entirely because of one failed solar power company.
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