Was this a very well intentioned effort to break away from fossil fuels that went horribly wrong? Was it a boondoggle that made a lot of people a lot of money without any realistic likelihood of success?
Here, from Hailey Gomez’s article at dailycaller.com, are the facts. You decide:
The partially taxpayer-funded Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in California’s Mojave Desert is set to shut down in 2026 due to inefficiency in generating solar energy, according to the New York Post.
The $2.2 billion plant, which features three 459-foot towers, was greenlit in 2010 and completed in 2014. According to the New York Post the closure stems from the site being “outpaced by solar photovoltaic technology” and proving both inefficient and costly. The shutter of the site comes more than a decade ahead of its original 2039 end date, according to the Associated Press.
Funds for the massive plant partially came from former President Barack Obama’s Department of Energy, which in 2011 issued $1.6 billion in three federal loan guarantees under former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. At the 2014 opening, Moniz touted federal support for the project, calling it “a shining example” of America’s leadership in solar energy.
In this context, you might want to remember Solyndra. That was the solar panel company that was going to change the world…but, instead lost $500 million in taxpayer dollars – while making a lot of connected people a lot of money – before going bust. Notice any similarity?
And let’s not forget that there are other solar companies just like Ivanpah and Solyndra, which also might wind up benefiting just about no one other than a few connected people while providing little other than failure.
Do you detect a smell here?
Like I said earlier, that’s for you to decide. Think about it.
