(1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal;
“(E) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers;”
Every person on earth should always strive to make our planet as clean and safe for our families and future generations as possible. This is the most sacred, important, and fundamental responsibility of being human. Protecting the earth’s environment must rise above petty politics and never be used as a scam to advance corrupt practices for personal gain.
Take, for example, the Solyndra disaster. A solar company with a shiny new product received billions of dollars in private investments and a $535 million loan guarantee from the government—the first and largest loan of its kind from the Department of Energy. Then, with skyrocketing costs, Solyndra went bankrupt. Its customers found a much cheaper product in China and U.S. taxpayers were left on the hook.1
More recently, the Crescent Dunes solar project debacle in Nevada got a $737 million loan guarantee from the government.2 The plant never came close to its claimed generation levels and was shuttered early last year, leaving taxpayers on the hook–again.3
What do Solyndra, Crescent Dunes, and Nancy Pelosi have in common? Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law, Ron, was among the leadership of the Crescent Dunes project’s investment partners when they got that huge government-backed loan.4
Whether or not the illustrious speaker’s influence played a part is beside the point. It’s the opposite of fair and just, and instead implicit corruption and cronyism. Those implications matter when they distract from our collective responsibility to each other and this earth, instead leaving everyone asking: Is Ron Pelosi Nancy’s Hunter Biden?
Sources
1. Solyndra got billions in private investments and a $535 million loan guarantee from the government—the first and largest such loan from the Department of Energy. Then with skyrocketing costs, Solyndra went bankrupt, its customer found a much cheaper product in China and U.S. taxpayers were left on the hook. “If you don’t remember the whole story of Solyndra, the company was making tubular solar panels using a thin, next-generation solar material and a lightweight racking system where the panels were installed. The company said big power companies would pay a premium for its solar panels, partly because the panels would save them money during the installation process. The company raised more than a billion dollars from investors such as Madrone Capital (a fund associated with the Walton family, the heirs to the Walmart fortune), RockPort Capital, Redpoint Capital, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and others. In addition to backing from private investors, Solyndra was the very first company to score the loan guarantee from the DOE’s newly-funded program, and the loan was also one of the largest given out (similar in size to Tesla’s). Solyndra went bankrupt because its costs were far too high, its only customers were paying for its panels at a discount, and the cost of solar panels in China were beginning to drop dramatically. Instead of finding customers willing to pay a premium for its new panels, its solar developer customers could head to China and buy cheap panels there.” (Katie Fehrenbacher, “Why The Solyndra Mistake Is Still Important To Remember,” Fortune, 8/27/15)
2. In September 2011, the Department of Energy issued a $737 million loan guarantee to finance Crescent Dunes. “In September 2011, the Department of Energy issued a $737 million loan guarantee to finance Crescent Dunes, a 110-MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant near Tonopah, Nevada. It uses power tower technology that concentrates solar energy to heat molten salt, converting that heat into electricity. Upon completion, Crescent Dunes became the largest molten salt power tower in the world.” (“Crescent Dunes,” U.S. Department Of Energy Loan Programs Office, Accessed 2/4/20)
3. “The plant’s technology was designed to generate enough power night and day to supply a city the size of nearby Sparks, Nev. (population 100,000), but it never came close.” (Chris Martin and Nic Querolo, “A $1 Billion Solar Plant Was Obsolete Before It Ever Went Online,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 1/6/20)
Today, SolarReserve is “mired in litigation and accusations of mismanagement at Crescent Dunes, where taxpayers remain on the hook for $737 million in loan guarantees.” “SolarReserve may have done its part, but today the company doesn’t rank among the winners. Instead, it’s mired in litigation and accusations of mismanagement at Crescent Dunes, where taxpayers remain on the hook for $737 million in loan guarantees.” (Chris Martin and Nic Querolo, “A $1 Billion Solar Plant Was Obsolete Before It Ever Went Online,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 1/6/20)
“Crescent Dunes has been shut down since April, and the Energy Department took control of it in August, according to a lawsuit SolarReserve filed in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to reverse the takeover.” “NV Energy, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., had to wait months to cut ties with SolarReserve. Crescent Dunes has been shut down since April, and the Energy Department took control of it in August, according to a lawsuit SolarReserve filed in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to reverse the takeover.” (Chris Martin and Nic Querolo, “A $1 Billion Solar Plant Was Obsolete Before It Ever Went Online,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 1/6/20)
4. A September 2011 archived version of the SolarReserve website shows PCG [Pacific Corporate Group] Clean Energy & Technology Fund (East) LLC listed as one SolarReserve’s “Investment Partners.” (“About Us,” SolarReserve, 9/24/11; Accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine, 2/4/20) An October 2011 archived version of the Pacific Corporate Group website lists Ronald Pelosi under its “Leadership.” (“People,” Pacific Corporate Group, 10/1/11; Accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine, 2/4/20)