Solyndra is the big cleantech story of the day again today for those outside (and some of those inside) the cleantech arena. We’ve been covering the story quite a bit lately, so if you want to read more from us on the matter, check out these Solyndra stories. There’s one thing, though, that I’ve mentioned but haven’t dedicated a post to, so think I will quickly now….
So many people are implying or outright saying that the Obama administration knew Solyndra would fail but gave it the loan guarantee anyway. The obvious question would then be: Why would Obama & crew highlight a company they knew was going to fail?
Obama toured the facilities. He and Biden held press conferences and spoke Solyndra’s great potential. They were calling the media to them, to this issue. Why would they do that if they thought the company were to fail (and, thus, knew all this publicity would come back to bite them in the a**)?
Really, let’s get logical here.
- Yes, Solyndra was a failure.
- No, solar is not a failure, as it has added nearly 7,000 jobs in the last year, growing 6% and now reaching over 100,000 U.S. jobs.
- Solar is expected to grow at a fast clip worldwide and in the U.S. In fact, it was the great success of solar policies and companies in China that undercut Solyndra.
- It would be completely nonsensical of the Obama administration to highlight Solyndra repeatedly in the press, rather than one of the other 50+ companies employing 100,000 workers in the U.S., if it knew the company were to fail.
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