Solar industry pleads Obama to help restore loan guarantees

[jpak]

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/113349-solar-industry-pleads-obama-to-help-restore-loan-guarantees

Solar industry officials are pleading with President Obama to restore billions of dollars in renewable energy loan guarantees that Congress is at least temporarily cutting to pay for emergency education and Medicaid help to states and other policy priorities.

The loss of these loan guarantee funds could help “send solar development into a tailspin that will be difficult to reverse,” according to a letter to Obama sent Monday from Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

House lawmakers Tuesday are slated to approve a $26.1 billion state education and Medicaid funding package the Senate passed last week that would be partially paid for by slashing $1.5 billion in renewable energy-loan guarantees approved in last year’s economic stimulus bill.

Renewable-energy groups sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a letter Friday urging the House to drop that cut. But that isn’t expected to happen, and Obama is expected to sign the bill as is.

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[joshcryer]

1. I thought solar didn't require any of this and that investors loved it???

[glitch]

2. Perhaps they should re-allocate some of the subsidies from nuclear, coal and oil.

They also apparently don't need anything but the free market, right?

[Dead_Parrot]

3. Key difference being...

...Those subsidies - along with any for wind - financially benefit everyone connected to the grid. Solar subsidies tend to only benefit those with $40k to spend, but I'm sure it'll trickle down eventually. Or something.

In fairness, the cut in question doesn't seem to apply exclusively to solar, regardless of the what the article says: I'd like a little more background before forming an opinion.

[jpak]

4. All other forms of energy are subsidized in the US - including nuclear

which got $50 BILLION in loan guarantees last year.

Asshole republicans killed the infant US wind, PV and CSP industries by repealing tax credits and loan guarantees - no industry can be expected to flourish in uncertainty.

Which is why Denmark is building our wind turbines, and China making our PV panels and Spain is building our CSP systems.

Good going solar haters

yup