Tag Archives: loans
‘No More Solyndras Act’ – Will it Hurt U.S Renewables Innovation?
The already uphill battle to promote renewable energy instead of traditional fossil fuels has become even harder. On Friday, September 14th, the US House of Representatives passed the No More Solyndras Act, effectively halting the Department of Energy’s (DoE) loan guarantee program. Republicans wrote the bill because, in light of the Solyndras scandal, they felt [...]
Why Some Republicans Support Clean Energy
As an organization concerned deeply about climate change, we often heavily criticize the “all of the above” approach to energy development. If we’re truly going to address the problem and lower greenhouse gas emissions, a primary focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation need to be our number one priority. Digging a deeper carbon [...]
The “No More Solyndras Act” Passes The House
As I expected the “No More Solyndras Act” was just passed in the House: Republicans on Friday pushed a bill through the House shining a campaign-season light on the most conspicuous failure of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. The bill would phase out federal loan guarantees like those that went to the now-bankrupt solar power [...]
The Future of Chinese Solar Companies
The whole solar panel industry has been in a tailspin as the massive solar glut takes toll of the whole industry. The industry downturn which started in 2011 has not stopped as solar panel prices have crashed to new all time lows with European demand pull in ending and inventories building up. While many of [...]
U.S Promises $2B in Renewable Energy Loans to South Africa
Eyeing South Africa’s potential as a key export market, the US is coming up with $2 billion in financing for clean energy projects. The agreement signed this week between the US Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank and Industrial Development Corp. (IDC) of South Africa is aimed at supporting solar, wind and other clean-energy projects that use U.S. [...]
Energy Efficiency Financing: Where’s The Money?
Amongst the problems with energy efficiency upgrades is the little issue of money. Even though the projects will ultimately save a city, business or household money over the long haul, it’s tough to get people to invest the money upfront, if they even have it to begin with. Experts in the field often note that [...]
Why DOE Loan Guarantees = A Smart Bet
Does the Solyndra failure mean, as some would assert, that the entire DoE loan guarantee program is a scam that puts taxpayer dollars at undue risk? Hardly. The vast majority of the projects approved under the program present very little risk to taxpayers. So why don’t people know that? We came across a couple of [...]
In Focus: China’s Billions in Solar Loans
“Capital flows for cleantech in China are not well understood,” said Dan Reicher of Stanford University in an interview we will publish later this week. But is that really true? A few weeks ago, I published a chart that sought to put the magnitude of the Solyndra loan money into perspective. Based on that chart, [...]
The Panic That is Solyndra
Bad news from Solyndra has set off a bit of a panic around everything from the future of solar in the U.S., the role of government in supporting innovative technologies, and prospects for clean energy jobs. Caution is advised and perspective is needed lest we walk away from a pivotal new global market. Let’s start [...]