A few weeks ago, after I posted a commentary blasting Rush Limbaugh for his foolishness (earning me derision from my anonymous friends at The Free Republic — hi, guys!), one reader posted this comment in response:
Frank, you’ve gone in the ditch on this one. Please don’t follow the lead of the mainstream news networks in making every cause a partisan issue. I’m no Rush fan and agree his grasp of what’s going on with renewables is somewhat shaky but, if you’re going to take pot shots and assess his other comments (the Fluke issue), you turn this into a political site rather than a Solar Power site.
The last thing we as the solar industry need is being strictly tied to a political agenda or party. (Emphasis added) We need to make this an issue about how we power the country, recognize that we are a piece of that puzzle, and work to make sure our piece fits smoothly and effectively into the whole. We can’t blindly support our best interests or we’re no better than the numerous other entities out there pushing their agenda to the detriment of our country.
Let’s avoid the political mud-slinging and work on the positive.
Thirty years ago, I probably would have agreed with the sentence I bolded above. In that day and age, Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill and Minority Leader Bob Michel could find common ground on which to work for the betterment of the country. I’m not sure that sense of bipartisanship exists anymore, and there were two examples last week that appear to prove my point.
First, there was news that the Senate refused to rescind the long-standing (since at least 1913) tax breaks and subsidies for the oil industry. This is something that amazes me. Oil companies are making money hand-over-fist these days (have you seen the price of gas lately?) — and both parties agree that these tax breaks and subsidies are no longer necessary (heck, even the oil company executives have said they don’t need these subsidies anymore). So why did the Senate oppose them? Now is not the time to discuss the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which allowed unfettered money in politics, but that’s what clearly fueled this vote. The Senators who voted against the bill received large amounts of money from oil companies or come from oil producing states. End of story.
(Side note: Before I get hate mail, it’s true that four Democrats crossed party lines to vote against the bill and two Republicans voted for it. Six Senators out of 100. That’s pretty much a party-line vote, no matter how how you slice it.)
Then there’s this story (h/t to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) for bringing this to light on its Facebook page) outlining how House Republicans are aiming to repeal all the subsidies for renewable energies (including, of course, wind and solar). Here’s the money quote from House Speaker John Boehner:
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday bashed the administration for failing to respond thus far to letters from Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans seeking information about the program.
In particular, the recent letters to the Treasury and Energy Departments seek more information on Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s claim that the grants have created tens of thousands of jobs.
“More than $10 billion – that’s with a ‘b’ – $10 billion has been spent on this, and Secretary Chu said it created ‘tens of thousands of jobs,’ except there’s no evidence to support that,” Boehner said in a statement.“Listen, the American people continue to ask the question ‘Where are the jobs?’ They deserve answers and they deserve the truth,” he said.
Boehner called the Treasury Department grants a “Solyndra-style” program in reference to the taxpayer-backed California solar company that went belly up last year after receiving a $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee in 2009.
The Hill makes the obvious distinction which clearly eludes the gentleman from Ohio:
However, the grant program and the loan guarantee program are separate and different initiatives.
The big 2009 stimulus law created a new program that allowed renewable power project developers to obtain grants in lieu of traditional tax credit financing. It expired at the end of 2011 despite administration pleas to extend it.
The program was a response to the collapse of the tax credit financing market during the economic crisis, and renewable power advocates credit the grants with keeping new wind power and other renewables projects in the pipeline.
The tax credits had withered as an option because financiers lacked profits – and hence tax liabilities – to use the credits against, and some banks that backed renewable projects were in crisis or collapsed (including Lehman Brothers).
I won’t go into the whole issue of how many jobs have been created in the solar industry (the evidence, contrary to Boehner’s assertion, is pretty clear on that front) or get into the overwhelming disparity between oil subsidies and renewable energy subsidies.
But what I will point out, as evidenced in the two stories I’ve cited, is that the Republican hypocrisy on this issue is overwhelming. If there was any doubt before, it should now be abundantly clear. After both of these stories broke last week, anyone in the industry who thinks that solar energy will get a fair hearing at the hands of Republicans is dangerously naive.
I understand the point made by my well-meaning reader that the solar industry won’t be well-served by attaching itself to only one party. After all, the Republicans may well control the Senate, House and Presidency again after this fall’s elections.
But to pretend that the industry will be best served by catering to both parties is wrong — it’s bad for the industry and all of the people it employs.
Sirthreepio says
If you claim the real issues are hidden by political then why don’t you try giving us a glimps of those hidden issues. What are the senators really thinking about. They are clearly not stupid so don’t take that stance. Try putting your self in THEIR place and think in a loud (written) voice.
Shannoman says
It’s a shame this site can’t stick to the engineering aspects of solar power. As it stands now it’s nothing more than a partisan political site–nothing more than propaganda.
Frank Andorka says
Shannoman:
I’m not sure I agree with your assessment of the site. We do cover the engineering aspects of the industry — just not on my blog (which are my own thoughts and mine alone). If you take the time to explore the rest of the site, I think you’ll find that we still cover the engineering aspects of solar quite well.
That said, we also have an obligation to cover the policy developments that will affect the industry as well, as we do here. There’s a potential crisis for the industry posed by the lawmakers we currently have, and the industry has to fight for itself. No one else is going to fight its battles for it. We see ourselves as advocates for the industry, and we’re full-throated advocates. You may not agree with our positions, but I would say that you will never see us take a position that hurts the industry.
I look forward to continuing this conversation with you further. Thanks, as always, for your interest. I look forward to talking to you again soon.
Chris says
So you’re calling for the elimination of the oil industry “tax break” of being able to expense actual costs??? Be careful or the solar industry might someday be visited by similar proposals. You complain about YOUR subsidies but support these initiatives? No wonder you’re being called partisan.
Frank Andorka says
I’m not sure exactly what you’re saying. Can you please clarify for me? We support subsidies for the young solar industry — and at some point, the subsidies for solar SHOULD go away.
For that matter, the tax breaks for the solar industry expired last year, so it’s ALREADY happened to our industry.
Ron says
Frank, Chris is pointing out that what the Administration and many Democrats are calling subsidies for big oil are tax breaks that all companies are able to expense and thus write off of their taxes. Currently, companies can write off expenses for reasearch and development. In the oil industry, that is finding new ways to drill and new places to drill. Many attempts to drill for oil fail and are very expensive. The oil industry is currently able to write these off their taxes. The Administration, because the oil industry is big, sees this dollar amount and uses it to bash the oil industry. If the administration wants to take this away from oil companies, it should go away for all companies. I do not think that the solar industry would like this. Not only are we taking tax dollars and propping your industry up, we are also giving you these same tax breaks that you are whining about in the oil industry. When solar and wind can stand on their own, that is when they should be part of our energy equation. My stepfather’s ranch is entirely solar and wind powered because it was too expensive to run power to it. It made sense. When solar and other sources can compete with oil and gas, that is when it should exand and be more at the core of our energy policy.
Frank Andorka says
A couple quick points:
First of all, the solar industry is clearly NOT getting the “same tax breaks” as the oil industry. We’re just not. The fact that the Treasury’s 1603 Program (a tax credit) was allowed to expire last year is just one example of the tax credits that are under fire in this Congress. The next to go will likely be the Solar Investment Tax Credit by the end of THIS year. So the “enormous” sudsidies that go to renewable energy just simply don’t exist.
And I’d be HAPPY to keep the oil subsidies in place, on one condition: Let’s place the same levels of subsidies for solar at the same level as the oil companies for 99 years, and then I’ll stop carping about the oil industry subsidies.
ron says
Frank, you are comparing a grant to a tax break that business recieve for R&D. The dollar value for the oil industry is huge, because the industries taxes are huge. The lie is that these are subsidies. The alternative energy crowd get subsidies, the oil industry does not. The solar industry gets a better tax break on R&D than the oil companies do. Stop whining about making a product I do not want to buy. You are the same as Obamacare. I want to choose cheaper energy because I want to spend my money on other things. California is forcing my utilitties to get so much from quote unquote renewable energy. This is making my electric bill higher. Alternative energy sources are getting close to being economical. When they are people will want to buy them. Quit using government to make us buy your product when it is not what we want.
Andrew Tomer says
In the end, the issues of subsidies from those industries, this industries, or any other industries is moot.
The country is BANKRUPT.
The corpse is just not yet hit the floor.