The U.S. fossil fuel lobbies have apparently found their golden goose in Solyndra example to demonstrate to the people that the current U.S. renewable energy program is anything but good since Solyndra declared bankruptcy after receiving over $500 million in federal loan guarantees.
Can one bad example really tarnish the image of entire renewable energy sector, especially when you consider that solar and wind industry were among very few U.S. industries that pushed the economy forward by creating a large number of jobs?
So renewables get subsidized. Big deal. Let us not forget about billions in tax breaks that went to oil companies and huge amounts of land given to land companies. And how many money was spend on different military actions in order to protect certain foreign oil supplies?
Mistakes happen in each industry and renewable energy industry is no exception – each industry has some positive and some negative examples and the most important things is that the positives outweigh the negatives which is certainly the case within the U.S. renewable energy industry. Just look at the number of new jobs created in U.S. solar and wind industry.
Renewable energy's role in global energy market is constantly increasing and United States must strengthen its position in the booming business of renewable energy. Just look at how much money is China pouring into its renewable energy sector.
The federal support for renewables must continue. The government incentives together with technological advances will further bring down prices of renewable energy making it more competitive with fossil fuels.
The final outcome should be well worth it, not just from environmental but also from an economic point of view.
