Let’s Keep Solar in Perspective

Imagine a day when the air you breathe is sweet and clean. No smog or toxins from cars, houses or factories. Imagine a day when we aren’t worried about fossil fuels running out, because we have safe, abundant energy that’s cheap, too!

Yes, we’re talking about solar energy. Not nuclear, coal or even bio-fuels. Just simple, abundant sun power.

Sure, we admit we’re optimists here at True Citrus (you have to be when you start a new company!). But we believe we’ve got to look to the future and move away from oil, which is not only polluting and expensive, but which has made our overseas relationships so complicated, to put it mildly.

That’s why we’re taking the Solyndra “scandal” with a grain of salt. Here’s the situation in a nutshell: “The FBI, Congress, and inspectors general from the Departments of Energy and Treasury are looking into whether the Obama administration rushed to sign a $535 million loan guarantee for the company without a thorough examination of its finances or the market for its unique solar panels. Solyndra declared bankruptcy Aug. 31, costing 1,100 jobs and putting taxpayers on the hook.”

$535 million is a lot of money. But let’s not forget the billions we spend every year on older, dirtier or less efficient energy:

Fossil fuel: $4 billion in tax breaks yearly. 

Nuclear Power: $7.1 billion yearly in subsidies. 

Ethanol: $6 billion yearly in subsidies (N.Y. Times stats).

Trying to give the U.S. a stake in the growing solar field seemed a risk well worth taking and a practical investment, since Solyndra had innovative new panels that seemed to have a good shot at capturing the global solar market.

Sure, we wish Solyndra hadn’t gone out of business. But we’re keeping it real when we point out that it was pretty hard for the company to compete against Chinese solar companies, which have the support of their government in the form of billions of dollars. Let’s not forget that a big part of Solyndra's failure was due to China's undercutting their products with cheaper, subsidized solar panels.

We hope this “scandal” doesn’t sidetrack our country’s commitment to developing clean energy. Not only for better air, but for the thousands of jobs here at home that a new energy industry can create.