Solar power

America needs an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to energy

While the House of Representatives has understandably been quiet during the government shutdown, not everyone has been idle. While most members of Congress were home in their districts, Representative Troy Balderson, an Ohio Republican, quietly introduced a short, potentially consequential piece of energy legislation called “The Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security Act.” “We the People” will celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday next Independence Day. And truth be told, we are crossing this milestone birthday showing our age. We are politically bipolar. We are in debt. Our infrastructure is crumbling and our schools are a mess. We are in need of several new leases on life.

energy

How actually to compete with China

Fifteen years ago, the federal government poured $535 million into a California-based solar module innovator, Solyndra. That’s a lot of money. In today’s money, it would be enough to cover the payrolls of the Red Sox and Dodgers combined. In 2009? It was enough for Solyndra to go bust in fewer than two years — making the company one of America’s biggest public funding debacles. Solyndra’s failure remains both a political talking point and area of introspection — especially as the US increasingly wakes up to the stakes of today’s industrial competition with China.

solyndra