Almost two months ago, Solyndra, the solar-panel maker filed for bankruptcy yet Obama does not regret authorizing a 527-million dollar Energy Department loan, as the overall portfolio of loan guarantees made to companies are doing well.
In an ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos a few days ago, Obama said, “Hindsight is always 20/20. It went through the regular review process. And people felt like this was a good bet. But the fact of the matter is– is that if we don’t get behind clean energy… then we’re not going to be able to make stuff here in the United States of America.”
What the President was referring to was a ‘risk’ that had to be taken in order to be able to compete with countries like China, and there’s no doubt that Solyndra was a serious risk, thanks to an important factor: high prices in silicon.
Since venture capital was the need of the hour, the government stepped in to help Solyndra out, with taxpayer dollars. Even though, respected entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson also lost out, there’s no doubt that investing in solar energy is definitely riskier than fossil fuel initiatives because of intense market competition in a market space that is infinitesimal in comparison to the latter.
However, with the recent collapse of Solyndra, it can be safely said that had the President been more careful to heed the warnings, he wouldn’t now have to deal with an additional debt of half-a-billion with interest.
Half-a-billion dollars that will come out of the taxpayers’ pocket… a risk that, most experts think he should regret.