Solyndra - Let's Keep It Real Folks

Election year politics ensure that Solyndra is going to get at least a full news cycle's worth of attention. Here are some interesting facts to consider as the Solyndra kerfluffle builds steam:

• Solyndra was a very small piece of the policy picture - Solyndra's $535M loan is just 1.2% of the total $38.6B loan guarantees issued by DOE. (Source: DOE.)
• All energy is subsidized and loan guarantees are equal opportunity - Guess who the biggest loan guarantee went to? Some big wind or solar boondoggle? Guess again: an $8.3B loan guarantee for a nuclear plant down in Georgia. (Source: DOE.)
• Solyndra is not the 'solar industry' - Solyndra failed precisely because conventional silicon-based solar is doing so well--the solar industry has reduced the cost of solar by 70% since 2009. Solyndra had a $2/Watt technology trying to compete against $1/Watt silicon PV.
• Not all solar needs loan guarantees - Large scale silicon-based solar PV projects can be financed without loan guarantees. My company is currently financing almost $2B of solar projects, none of which will rely upon loan guarantees. That's because silicon-based solar is highly reliable and has decades of proven performance--making it very attractive to investors seeking low-risk returns.
• It's not China's fault - China's subsidized loans to PV manufacturers account for maybe a 10% price advantage relative to non-Chinese competitors offering similar silicon-based products. It can't possibly explain the 100% price gap between Solyndra and today's PV. The explanation? Silicon , which was trading at $300/kg+ when Solyndra started, is now at $45/kg and falling. It's that simple.

None of this is meant to minimize the significance of the loss--$535M is a lot of money and if there was any misbehavior in how the loan was awarded it should be dealt with to the full extent of the law--but perspective is important.

Comments

[Chris Williams]

Arno,

Great way of thinking about the story. Thank you for sharing and providing talking points that we can all use to rebuke any attacks the industry will receive.

I also love the frame "Solyndra shows the industry is succeeding as module prices have fallen 67% in the last 3 years"

Chris

[solar panel grants]

Wow, thank you for putting the Solyndra case in perspective. There's so much media noise revolving around it that people only see the failure but not in the proper context.

[solar panel installers totnes]

Some industries succeed and some do not, nothing really special about it. But surely the solar industry is going to grow and grow, since it does not cost anything except installation.

[solar panels cost]

solar company will be grow up. Solyndra is going to get at least a full news cycle's worth of attention. for more information you can visit http://solarpanelscost1.com/wind-power-facts