Solar Arrays Resting on False Hopes in Oregon

For some the solar bonanza has meant embracing clean technology to better the world. For others, it has meant just another way to cash in on the latest trend.

The Oregonian/Oregon Live has been busy digging up some allegedly unscrupulous practices that may give solar a bad name. The article describes in detail how taxpayers in Oregon have footed the bill for $12 million in tax credits for a $27 million solar project completed in August 2011. The project had lofty; goals to provide power for the Oregon University System. These solar arrays, about 5 megawatts, built on these tax credits “rest on a foundation of falsehoods and false hopes,” according to the news story.

The newspaper doesn’t hold back on what it calls “phony documents” and a project “dogged by an international trade war, a bitter corporate rivalry and a stunning twist that traded high-paid Oregon jobs for prison labor.” Sounds like the makings of a Hollywood screenplay. Was there any good news? Not really, just a litany of bad decisions and possibly outright fraud.

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Bad developer blues was the first bad decision. Oregon had incredibly generous tax credits, without which the project didn’t make sense financially. The first developer walked away and the state chose another developer, Renewable Energy Development Corp. (Redco), a newbie in the field. Redco had little experience but it was headed by the nephew of Mitt Romney. Redco filed for bankruptcy, and that was only the beginning.

The next major issue is that “phony” documents were submitted to show that the project had commenced. According to the The Oregonian/Oregon Live article, “project backers submitted phony and misleading Redco documents to keep the project alive.” With an impending deadline, the university’s consultant submitted two misleading or possibly simply false documents to show that construction had commenced to beat the state deadline.

The final chapter was that to manufacture the panels instead of using local workers, the new developer, SolarCity used a subcontractor to manufacture the solar panels with–inmate labor.

The Oregon attorney general is now investigating this debacle.

Other stories are coming out of other solar companies engaging in allegedly deceptive activities. According to the Arizona Republic/azcentral.com “The owners of a Phoenix solar company admitted bilking customers on the sale of energy systems that they promised would reduce utility bills and protect customers from steep electricity rate increases. Going Green Solar will repay customers up to $111,000 to settle a consumer fraud lawsuit filed by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office last month.”

We hope that these are only isolated stories in the country’s quest to incorporate solar energy into the landscape of energy sources. Nevertheless, in any boom boom market, other stories are bound to come out.