Konarka: Mitt Romney's Solyndra?
A day after the Republican launches a high-profile attack on a failed Obama-funded solar company, a Massachusetts firm Romney backed goes belly up
Mitt Romney surprised reporters last Thursday by making an unscheduled visit to the building that housed bankrupt California solar panel company Solyndra; Mitt used the empty headquarters as a backdrop to criticize President Obama for a $530 million federal loan to the failed company. But the very next day, Konarka Technologies, a Massachusetts solar panel maker to which Romney had lent $1.5 million in state money as governor, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. And Konarka is not the first belly-up solar firm Gov. Romney subsidized (see Evergreen Solar). Does Konarka neuter Romney's attacks on Solyndra?
Yes. Romney now has his own Solyndra problem: Konarka represents "an inconvenient truth" for Romney, says Taylor Marsh at her blog. His Solyndra attack on Obama was already based on "talking points that aren't supported by the facts, unless you get all your news from the Right and Rush Limbaugh." Now it just looks embarrassing and hypocritical. Romney clearly knows that "investments don't always pan out, especially on new and groundbreaking technologies" like solar, and after Konarka, he may be forced to acknowledge that.
"AP deconstructs Romney on Solyndra"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Konarka is no Solyndra: There are quite a few differences between Solyndra and Konarka, politically and substantively, Nanomarkets analyst Lawrence Gasman tells Politico. For starters, "it doesn't seem like a very good argument to counter a loss of $530 million by pointing out that the man who is accusing you once lost $1.5 million in vaguely but not all that similar circumstances." And don't forget: The FBI is investigating Solyndra, not Konarka.
"Romney-supported firm flops, Dems pounce"
Let's leave politics out of the solar equation: It's a shame when a solar company or two goes out of business, says Walter Frick at BostInno. But "a failed company doesn't necessarily mean a failed policy," especially when the policy is crucial to securing affordable clean energy. "If we want to have a sane conversation about energy policy in the wake of a company like Solyndra or Konarka going bankrupt," we need to drop the gotchas and accept that all angel investors, private or public, hope for "one or two home runs" among dozens of strikeouts. Despite the disappointments, this is still a game worth playing.
"How to have a sane conversation about a failed solar company"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Ottawa climate talks: can global plastic problem be solved?
In the spotlight Nations aim to draft world's first treaty on plastic pollution, but resistance from oil- and gas-producing countries could limit scope
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Netherlands split on WFH for sex workers
Speed Read Councils concerned over 'nuisance' of at-home sex work, but others say changes will curb underground sex trade
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'He adored Trump, and then rejected him'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published