Imagine two companies, one worth more than $31 billion and the second worth $315 billion, ask for and receive $1.6 billion in federal low interest loans to build a power plant. The power plant delivers less power than promised and destroys wilderness and wildlife in the process. Then, rather than running for cover or making excuses, the companies boldly claim that the power plant was worthwhile and requests a federal grant to pay off the federal loan.
“Impossible,” you say, after a hearty guffaw. Not so. Outrageous, yes, shameless, no doubt, but none the less true.
NRG Energy and Google have had the nerve to request the federal government give them money to pay off the loan that the government gave them to help build the Ivanpah Solar Power Plant. The same plant that has underperformed because despite being in a desert, they blame the sun for not shining up to their expected forecasts — forecasts they used to secure the loan. The same power plant that is making flight unsafe for human pilots and killing birds by the truckload.
While NRG and Google will reap millions if not billions from this subsidized boondoggle over the course of its operations, they want to take the taxpayers for $539 million more. Congress should be holding hearings or a trial, not considering a loan.
American corporations are not the only bad actors, however. A science institute in India is claiming that the ever entertaining charlatan’s at the IPCC have tried to pull a fast on over on developing countries. The New Delhi based Center for Science and the Environment(CSI) is crying foul over a decision by the IPCC to drop a particular chart from its alarmist synthesis report.
The chart in question shows that the developed world is off-shoring its greenhouse gas emissions by shipping manufacturing overseas then importing the goods produced while taking credit for slowing or cutting emissions. Was this a bit of chicanery on the part of developed countries or a case of accurate but unflattering accounting for emissions from developing countries? I don’t know, but I am amused anytime one alarmist group attacks another one for falsifying data.
In fairness I wonder, if the companies in the developed countries offered to close their CO2 belching factories in developing countries, bringing the jobs and goods produced back home, but in doing so took the full blame for the greenhouse gas emissions caused (minus the emissions no longer resulting from transit, of course), if those egghead academics offended by the IPCC’s accounting, would then be happy? I’d lay odds the workers, their families and the governments in the developing countries affected would be very unhappy.
Just a thought.