, Columnist
Rooftop Solar Is No Match for Crony Capitalism
Utilities want onerous fees on power generated from the sun. Environmentalists and economists should be dismayed.
End of an era?
Photographer: Sergio Flores/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The New York Times ran an article over the weekend about efforts by utility companies to fight the spread of rooftop-solar power:
The article chronicles how utility companies have engaged in an extensive lobbying campaign against rooftop solar at the federal and state level. These companies are big campaign donors with deep political influence. They have also been receiving assistance from the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Institute for Energy Research, two think tanks funded by the Koch family, whose sprawling company Koch Industries makes much of its money from fossil-fuel energy. With that kind of political clout, the fledgling rooftop-solar industry looks overmatched.