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Biden Doubles Down on Failed Solyndra Green Energy Jobs

Posted on Friday, January 29, 2021
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by Outside Contributor
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climatePresident Joe Biden’s new Climate Envoy, former Sen. John Kerry, is telling high-wage workers in the oil and gas industry, whose jobs are at risk under Biden’s green energy schemes, that they should retrain to install solar panels. This is right out of the Obama-Biden 2009 playbook when they used federal stimulus funds to retrain workers for jobs with failed green energy companies such as Solyndra. Demand for those new green energy job skills never really took off. Even today, more than ten year later, the average wage for a solar panel tech is only $16.57/hour.  That is less than half the average wage in the oil and gas industry, $37/hour.

When asked what his message was for vulnerable workers in the oil and gas industry, Kerry told a reporter, “You look at the consequences of black lung for a miner, for instance, and measure that against the fastest-growing job in the United States, [which] before COVID was the solar power technician,” Kerry said. “The same people can do those jobs, but the choice of doing the solar power one now is a better choice.”

https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1354491102276022272

In 2016, the Department of Labor commissioned independent study to evaluate the effectiveness of federal grants used to retrain workers for green energy jobs. It found very little success. In the executive summary, the report stated, “The short-term nature of the training (which averaged 2.4 to 3.3 months depending on the grantee program) and the resulting credentials appear not to have been sufficient to result in changes to the earnings trajectory of program participants within the 18- month follow-up period of this study, as evidenced by the limited employment and earnings impacts for sample members for three grantee programs and the low incomes at the end of the study period.”

The report also found that in two of the four community colleges studied, the green industry programs did not materialize as anticipated. “In addition, while the training provided may have been a ‘first step’ on a career ladder, there is no evidence that individuals continued beyond this initial training step.”

Those findings were similar to those of a 2012 study  done for the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.

After completing the federally-subsidized green jobs program, participants discovered their certificates were only locally recognized, which prevented them from being portable should the participant decide to move. For example, one grantee provided solar and wind technology certificates that were valued by the state, but not by the city. One grantee commented that “relationships are more useful than resumes in construction,” downplaying the importance of credentials in finding a job, at least in that industry.

Mason Bishop, an Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training in the George W. Bush administration, said there is not a huge demand for these workers, because solar and wind have huge limitations as viable energy sources. Their approach is ‘if you build it, they will come.’ In the Obama years, they created all these training programs and there was no demand for the labor. What the Biden team is doing now is nothing more than fortune telling and snake oil selling.”

Mason recalled that in 2009 when he lived  in Utah, workers in that state who had trained as solar panel technicians were unable to install solar panels because the state licensing board required installers to be licensed electricians. “The federally-subsidized training programs lacked rigor and standards. It was a boondoggle in many cases!”

Senior Fellow at the American Energy Alliance Dan Kish is also critical of the Biden non-energy agenda. “It’s very authoritarian. It doesn’t increase choice. It lessens choice. It doesn’t increase jobs. It reduces the number of jobs. And these are really good jobs that they’re kicking to the curb along with the good Americans.”

Kish said because Biden’s party now controls both Houses of Congress, he may be able to accelerate the spending and implementation for his job training schemes. “It’s basically what President Obama would liked to have done, had he controlled all the levers of power,” Kish explained.

Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning said no one should be surprised that Kerry is telling oil and gas workers to accept half-wage green energy jobs. “His boss, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, told coal miners they should ‘learn to code.’ Biden is systematically destroying the jobs of every American who gets dirt under their fingernails at work. Those union leaders who endorsed Biden should be held accountable by their members by either being voted out of office, or by having those members vote themselves out of the union.”

Kish predicts the end result of the Biden administration’s push for green jobs will be higher energy costs for all Americans. “They are going to get higher gas prices, higher utility prices, and higher electricity prices. In California, for example, they don’t allow new houses to be constructed with natural gas lines. If you prefer a gas furnace because it is cheaper to use, you can’t have that. And if you prefer cooking on a gas stove, you can’t have that either.”

Kerry’s comments are also being mocked on Twitter. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) tweeted, “John Kerry—who flies in private jets, owned a 76-foot yacht and several mansions—has the carbon footprint of a small nation. Yet he tells energy workers to “make solar panels” when the Biden administration kills their jobs.”

https://twitter.com/TomCottonAR/status/1354525782140465152

It is the epitome of elitism for Kerry, a rich billionaire who flies around in private jets, to look down on the hard-working Americans who have, for the first time in 63 years made America energy independent. This is just one more reason a growing number of Americans are already experiencing Biden remorse.

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PaulE
PaulE
3 years ago

An actually well researched and written article, using numerous historical and technically accurate information showing the real-world economic and societal impacts of incredibly bad energy policy being put in place, on the subject of so-called Green Energy. Very good selection AMAC. More such articles written in this style would be welcome.

Craig Allen McConnaughey
Craig Allen McConnaughey
3 years ago

I’m all for green energy, as soon as it’s viable to use. As it stands today it is a very bad alternitive because of it being unreliable.

Redbone
Redbone
3 years ago

California areas that are mostly green keep having power shut downs. Why?
Also, what is the shell life of the panels? Can they be recycled? Same question for wind turbines?

Barbara Williamson
Barbara Williamson
3 years ago

Mirror farms roast thousands of birds yearly like they were in a microwave when they try to fly over the huge arrays of mirrors. Wind farms kill hundreds of birds of prey, including our Bald Eagle, every year. Their sin: they look down when hunting and not UP. No problem with destroying nature in that way, even if it takes out our national bird! And the kicker is, those two methods of energy are not that great. And, in addition, the mirrors and windmills are UGLY blights on the land, which is why the rich politicians don’t want any such things erected in Martha’s Vineyard!! They don’t mind making US look at a forest of ugly, enormous windmills, but don’t suggest that THEY have to live in the midst of them!! Kerry, like so many other politicians, is a hypocrite. Don’t ask them to do what they ask of YOU.

Michael Bishop
Michael Bishop
3 years ago

Why don’t you mention Tesla? Tesla received loan money and paid it back to the US taxpayer. They employ about 48,000 people in the US. How many people have been made rich by investing in their stock, which has gone up 20x since issue. This article is completely biased as it prefers to focus on Solyndra, one of the few green energy companies that failed. Our country’s resistance to support new industries such as solar and wind is why we will ultimately lose to China. Albert Einstein proved that we could get energy from the sun, then NASA developed the technology to power their space satellites. We should own the solar industry globally, yet of the top 10 solar companies in the world only 1 is a US company (First Solar), 8 are Chinese, and 1 is Korean. Wake up America!
I’ve doubled my money by investing in First Solar, it’s a profitable and growing company with a manufacturing plant in Ohio. Creating good jobs here in America in a growth industry, just like Tesla, Ameresco, BEP and many others in the green industry.

Rik
Rik
3 years ago

Green Energy… let Jackass John Kerry convert HIS 2 mansions, HIS private plane and HIS 75 ft yacht to using “Green Energy” first and then I’ll listen to how “wonderful” it is. These Progressively Communist Democrats WANT the American People to be the Guinea Pigs while China AND India watch the laugh at how stupid Americans are! … When THEY SACRIFICE with us, ONLY THEN should the American People accept this phony “Green Energy” fiasco!

numbersrunner
numbersrunner
3 years ago

Let’s see if I understand this. Mr. Biden eliminated 11,000 jobs in the interest of fighting climate change. Stopping the pipeline means that the oil will be shipped by rail or truck instead of by the pipeline resulting in greater air pollution. Now Mr. Kerry seeks to improve the situation by putting the out-of-work pipeline workers into new jobs (for which they are untrained) to build solar panels that create more pollution in their manufacture than will be saved during their useful life.
Yep! He definitely belongs on Joe Biden’s team.

Pat R
Pat R
3 years ago

Seems the only thing the Dems know how to do is willingly accept “donations” of funds or non-work but rich-paying jobs from wealthy individuals or corporations. And they feel THAT gives them the right to kill real paying jobs and tell us how to live. I’m sure there are legal restrictions on the scope or authority of Executive Orders; but just like the Constitution the Dems are re-interpreting them or ignoring them altogether.

NeverBiden
NeverBiden
3 years ago

Solyndra was one of the top 5 Obammer Blunders and there is severe compeitition to get to this very elite top 5 group. There are at least 1000 candidates. So President Unity says lets do it again. This guy seems nice but has no mental capacity.

NeverBiden
NeverBiden
3 years ago

Biden knows we can’t afford Teslas. He wants us on bicycles. He wants NYC to look like Amsterda in the 70’s. Bikers everywhere.

NeverBiden
NeverBiden
3 years ago

The American Petroleum Institute says that Biden will eliminate at least i million petro based jobs.
11,000 Keystone workers is just a smidgen.

G Schalk
G Schalk
3 years ago

Who does Biden think he is? “Climate change” is ONLY an act-of-God. It says so in Gen. 7:11-12

The aftermath of a disaster while the flag hangs.
Governor Tim Walz giving a speech at a Podium in September 2024
Fema.gov Disasters USA Government home page under magnifying glass.

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