Reactions were swift following a shocking report that one of the largest solar power companies, which had donated millions to Democrats, had “gained billions” from one of President Biden’s signature policies.
First Solar executives have donated at least $2 million to Democrats in the 2020 election cycle, most of it to Biden’s presidential campaign. According to the Associated Press.
The company, the largest U.S. manufacturer of solar panels, was “probably the biggest beneficiary” of the Anti-Inflation Act’s $1 billion spending directed toward environmental issues.
Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, called the report “revealing in many ways.”
“This shows how deeply entrenched the renewable energy industry is in the Democratic political machine, how dependent solar power is on government assistance, and how the self-proclaimed ‘monumental’ climate change bill is nothing more than political payback for President Biden’s biggest corporate donors,” Pyle said.
“Meanwhile, taxpayers will foot the bill, electric ratepayers will have to pay higher electricity bills, and environmental treasures like 100-year-old Joshua trees will be cut down to make way for solar panels.”
Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee, also slammed the news, saying First Solar’s investors were using their political connections to line their own pockets.
“President Biden is happy to hand out billions of dollars in tax credits to companies that exploit people from other countries to work in slave-like conditions. Subsidizing First Solar is another blatant example of Democrats putting their wealthy donors above the American people,” Barrasso said.
Rep. John James (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Peer Compensation Committee, said Americans shouldn’t be surprised.
“Since day one, Biden’s energy policies have been great for wealthy liberal elite donors but disastrous for ordinary Michiganders and ordinary Americans,” James said. “Biden is appeasing the wealthy while stealing from the working class and promoting the Green New Deal that his anarcho-climate activist friends are forcing on the American people.”
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First Solar did not respond to a request for comment, but CEO Mark Widmer acknowledged to The Associated Press that the company has a larger operation in the United States than other solar-panel makers based in rival countries.
“Unlike others who routinely spend billions on lobbying behalf of Chinese companies that circumvent U.S. laws and deepen strategic vulnerabilities, our interests are in a diverse, competitive domestic solar manufacturing base that supports American jobs, economic value, and energy security,” Widmer said.
The company has two factories in Ohio and is building two more in other parts of the country, according to congressional testimony by fellow executive Samantha Sloan.
First Solar’s stock price has nearly doubled since the Inflation Control Act was passed in August 2022, and two of the company’s executives were reported to have attended a celebration for the act’s passage in September of that year.
Speaking at the event, Sloan called the legislation “one of the most important pieces of legislation of our lifetimes.”
One of First Solar’s investors has reportedly been added to Forbes’ 2023 billionaire list due to his minority stake in the company.
Quark co-founder and Democratic donor Farhad Ebrahimi reportedly invested 5% in the lucrative catalog.
review More OpenSecrets.org A look at the political contribution records of several top officials shows that while there are some contributions leaning more to the Democratic Party, overall contributions are bipartisan.
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In addition to donating thousands of dollars to First Solar PAC, Sloan has offered to donate a small amount to Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) in 2022.
Records show that in 2017, Widmer donated $3,000 to Republican Doug Ducey, the former governor of Arizona, and thousands of dollars to Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, who is also a Biden candidate in the 2020 presidential election, as well as Kaptur and former Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.
Small donations have also been made to past campaigns of Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, and former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana.
First Solar executives also reportedly attended meetings with White House clean energy adviser John Podesta and other government officials around the same time.
Asked about the matter, a White House spokesman told The Associated Press that Biden had “led the most ambitious climate action in history and restored America’s climate leadership at home and abroad.”
“The White House engages regularly with industry leaders across all sectors, including clean energy manufacturers and gas and oil producers,” Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report..
