AP Interview: Salazar: Solar push will continue
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the Obama administration will continue its push for solar energy despite growing controversy over a $500 million loan to a now-bankrupt California solar panel maker.
Salazar said he thinks the future for solar energy is bright. In an Associated Press interview, he said the Solyndra Inc. case and a delay in the massive Blythe solar project in California illustrate the challenges facing the solar industry.
He cited fierce competition from China and changes in technology as key risks.
Salazar said, "It's not going to be a perfect path."
Still, he said critics who say the administration should not be subsidizing renewable energy companies are wrong, noting that the oil and gas industry has received tax breaks and other incentives for more than a century.
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