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It’s been tough going in the renewable energy business lately. Prices for solar panels have fallen drastically, which is good news for consumers, but not so good for solar manufacturers, who are struggling to survive. Some—like the much-maligned Solyndra, which went down earlier this year after receiving more than $500 million in government loan guarantees—won’t see 2012. That’s not a sign that renewable energy is doomed—investment in green power actually exceeded fossil fuels last year—but it is an unpredictable one. And after Solyndra, politicians might be a little gun-shy about appearing at renewable energy startups—as Vice President Joe Biden memorably did at Solyndra—for fear it could end up in a campaign ad for the other side if that firm ends up going belly up.
But there’s another area that provides much more reliable (and politically safe) returns on green investment: energy efficiency. And it’s here where President Obama seems to be focusing
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