House takes aim at Obama's solar bird-killer

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

House Republicans on Thursday will be taking a close, hard look at the Obama administration's subsidies for a fleet of large solar power plants, the flagship of which caught fire earlier this year and has singed birds in mid-flight.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, will lead the House Natural Resources Committee's oversight panel in examining the Ivanpah utility-scale solar plant and others like it that benefited from federal loan guarantees and grants but have suffered from performance issues.

A committee memo said the plant near the Nevada state line with California, which covers nearly 3,500 acres, "impairs" the Mojave National Preserve's most scenic vista and poses harm to protected wildlife. In addition, the plant has faced technical challenges since opening in 2014.

 

Yet the "underperforming plant" benefited from a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee, the memo said. It also received over $500 million in federal grants "to help pay back the loan."