Koch Brothers are Fighting Against Solar Power Now
June 2015 - Ever thought about going solar, getting off the grid, and becoming self-sufficient for your electrical needs? Maybe even making some money by selling your excess electricity back to the power company?
The cost of installing a solar power system has been falling dramatically in recent years, particularly if you decide to lease the equipment. That's led a lot of Americans to give solar a shot, even in parts of the US that frequently have a fair amount of cloud cover.
 (Image from howtosolarpoweryourhome.com)
Unfortunately, some of the electric companies aren't too happy about this and are starting to push back. And they aren't doing it on their own. According to recent reports, who do you think is right there with them, actively working to limit your ability to go solar?
That's right, it's the billionaire Koch brothers, who have been dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the past few election cycles, trying to buy their way into state legislatures and the US Congress. These are the two billionaires whose privately held company makes a lot of its money through oil refineries and oil pipelines. Imagine that - they make money in the fossil fuel industry and are lobbying against solar. Who would have thought?
The Kochs have been fighting wind power (see our Politics article, "Why Don't the Kochs Want Kansans to Have Wind Farms?") and now it seems they're helping the utility companies campaign against your right to install a solar power system on your own property. According to a recent article in BusinessWeek, some of the Kochs' latest efforts have taken place in Louisiana and Florida:
- In Louisiana, there was a proposal before the state's public service commission to limit solar installations. The Koch's political front group, Americans for Prosperity, campaigned in favor of those restrictions.
- In Florida, a pro-solar group is pushing to lift existing barriers to solar power in the state. Americans for Prosperity is opposing those changes.
The Kochs like to tell you they are against regulations on business. But based on what they've been doing in Florida and Louisiana, their actions indicate they're just like most of the other far right activists we've seen. They oppose regulations that hurt their own businesses, but are ok with (heck, they actively promote) regulations that benefit themselves and, in this case, hurt you.
Of course, the ability to wage these kinds of political battles goes back to the Supreme Court's terrible decisions over the past few years allowing unlimited funding of political campaigns, funding that can remain secret behind innocuous front groups like Americans for Prosperity.
So the bottom line here (besides supporting campaign finance reform) is that if you're thinking about going solar, better get started soon, before the Kochs come calling in your state.
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