A new report shows the unreliability of solar energy while Tennessee continues to pursue it as an alternative to fossil fuels.
“Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that production from solar panels plummets in the winter,” Isaac Orr, a Public Policy Fellow at the Center of the American Experience said.
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Staff at the Phil Bredesen-backed Silicon Ranch announced in a press release this week that they have acquired the solar farm company Clearloop. Silicon Ranch has a history of ethics issues.
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Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming) this week praised a deal involving a Georgia electric cooperative and a Tennessee-based solar power company, the latter of which has a history of alleged ethics violations. This, according to a press release that members of Duncan’s staff published on his website.
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Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen’s Nashville-based Silicon Ranch will help power Facebook’s operations in the state.
Company officials will partner with the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop carbon-free energy for a 70-megawatt solar facility in Madison County. This, according to a press release that TVA officials published on their website Thursday.
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Silicon Ranch, the solar company former Tennessee Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen founded nearly a decade ago, reportedly has a new CEO, Bredesen’s former revenue commissioner Reagan Farr. As reported, Silicon Ranch has a history of ethics problems. “Matt Kisber, who has served as CEO since the company’s founding in 2011 and was Bredesen’s economic development commissioner, has been promoted to chairman of the board, a position previously held by Bredesen. Bredesen will remain a director of the company, with the title of founding chairman,” according to The Nashville Business Journal. “Silicon Ranch owns and develops solar energy plants. Its portfolio includes more than 120 facilities in 14 states.” As The Tennessee Star reported last year, in 2010, before he left the governor’s seat, Bredesen had to report about his role at Silicon Ranch to the Tennessee Ethics Commission. Bredesen had a personal interest in a company that benefits from policies he enacted as governor. Bredesen, however, only made the disclosure because The Tennessean revealed Bredesen’s involvement in the company five days prior. The now extinct Tennessee Watchdog website followed up on the story nine years ago. “One can argue that Bredesen’s personal interest in Silicon Ranch may violate the state’s Guiding Principles…
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Senate Leadership Fund on Tuesday launched a new advertising campaign slamming Phil Bredesen for his conflicts of interest as governor, costing Tennessee taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars while Bredesen made a fortune, the group says. The $1.6 million buy will run statewide on a combination of broadcast and cable television, radio and digital. The ad is available here. Bredesen is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN). U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) is his opponent. Senate Leadership Fund Spokesman Chris Pack said, “Call it what you want, but look at what Phil Bredesen made Tennessee do: pour hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into solar investments that went belly-up while he made a fortune. We knew he was trouble, but Phil Bredesen’s cashing in on the very subsidies he got passed goes beyond our wildest dreams.” Solar power companies, including Bredesen’s Silicon Ranch, wouldn’t make much of a mark without officials giving them taxpayer money, government incentives and other generous benefits, Nick Loris of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, told The Tennessee Star in August. That’s because less than 2 percent of America’s electricity comes from solar power, Loris said.…
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An expert says solar power isn’t as effective an energy saver as people in government might lead Tennesseans and others across the country to believe. That expert, Nick Loris, of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, also said solar is more expensive. He also said it’s only hobbled along as far as it has because of government subsidies and tax incentives. Loris said this on Thursday, only a few days after a company with direct ties to Tennessee Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Bredesen reportedly launched a new solar initiative in northeast Tennessee. Bredesen did this through his company Silicon Ranch. As reported, Bredesen personally benefitted from solar energy policies he enacted while Tennessee’s governor. Electricity generation from solar power, Loris said, is only 1.3 percent of all electricity generation — even with government subsidies to give it a boost. “It is still more uneconomical than other energy sources,” Loris told The Tennessee Star. “Not only do you have to pay to back it up when the sun isn’t shining, but a lot of times you have to build new transmission lines and to get the solar from the places that it’s being built to where you need the…
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Former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen could soon become one of the wealthiest members of Congress, but the 74-year-old candidate has declined to release his income tax returns. Bredesen did recently file financial disclosures, which all candidates are required to do, revealing that he had an income of between $3.3 million and $20.1 million from January 2017 to February 2018. As governor, Bredesen maintained the practice of releasing his tax returns until he departed office in 2011, when he founded his solar energy company Silicon Ranch with two former top aides. The booming solar power producer has platforms in ten different states and has received investments of $100 million from Partners Group and $217 million from Shell. As a solar energy provider, Silicon Ranch is eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit under the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which was created after the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and maintained under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In his first bid since launching Silicon Ranch, Bredesen is now declining to release his tax returns, calling the financial disclosures “much more comprehensive.” “I’m doing what the law requires,” he added. According to The Tennessean, financial disclosure…
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If Tennessee voters send former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen to the U.S. Senate this fall then Bredesen will step down as chair Silicon Ranch, a company he founded that has ethics problems. Silicon Ranch Corporation helps finance the construction of solar arrays. According to the Tennessean, Silicon Ranch owns or operates 100 energy facilities in 14 states and employs 30 people in Nashville, San Francisco, and Denver. In 2010, before he left the governor’s seat, Bredesen had to report about his role at Silicon Ranch to the Tennessee Ethics Commission. Bredesen had a personal interest in a company that benefits from policies he enacted as governor. Bredesen, however, only made the disclosure because the Tennessean revealed Bredesen’s involvement in the company five days prior. Also involved were the state’s former Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matthew Kisber, who serves as the company’s president, and former state Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr, who serves as its vice-chairman. Tennessee Watchdog broke the story eight years ago. “One can argue that Bredesen’s personal interest in Silicon Ranch may violate the state’s Guiding Principles of Ethical Conduct for Public Officials because of conflict of interest issues, or at least the appearance of them,” according to…
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