Solar Panel Maker Moves Work to China

NYTimes.com has an amazingly candid look at a company moving to China…and leaving 800 unemployed in Massachusetts:

Beyond the issues of trade and jobs, solar power experts see broader implications. They say that after many years of relying on unstable governments in the Middle East for oil, the United States now looks likely to rely on China to tap energy from the sun.

Evergreen, in announcing its move to China, was unusually candid about its motives. Michael El-Hillow, the chief executive, said in a statement that his company had decided to close the Massachusetts factory in response to plunging prices for solar panels. World prices have fallen as much as two-thirds in the last three years — including a drop of 10 percent during last year’s fourth quarter alone.

So, $45 Million in “assistance” from the state of Massachusetts, and who know how much in Federal aid (tax breaks, “stimulus” dollars, etc.) has gone down the drain as another company moves out of the US.

Ever since Jimmy Carter started the flow of tax dollars to subsidize the development of “alternative energy” producers, the only reason these companies existed was to suck up those subsidies until something better came along.  There is no economic reason for them to exist, so these companies float from one government subsidy to another, searching for better terms for land or taxes or their own energy needs at each location.

It makes sense for these jobs to go to China:  The advantage China has over the US is a huge labor pool which is available for much lower costs than in the US.  Labor intensive jobs will move there, or anywhere the costs of labor are lower, as long as the total costs of the final product are lower than they are if built in the US.

The lesson the US politicians must learn is that they cannot change the tide by passing a law – the Laws of Economics are much more powerful and they always win.  We’re almost 40 years into the lesson plan for this industry, and Obama is still talking about “investing in green energy”.  The professor has not learned this lesson.