Uncovering Corruption in California’s Solar Market: The Dark Truth Behind Clean Energy

Solar power is rapidly expanding in the United States, driven by policies aimed at combating climate change and ambitious goals for carbon-free energy. California stands out as the leading state in solar electricity production. However, a recent study published in Energy Strategy Reviews has shed light on a concerning phenomenon amid California’s torrid solar growth—corruption tied to both public and private sectors escalating within the state’s solar marketplace.

Researchers from Boston University’s Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) have identified seven distinct types of corruption abuses and risks relevant to California’s solar energy sector. Among these issues, favoritism in project approvals was spotlighted, exemplified by a notable controversy involving senior officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior and their interactions with a solar company lobbyist. The study’s authors emphasize the need for significant reforms in California’s solar industry to safeguard the integrity of an industry that is increasingly crucial for decarbonizing the United States’ electricity grid.

Benjamin Sovacool, the study’s lead author and director of IGS, stated, “It’s a wake-up call that the solar industry cannot continue on its current trajectory of bad governance and bad behavior.” He highlighted that the rush to deploy solar infrastructure in California has been marred by a disturbing range of corruption practices. These include abuses of power during the approval and licensing processes, the displacement of Indigenous communities, tax evasion, and instances of misinformation surrounding solar projects.

Utilizing a combination of literature review and original field research, the authors aimed to unveil the socio-political factors prompting corruption amid California’s solar market boom between 2010 and 2024. Over this period, the state’s solar production soared to 79,544 gigawatt hours, enough to power roughly 7.4 million households annually, according to insights from the State of Renewable Energy dashboard. The research underscores how myriad corruption practices have negatively affected local communities and compromised effective policymaking, regulation, and planning.

Co-author Alexander Dunlap, an IGS research fellow, commented on the prevalence of corruption, stating, “The most eye-opening finding for me is how common it is at every level of solar development, from small-scale vendors to high-level government officials, even in a well-regulated, progressive state like California.”

To investigate the underlying causes of corruption within the solar market, researchers focused on large-scale projects in Riverside County, California’s fourth most populous county. Through organized focus groups, direct interviews with local residents, and observations at various solar sites, they gathered perspectives from diverse stakeholders, including affected residents, solar construction workers, and representatives from non-governmental organizations.

While the researchers acknowledged challenges in substantiating individual allegations of corruption, their comprehensive research methodology combined personal accounts with analyses of news reports, court testimonies, and other official documents to underpin their findings. Consequently, patterns of corruption permeate public, private, social, and political dimensions of the California solar energy market.

Despite a handful of high-profile corruption scandals, issues within California’s renewable energy sector remain largely unexamined, posing risks to the equitable transition to a sustainable energy future. To counteract these concerns, the authors propose several measures, including mapping corruption risks, establishing subsidy registers to prevent financial exploitation, implementing transparency initiatives for environmental assessments, and strengthening anti-corruption enforcement while promoting shared ownership models of solar energy to enhance accountability.

The study, titled “Sex for Solar? Examining Patterns of Public and Private Sector Corruption within the Booming California Solar Energy Market,” is part of a broader IGS research initiative focusing on injustices within U.S. solar and wind energy supply chains.