We may be witnessing a perfect Washington moment. For most of the workweek, attention has been focused on the collapse of a solar energy company that had received economically dubious–and politically motivated–subsidies of some $500 million. On Sunday, the city’s football franchise, the Redskins, will play a game the organization is calling the “Solar Bowl.” This, it seems, is being done to celebrate the installation of some 8,000 solar panels at FedEx Field, the facility where the team plays its home games. The stadium is in Maryland, but never mind. We all know that the behemoth does not recognize the old federal/state limits.
Anyway … the stadium is going solar. Well, 20 percent, on game days. The rest of the time, when nobody is playing, the new solar system will handle all the stadium’s needs. No mention of the cost in the press release I read but, as we all know from the Solyndra story, nobody in Washington cares about that stuff. The real concern is green jobs, investing in the future, stimulating the economy, and big think stuff like that.
