Give outsourcing a chance

The Obama administration and its allies have a dilemma: They want Americans to adopt renewable energy, but they don’t want anyone other than U.S. manufacturers to make the equipment. That’s a problem when it comes to solar power. China makes the cheapest panels, and U.S. consumers have been snatching them up. That’s the key reason why federally backed companies like Solyndra have failed.

A statement last month from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is representative of the twisted logic behind the green protectionists’ crusade: “We can’t trade our dependence on foreign oil for a dependence on Chinese-made solar panels.”