Obama-backed $2.2B green energy 'boondoggle' leaves taxpayers on the hook
Roughly $730M to $780M remains on a $1.6B federal loan, and one critic calls the Ivanpah facility a 'boondoggle'
By Michael Dorgan Fox News
Published May 2, 2026 12:56pm EDT
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Federal taxpayers helped build a $2.2 billion solar plant — now electricity customers are on the hook to keep it running.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, a sprawling facility near the California-Nevada border built with billions in federal support during the Obama-era economic stimulus program, is stuck in a costly dilemma.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations — along with the utility company that buys its power — have sought to shut it down, saying it underperforms, produces expensive electricity and has been overtaken by cheaper energy sources. But California regulators have refused to allow it to close, warning that closing the plant could strain the power grid.
The result is a costly standoff rooted in years of government decisions: shutting it down could leave taxpayers responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars tied to a $1.6 billion federal loan, while keeping it open means higher electricity costs for consumers.
"This project makes no economic sense to keep afloat, and the market itself has shown that," Daniel Turner, founder of the energy advocacy group Power The Future, told Fox News Digital.
"This is a boondoggle, like most of California's large projects are a boondoggle," he said, arguing it is being kept alive for political reasons, with costs ultimately passed on to customers.
"At some point, you have to stop throwing good money after bad," he added.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant in the Mojave Desert uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto three towers to generate electricity. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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https://www.foxnews.com/us/13-obama-backed-22b-solar-plant-leaves-taxpayers-hook-costly-green-energy-boondoggle-part-1
