As an alternative energy enthusiast, I was drawn to the article "A plan for bountiful harvest of electricity," May 2, on the 2.6 megawatts solar array proposed for Owens Corning property in Selkirk. Reading down the page, my enthusiasm ebbed a bit to learn the panels would be made in China.
Further along, construction and ownership would be by a Baltimore company. The final nail in this sorry coffin was the revelation a New York state grant (aka our tax dollars) would pay for an undisclosed "large portion" of the estimated $8 million to $11 million cost. Any questions on what's wrong with this picture?
Recently, the right wing attempted to make much of the failure of Solyndra, but how can a U.S. company compete with this? What about labor standards in China? Environmental standards? Standard of living? Quality of the product? And what of New York?
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has spoken extensively about our high-tech future. If this is an example, I'm not impressed.
Robert L. Henrickson
East Nassau