Cuomo’s Risky Solar Bet

Even as Gov. Cuomo hopes to shell out another $500 million for Buffalo, there’s new reason to worry that much of the first billion he spent there — for a solarpanel plant — may be going to waste.

A report last week by the Solar Foundation, a pro-solar group, said New York lost about 1 percent of its solar jobs last year. What lousy timing: Buffalo’s huge new solar-panel plant, which Cuomo used $750 million of taxpayer funds to build, is gearing up to begin production this summer.

Solar Foundation head Andrea Luecke blames New York’s job losses on “delays,” particularly in launching community-based solar-panel-installation projects.

Industry officials expect jobs here to grow 11 percent this year, in line with growth countrywide. Yet the US expansion may be slowing: Luecke’s group reported 20 percent solar-industry job growth in 2016, about twice this year’s expected rate. (New Jersey lost about 14 percent of its solar jobs last year.)

More bad news: President Trump has talked up fossil-fuel-based energy (oil, gas and coal), not renewables like solar.

That has solar folks fretting over the fate of the 30 percent federal tax credit for panels, which has propped up the market. Rolling back the credit to 10 percent “would slash solar installation demand by 60 percent,” said a report by S&P Global Platts. Ouch.

True, predicting markets is always tricky; solar might flourish, or flop. But that’s precisely why Cuomo was foolish to bet so much taxpayer money on it.

The gov wants to steer New York away from fossil-fuel sources and toward renewables like solar, to help fight climate change. But the Buffalo Billion was sold as an “economic development” plan — and Buffalo has been desperate for jobs.

Bottom line: If the solar market withers, Cuomo will fail to meet both his climate and job-growth goals. Meanwhile, taxpayers will be left holding that billion-dollar bag.