WASHINGTON — As he campaigned for the presidency, Joe Biden promised to spend billions of dollars to “save the world” from climate change. One of the largest players in the solar industry was ready.
Angelo Fernández Hernández, a White House spokesperson, didn't directly address First Solar’s efforts to curry favor with the Biden administration. When the Biden administration started writing rules to implement the Democrats’ new law, First Solar executives and lobbyists met at least four times in late 2022 and 2023 with administration officials, including John Podesta, who oversaw the measure’s environmental provisions.
Investors in the company, including a handful of major Democratic donors, have also benefited as First Solar’s share price climbed. In an email turned over to House Republicans, a First Solar executive pressured the Department of Energy for the financing, suggesting that if it weren’t approved, a Mesa, Arizona, factory Obama administration officials were eager to tout may not be built.