California’s solar energy boom is threatened by corruption: a new study unveils hidden risks.Researchers uncover seven types of corruption, including favoritism, land grabbing, and greenwashing, affecting the state’s enterprising clean energy goals. This examination into the California solar market, from 2010 to 2024, which generated 79,544 gigawatt hours, reveals how abuses of power and unethical practices undermine communities, policymaking, and project planning. Learn about project approvals, tax evasion, and the displacement of Indigenous groups, all exposed in this critical analysis.news Directory 3 examines the urgent need for solar reforms to ensure a just energy transition. Discover what’s next for sustainable solar growth.
California Solar Energy boom Faces Corruption Risks, Study Finds
Updated June 12, 2025
California’s rapid expansion of solar power, driven by climate goals, faces a hidden challenge: corruption. A new study in Energy Strategy Reviews examines public and private sector corruption patterns within the state’s solar market.
researchers at Boston University’s institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) pinpointed seven distinct corruption types affecting california’s solar energy sector. these include favoritism in project approvals,such as a case involving a U.S. Department of the Interior official and a solar company lobbyist.The authors urge significant solar reforms to ensure a fair energy transition as the U.S. relies more on solar to reduce carbon emissions.
Benjamin Sovacool, IGS director and Boston University professor, said the solar industry’s current path of “bad governance and bad behavior” cannot continue. The study highlights abuses of power, displacement of Indigenous groups, tax evasion, and falsified project data.
The study analyzed the California solar market’s explosive growth from 2010 to 2024, during which solar energy production reached 79,544 gigawatt hours, enough to power about 7.4 million U.S. homes annually, according to the State of Renewable Energy dashboard.The research reveals corruption’s adverse effects on communities, policymaking, and project planning.
Alexander Dunlap, IGS research fellow, noted the prevalence of corruption at all levels of solar growth, even in a well-regulated state like California.
Favoritism and Corruption in solar Projects
Researchers investigated utility-scale solar deployments in Riverside County to understand how corruption undermines the solar market. they gathered insights from residents, construction workers, NGOs, solar company employees, and government agencies through focus groups, site observations, and interviews in communities like Blythe and Desert Center.
While confirming individual corruption claims is difficult, the study combines personal accounts with news reports, court testimony, and official records.
The study identified several corruption patterns:
- Clientelism and Favoritism: Hiring friends or family and unfairly awarding contracts.
- Rent-seeking and Land Grabbing: Redirecting public funds and seizing land from Indigenous groups.
- Service Diversion: Withholding local benefits or prioritizing wealthier areas for power distribution.
- Theft: Damaging flora, cultural artifacts, or animal habitats during construction.
- Greenwashing: Misleading the public about environmental benefits and using flawed impact assessments.
- Tax Evasion and Avoidance: underpaying taxes or failing to allocate funds to affected communities.
- Non-openness: Hiding crucial information about project impacts and benefits.
What’s next
The study’s authors recommend corruption risk mapping, subsidy registers, transparency initiatives, strong enforcement of anti-corruption laws, and shared ownership models to improve accountability and ensure a just energy transition in California’s solar market.
