Universities’ massive solar tax scam under criminal investigation 03/24/2015

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Universities’ massive solar tax scam under criminal investigation

  03/24/2015

I know what you’re thinking: Of course, but what was in it for our Johnson Hall colleagues? Someone owns a nice pied-a-terre near the panels and wanted UO to pay their travel? A new AVP for solar collaboration job?

But no. It’s OSU and OIT this time. UO sustainability efforts have been focused on things like recycling and the “urban farm”, which is more popular with potential undergraduates than Duck sports.

Oregonian investigative reporter Ted Sickinger reports on the latest sustainability scam. The state has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on green energy rip-offs like this – while starving the higher ed budget:

The Oregon Department of Justice has opened criminal and civil investigations into the award of $11.8 million in state tax credits for a series of solar arrays installed at Oregon State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology.

The agency acted after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported earlier this month that developers of the arrays missed deadlines to qualify for subsidies under the state’s business energy tax credit. The news organization’s investigation found that backers submitted phony and misleading documents to the state to demonstrate construction was underway by the deadline – documents that officials at the Oregon Department of Energy failed to check.