They point to a blend of public, private, social, and political patterns of corruption in the California solar energy market.
1. Clientelism and favoritism: Hiring friends or family over others for solar projects and unfairly allocating government contracts or permits to project developers, which in one instance led to an investigative report questioning the influence of a sexual relationship.
2. Rent-seeking and land grabbing: Redirecting public funds or lands to benefit private developers and taking communal or public land from Indigenous peoples or other groups for energy infrastructure siting.
3. Service diversion: Withholding local benefits, such as lower electricity bills, or distributing locally generated power only to higher-paying parts of the state.
4. Theft: Forceful removal of flora or cultural artifacts, or disturbing animal habitat, to build solar project sites.
5. Greenwashing: Misleading the public about a solar project's environmental benefits; using flawed environmental or cultural impact assessments to evaluate project impacts, such as pollution of nearby waterways; and overriding environmental protections to fast-track solar infrastructure expansion.
6. Tax evasion and avoidance: Not paying or underpaying taxes, or governmental authorities strategically failing to adequately allocate project funds to communities impacted by solar project development.
7. Non-transparency: Hiding, manipulating, or failing to disclose relevant or important information surrounding solar projects, such as the local economic benefits and environmental impacts.
