A recipe for failure

Take a healthy dose of one bad policy (billions of dollars chasing the physics-defying solar-powered future) and mix in another bad policy (punitive tariffs on imports of Chinese solar panels), and presto: A silly policy that is at odds with itself.

The tariffs will make solar power even less competitive against other energy sources, creating a demand for even more U.S. subsidies and delaying the renewable power future that Mr. Obama and his green allies so fervently claim to want.