Price of solar falling precipitously -- the ironic silver lining of the "Solyndra solar scandal"

Amidst the "Solyndra solar scandal" (the Washington Post editorialized on November 18, 2011 that Solyndra is but the symptom of a diseased U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee program), U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) pointed out that Solyndra's bankruptcy has resulted from the dramatic decrease in price of solar power panels internationally -- a sign that solar power is growing by leaps and bounds around the world. DOE said as much itself on August 31, 2011 in its response to the Solyndra bankruptcy and loan guarantee default.  The Post article reported: 

"Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) charged that committee Republicans were focusing on Solyndra because fossil fuel industries were threatened by the possibility that solar and wind could become competitive with oil and coal.

'Republicans attacked solar energy because they say it’s too expensive,' Markey said. 'But Solyndra failed because the price of solar energy has become too cheap.' "