Posted on 07/11/2010 7:11:18 PM PDT by reaganaut1
...
You've never heard of Solyndra? That's strange, because it was supposed to be the cornerstone of Obama's vaunted green-energy future, but now is a king-size political embarrassment. Solyndra, recipient of a $535 million Department of Energy loan guarantee, last month cancelled a $300 million initial public offering because auditor PricewaterhouseCoooper said its operating losses and negative cash flow raise doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern. Ouch!
It gets worse for Obama. When he toured Solyndra's Fremont, Calif., factory in May, he gushed that the company was "leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future."
MORE EMBARRASSING, SOLYNDRA was the first recipient of a loan guarantee under the dual auspices of the Recovery Act and Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Department of Energy noted the loan guarantee was the first it had issued since the 1980s. On Sept. 4, 2009, the day of the award, Vice President Joe Biden crowed that it was "part of the unprecedented investment this Administration is making in renewable energy, and exactly what the Recovery Act is all about." DOE Secretary Steven Chu called it "part of a broad, aggressive effort to spark a new industrial revolution that will put Americans to work, end our dependence on foreign oil and cut carbon pollution."
To borrow the words that Biden used on another auspicious occasion, it was a big &#*%! deal.
Taxpayers are on the hook for $390.5 million—73% of the loans. Some observers questioned the wisdom of the government's deal from the start, saying the company was an inefficient, high-cost producer.
Chu announced the Solyndra guarantee within 60 days of taking over the DOE, which in hindsight seems rather rash. DOE spokesman Stephanie Mueller said a credit-review board [...] recommended it.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.barrons.com ...
global warming ping
If they flush $400 MILLION of our very hard-earned tax money into the “green energy” pit, then I hope Republicans push hard on this in election season. Looks to be a perfect petard to hoist them upon...if Repubs have the balls to use it.
“Our” tough luck President?
The scumbag isn’t my President.
The majority owner of the biggest stakeholder in Solyndra is an Oklahoma oil billionaire who was a bundler for the Obama-Biden campaign.
The new Green energy economy, burning green backs in high denominations.
Barry must be thinking that if only he was allowed to keep Vann Jones in charge of the green jobs that this company would have been a success. Another example of the perils of voting in unqualified candidates with no past experience in any capacity related to the Presidency.
Solar power is a myth.
Pray for America
Someone labeled this “Sub prime energy” tonight and I think its an acurate term.
Do you know anything about Abound? They recently got $400 million and about 3/4 of that is supposed to be spent just down the road from me creating 850 jobs.
Colorado owned, Industrial sized solar panels, mostly going overseas.
See it wasn't obama’s fault....
I wonder if the MSM will report this. Every Republican in the country should run ads about this waste of tax payer money!
From the article: Russ Kanjorski, nephew of Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Paul Kanjorski, is a marketing executive at Abound.
This is only a tiny portion of what we are in store for if cap and trade is passed. The bill sill FORCE industries to buy super expensive and inefficient wind and solar power, which BP has invested heavily in and why they are supporting cap and trade.
Look, this stuff is 99% political insiders setting up companies and non-profits to skim off the US Treasury by Congressional conspiracy. This is happening at Federal level and at the state level. All lot of the fed funds go through state machines out to the state’s politically connected.
It’s a super massive theft. Every decent citizen must yell STOP!
Yeah, Kanjorski’s a great example of the criminal conspiracy going on under cover of elected office.
Wind farm developers in Michigan don’t want to pay the penaties that traditional energy producers pay for down time. Instead they want the traditional energy producers to pay into a fund to pay fines for when their wind mills aren’t turning.
Its intentional destruction of the working part of our energy sector.
We have a bunch of clowns running our country, put there by another, bigger, bunch of clowns - the American voters.
I would have never guessed unicorns were so expensive. Maybe we should cut back on their Skittles.
I hope Republicans push hard on this in election season.
**************
The problem is that when they do push hard it is usally with a noodle.
I think this is last call for the GOP. Be effective or be extinct.
It’s a super massive theft. Every decent citizen must yell STOP!
***************
Who was it that said the last official act of a collapsing governments is to loot the treasury?
I’m looking for a source of that quote. I do not think it is Washington. But history records that chaotic transitions in establishments (including collapse) have at times been marked by massive increases in by insider theft or ‘self-appropriation’, aka looting.
For example the books of the Bible record that the breakdowns of the late Kingdoms of Israel and Judea between Kings as those Kings became satraps and vassals of external states who looted the temple and treasury.
>> MORE EMBARRASSING, SOLYNDRA was the first recipient of a loan guarantee under the dual auspices of the Recovery Act and Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Remind me — who was POTUS then?
>> Stupid liberal.
Was that comment directed at me?
It’s BUSH’s fault!
barbra ann
I thought it was a more recent source, like Mises or Hayek.
IIRC the Energy Act was to be used to guarantee Nuke power plant loans...so much for that.
This administration is treasonous, to put it mildly. They do not support and defend the constitution, nor are they careful stewards of the peoples money.
>> It’s BUSH’s fault!
I like W, but one of his undeniable failings was he had already begun to drink deeply of the Global Warmism kool-aid, with several years to go in his term with which to do damage. With the help of other notable Republican bozos like McCain and Graham.
Denying that fact unfortunately doesn’t change it.
And we need REAL change, in a big way — not just a bunch of (R)s who will implement the same policies as the (D)s are currently shafting us with, but more slowly.
Oceander posted a link to the text of the 2005 energy act in 28.
Yes, nuclear power was one means to the end; but the thrust of the bill was to combat the Globull Warmism bogeyman:
SEC. 1703. ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make guarantees under this section only for projects that—
(1) avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases; and
--snip--
Just as with the subprime crisis, the Bush era big-government Party of Stupid (R)s laid the groundwork for the rape of America by the 'Rats. Traitors, yes, but they had lots of company.
I wish it weren't so, but facts are facts.
We need a different crew the next time around!
Recipe for failure, moonbat green energy company in a market where the only way your product is viable is with a 1/3 government subsidy operating in one of the most restrictive and highest tax burden states, what could go wrong?
BO must have been to doped up in the’70s to remember we’ve done all of this green BS before, didn’t work then, ain’t gunna work now.
.
That was unexpected
cricket...cricket.
Down time penalties due to mechanical failures (down time) are one thing, but wind is inherently not an on-demand power source so how could a wind farm be penalized in that regard?
You might want to re-think that.
30 years from now all those ugly wind devices will be sitting motionless and rusting as a legacy to the punk president.
Solar power is a myth and we just got fleeced:
http://www.brayincandy.com/id208.html
Pray for America
Bush’s energy bill would have had us drilling in Anwar and expanding nuclear and coal plants. McCain defeated that bill.
Pray for AMerica
One of the last acts of a Government is to rob the treasury. This is happening right now!
God have mercy on us.
Again, is the fine paid by traditional power producers part of a mechanical availability guarantee, which would also apply to wind farms? Or is it a demand penalty, that the power has to be available on demand, which traditional power producers can do but wind cannot?
Which comes first, balls or brains?
There is something very wrong if coal and gas fired energy producers are penalized for the failure of wind.
Its like sending the speeding ticket to my neighbor when I get caught speeding.
I think the TeaPublicans are about the only salvation.
Crooks and stupid ideologues are ruining this country.
Thanks for the update on the legislation. Since Nukes have low greenhouse emissions, I guess that was the backdoor ‘compromise.’
A friend recently stated that appeasement never works. Very, very true.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
