Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 01/30/2011 8:58:12 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
Less than a year ago, President Barack Obama held it up as a poster child for clean energy, saying during a visit to its headquarters that "companies like Solyndra are leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future." But now, despite having raised more than $1 billion in venture capital and receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, Solyndra is struggling and analysts can't see a way forward.
One reason for its woes is that low-cost Chinese manufacturers are building massive factories that have rapidly driven down the price of solar panels and shifted more than 50 percent of production to China. But Solyndra's technology may also be a problem -- several analysts question whether it will ever capture more than a narrow niche of the market.
Solyndra canceled its plans for an IPO in June, citing "adverse market conditions." Then in July, Chris Gronet, the company's founder, was replaced as CEO by Brian Harrison. Gronet remains at the company and chairs the board of directors.
"In 2010, the market changed, and we had to change with it," said Steven Mitchell of Argonaut Private Equity, Solyndra's largest shareholder. "We spent the first three months of 2010 trying to figure out where the bottom was. But we believe we have a fantastic product, and we have great confidence in Brian Harrison."
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
There shouldn’t even be a Federal Department of Energy.
Well, they can always re-invent their business and go into roofing. Oh, wait......
No problem. All Hussein has to do is drive all competitors out of business! Monopolies HAVE to succeed!! But then, we have the Post Office and....never mind.
I really wish people would look at the basic science and engineering before they run off half-cocked on these schemes, simply for political advantage, or to play the "green-chic" role.
Maybe they can get Kansas City, Boston, or some other red state where they have green wet dreams to offer these losers money to move to a new Red Green State.
Put tariffs on all imports from China. That should equalize the prices.
Ah yes, back in the heady good old days of the tech bubble this was referred to as "the burn rate," usually in connection with heavily financed startups that no longer exist.
Half a Billion here, half a Billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money...
...or greater debt.
When they get around to repealing the Second Law of Thermodynamics, you will know we will have entered utopian world of BizzarO. As we pour money into expensive leftist wet dreams, the rest of the world will use the cheap energy we don’t to lick our bones clean.
There is no free lunch, it is in the price of beer.
>> back in the heady good old days of the tech bubble
At least it was private money burning up back then.
Now it’s taxpayer money, in part. That’s just wrong.
Could you please call up the USAFA and tell them this basic information as they are in the process of installing what appears to be acres of solar panels?:)
Ha! Silly you! They are using a good chunk of the money to build a solar power plant right on the high school parking lot. So now our rather bucolic little town has a G** D*** solar power plant right in the midst of our nice neighborhood! It looks like a damn industrial plant in a residential zoned area.
Can you imagine all those brand new licensed drivers managing the maze of columns covering the entire parking lot? How long before some kid hits one of those columns and brings some of those monstrous panels crashing down on top of him or her?
I'm sure if anybody looked at the overall system economics it is a huge money loser. But, as we all know, in leftist la-la land, ROI and IRR are meaningless numbers. What matters if your "feelings."
Our hard-earned tax dollars are being pissed into this worthless project, just for the sake of a greenie utopia These leftist greenie wet dreams are driving me crazy.
Lastly, before EOR ("end of rant"), the electorate was sold a bill goods. The actual ballot measure is shown below -- you'll notice nowhere does it say the school district is going to become an electric utility. They snuck it in by calling it "upgrades to electrical systems." Dishonest government is everywhere.
| Local High School Improvement Measure. Without increasing current tax rates, shall Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District add classrooms and science labs to prevent student overcrowding, improve instructional technology to support academic programs, lower energy costs by upgrading heating, ventilation, electrical and other systems, improve/add student safety systems, repair, construct and acquire school facilities and equipment, by issuing $41,300,000 in bonds at legal interest rates, with all expenditures subject to independent citizens’ oversight? |
“And you can’t get out of the game.”
How true. I remember when Skippy blew into town to give his blessing to the massive new Solyndra building, gleaming with its green glass and chrome right next to highway 880.
Never mind that they had a perfectly good building already.
Never mind that Skippy’s visit shut down every small general aviation airport for miles every direction, robbing those who rent airplanes, or provide flight instruction, or provide aerial advertising of their incomes for the duration.
Never mind that basic physics does not support Solyndra’s business model - it’s all about feeling socially responsible by being in the green energy business.
Nope, you CAN’T get out of the game. We’re shackled by the whims of political opportunists. And only we can fix it.
No wonder Obama didn't mention this catastrophic Green Boondoggle in his most recent SOTU?
The ole Greenjobs propaganda works....
Got DA?
yep.
People should know by now that if it needs heavy subsidies its NOT good for the economy
Yeah, we had a school bond in Charlotte a few years ago. They needed the money to keep from closing some schools. They took the money and bought a country club with a golf course.
WOW at last a great use of school funding....you are paying for that nonsense, might as well enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!
It's not open to the public. You're just being silly.
I hope the HS varsity golf team began winning the State championships!
Tax payer dollars and private investor dollars down the drain.
One reason for its woes is that low-cost Chinese manufacturers are building massive factories that have rapidly driven down the price of solar panels and shifted more than 50 percent of production to China.Yeah, that's just one reason. Happens to be the only real reason. The other idea cited is something that wouldn't have made any difference given the gubmint support. Thanks Ernest.
The science IQ of our elected legislators averages about 50.
Obama? Perhaps 40.
The electorate? 25, if we're lucky.
The taxpayer is being raped and nary a whimper!
How many kilowatt-hrs will they have to generate on average at the current energy rate per day of electricity to show positive benefit?
My suspicion is doesn't matter; it can't be done. Not even close.
A good physicist could cost that out in a few minutes. Not without another $41 million in storage batteries; maybe.
That reminds me of the total ignorance of the average consumer, believing the hype of the TV "Solar Generator" being hyped endlessly. It is simply solar collectors, a humongous battery and a DC-AC converter. It is a solar energy storage device, not a generator.
It would cost half as much and be useful 24 hours a day if a humongous battery, DC to AC converter and a small silent diesel generator were used instead. How many non-technical voters could figure that out?
Not all $41 million is going into the solar power plant. They haven’t disclosed what fraction of the money raised is going into this monstrosity.
The storage problem you point out is totally ignored in these projects. These things put power onto the electric utility distribution system, so it becomes the utility’s problem on how to change the base / intermediate / peaking generation distribution mix. It just pushes the problem off onto the other party. What a sweet deal, huh? You build something that causes somebody else a problem and let HIM solve it.
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