Posted on 09/01/2011 7:16:31 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
In a blow to the Obama administration's efforts to create green jobs, solar-cell maker Solyndra announced Wednesday that it will close its remaining Fremont factory, lay off its 1,100 employees and file for bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy represents a high-profile failure for a federal stimulus program that gives loan guarantees to green-tech manufacturers.
Solyndra was the first company to win one of the guarantees, receiving $535 million in 2009.
The federal government must now try to recover its investment through Solyndra's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, or taxpayers will be on the hook.
Employees were not offered severance and were told their final checks will be mailed to them, James said. "Usually you get a notice and time to prepare," he said. "I've never applied for unemployment in my life, but I will do it now."
Echoing comments being made by Republican critics, he added: "Obama put $535 million into the place - where'd it go?"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
“Solyandra Green is people!”
But! But! But! I saw in a movie where this stuff worked. Papers have been written and published in the local papers about how successful this is going to be. What is going on here? How did the Repubicans and George Bush cause this company to fail?
There’s a secondary issue at play here, completely separate from the “green issue”. Even if non-subsidized solar energy generated electricity was a viable cost-effective alternative to coal or gas fired power plants, the bottom line is the equipment itself simply cannot be manufactured competitively in the openly hostile California business environment. Taxes, regulations, unions, etc., etc.
So much wrong in that picture.
Considering how long solar PV panels “last”, as in being productive,
the amount of energy it takes to produce them is more than they’ll produce in electricity in their productive lifetime,
especially anywhere north of Arizona/Texas/etc.
First "guess" - most went back into DNC campaign coffers as a "donation".
Their entire business plan was predicated on Cap and Tax passing, forcing people to pay more for solar and wind generated power. The second that failed to pass in Congress they knew they had had it.
Who knew “shovel ready” referred to corporate funerals?
I expect his super duper, awesomly huge, biggest bestest job speech yet to be all about rainbows, unicorns, “green jobs”, funded by trillion more in “stumulus” funds - and how mean the Republicans are. Bleh.
Yeah, but Government Motors is doing better. /s/
Many of these schemes (That's essentially what they are) can exist because the government through laws and regulatory bodies or their own purchasing process create a false demand. The government subsidies but then also creates the “demand” for the product or service which in a free market wouldn't exist. of course what this all boils down to in economics is “market inefficiencies” that stifle growth and productivity in the long run.
However- much of this is a matter of perceptions and adjusting to what the new normal looks like. For example, today few people argue the horrible macro level economic effects of every last one of these urban public transit schemes. All of them, every last one is subsidized and would shrivel up and die if it weren't for a constant infusion of money from federal, state, county, city or other local means. But this nonsense has become accepted as normal, even necessary, at this point.
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