Posted on 01/06/2012 2:34:10 PM PST by JerseyHighlander
The failed Range Fuels wood-to-ethanol factory in southeastern Georgia that sucked up $65 million in federal and state tax dollars was sold Tuesday for pennies on the dollar to another bio-fuel maker with equally grand plans to transform the alternative energy world.
LanzaTech, a New Zealand-based biofuel company, paid $5.1 million for the plant in Soperton. Its main financial backer: Vinod Khosla, a California entrepreneur who also bankrolled Range Fuels, and helped secure its government loans, before Range went bust last year.
LanzaTech hasn't received the same type of loans, but the company has received $7 million from the U.S. departments of Energy and Transportation to assist in the development of alternative fuels.
.........
Range cost U.S. taxpayers $64 million and Georgia taxpayers another $6.2 million. Tuesday's sale netted $5.1 million which will help offset losses suffered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Georgia's money, which paid for some of the ethanol-making equipment, won't be recouped outright, but state officials expect LanzaTech to use the machinery.
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Range, unable to turn wood into ethanol, closed its doors a year ago.
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Jeb Simons, an engineer in Savannah whose family hails from Soperton, doesn't expect much of the taxpayer investment to be recouped. He blames Khosla.
"He takes government money, builds the place and takes the money and runs," said Simons, " . . . and now he's double-dipping on government funds for round two. That's taxpayer money that could go toward schools or hospitals or be given back to taxpayers."
Home » Politicians & Elections » Donor Lookup
Results: Search Criteria: Donor name: Khosla, Vinod
Cycle(s) selected: 2012 2010 2008
71 records found in 0.345 seconds.
Total for this search: $292,400
| Contributor | Occupation | Date | Amount | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES, LLC & KPCB/VENTURE | 9/30/11 | $30,800 | DNC Services Corp (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD MENLO PARK,CA 94025 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 5/11/09 | $30,400 | Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 3/12/09 | $30,400 | Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD MENLO PARK,CA 94025 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 2/22/07 | $28,500 | Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD MENLO PARK,CA 94025 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 4/5/07 | $28,500 | Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES, LLC | 11/2/10 | $7,600 | Democratic State Central Cmte/California (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES, LLC/VENTURE CAPITA | 8/17/11 | $7,500 | Hatch, Orrin G (R) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 10/27/10 | $6,500 | Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD MENLO PARK,CA 94025 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 7/18/11 | $5,000 | Brown, Sherrod (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 6/15/07 | $5,000 | Fund for the Majority (D) |
| Khosla, Vinod Portola Valley,CA 94028 |
Khosla Ventures, LLC/Venture Capita | 6/25/10 | $2,600 | Democratic Party of Nevada (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD MENLO PARK,CA 94025 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 7/18/11 | $2,500 | Brown, Sherrod (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES, LLC/VENTURE CAPITA | 8/17/11 | $2,500 | Hatch, Orrin G (R) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES, LLC/VENTURE CAPITA | 8/17/11 | $2,500 | Hatch, Orrin G (R) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/PRESIDENT | 7/29/11 | $2,500 | Lugar, Richard G (R) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 7/29/11 | $2,500 | McNerney, Jerry (D) |
| KHOSLA, VINOD PORTOLA VALLEY,CA 94028 |
KHOSLA VENTURES/VENTURE CAPITALIST | 7/29/11 | $2,500 | McNerney, Jerry (D) |
Convert it to make vodka and watch the profits roll in.
| Contributor | Occupation | Date | Amount | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
They got the funding and built the plant
and then they ran one batch to prove the process
(to comply with conditions of some of the financing)
but it was not economically sustainable,
so as soon as they ran the first batch,
they shut it down and walked away.
I interviewed for a job there, and management all seemed to be cult-like.
More subsidized failure! Taxpayers are so proud.
Any FEMA camps nearby...?
maybe it was a "solute green" prototype plant....
Quick summary from campaign finance:
2008: $115,400 total...R $5,600 , rest to D.
2010: $117,000 total ALL TO D,
“Range, unable to turn wood into ethanol, closed its doors a year ago.”
We can send a man to the moon, but we can’t turn wood into ethanol?
Correction: back in the 70's we used to be able to send a man to the moon. We are unable to do that today. As far as turning wood into ethanol, They've been doing it back in the hollers for generations.
Right, but these are targeted contributions, Hatch and Lugar are cheap whores:
Hatch Committee assignments
Committee on Finance (Ranking Minority Member)
- Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
Lugar Committee assignments
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
Distillation of wood produces methanol, a.k.a., as ‘wood alcohol’, very poisonous, not grain alcohol, ethanol.
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