Thursday, September 1, 2011

Can't Be Green Without Green...

Brad_in_MA sends in this heartwarming story of cold, hard capitalism stomping the fluffy unicorn dreams of greenies to little bits.

Solar company that Obama visited will shut down
(Reuters) - Solar start-up Solyndra LLC, succumbing to pressure from lower-cost Chinese rivals, said it has suspended operations and plans to file for bankruptcy, 15 months after President Barack Obama visited a company factory that was to be expanded with the help of a federal loan guarantee.

The Chapter 11 filing, expected next week, will make Solyndra the third U.S. solar company to seek bankruptcy protection in the last month. Former Wall Street high flyer Evergreen Solar Inc filed for Chapter 11 two weeks ago, followed four days later by SpectraWatt Inc, a private company that was backed by Intel Corp.
(emphasis mine) Turning lead into gold. Finding the Fountain of Youth. Perpetual motion. Obtaining "clean" energy at a price that won't bankrupt anyone poorer than Bill Gates. These are just but a few of man's quests, and so far, all have proven fruitless. In the case of solar energy, though, what little "progress" that has been made has not come cheap:
The announcement is the latest in a series of disappointments for Solyndra, whose fall from grace has been tracked closely because it received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy in 2009.
Half a billion dollars and they still couldn't make a go of it. They blame the cheap labor market in China, but one has to wonder if the myriad laws and regulations with which we strangle new business might have played a part. Or, perhaps, if it's not so much a market for these products in the US as a bunch of greenies and hippies sitting around thinking "wouldn't it be great if" thoughts.

In any case, the public ain't buyin' what the enviro-weenies are throwin' down...

That is all.

4 comments:

Paul, Dammit! said...

You mean I can buy $20,000 worth of equipment to install on my roof, and it will preheat my water by 3 whole degrees AND provide as much electricity as a hearing aid battery (when the sun is shining!)? Sign me up! I can get a $35 tax credit, too? Rapture!

Anonymous said...

Gotta wonder how much of that$535,000,000 loan garrantee stuck to labor/dnc fingers on the way to the bank.

Julie said...

careful careful you'll get a carbon tax next and the money will be used to prop up businesses like this ....

not Dilbert said...

I had one these Solar electric companies come out and do a survey on adding panels to my roof. They Claimed that for $ 30,000 I could cover my roof with enough panels to supply half my electrical power needs... and that combined with subdies and tax credits ( which may or may not continue I would actaully get a check from Nstar instaed of a billl.


Strangley when I re-did the numbers with some more realistic assumptions the ROI was.........


Well, never..