Posted on 05/08/2014 7:47:37 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
For the all the praise solar power gets for being “cleaner” than traditional energy resources, there sure are a lot of hazardous materials involved in the process. When a solar panel manufacturer goes out of business – like the bankrupt Abound Solar in northern Colorado – a costly cleanup of toxic materials must ensue.
So what happens when no one jumps to cleanup all that cancer-causing cadmium? Environmental protests? Rep. Jared Polis funded ballot initiatives banning solar plants from Colorado? Actually, none of the above.
Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway and Rep. Cory Gardner seem to be the only voices sounding the alarm over the hazardous waste left at Abound’s former facility. Here is what Conway had to say in the Boulder County Business Report (BCBR):
“As of yet, we are not privy to any (cleanup) plan, and there certainly hasn’t been anything filed through the court as part of the bankruptcy proceeding,” Conway said. “We’re looking forward to closing this chapter; unfortunately it’s been a costly chapter to all the entities involved.”
Abound Solar declared bankruptcy in 2012 and laid of hundreds of people in the process. Taxpayers were on the hook for $60 million after Abound was left unable to pay back loans from the Department of Energy. Worse still, news reports revealed that Abound was producing a defective product and that it’s panels were catching fire.
Two years later, the “dangerously contaminated site” still languishes according to the BCBR. We’re left wondering: where is the lefty/environmental outrage?
The real hazardous waste from this toxic money-pit was the slime in chief.
Warning: breathing in fumes from the Obama may cause loss of hair (see Plugs Biden)
People need to learn the story behind Abound Solar. All the lefty supporters involved. From the Kennedy’s to the Udall’s, Pat Striker, Governor Ritter, Betsy Markey, all the eco-profiteers that sucked the money out of the government pig trough for this one. The taxpayers of Fort Collins even paid to outfit the Innosphere building with Abounds defective panels.
Good for Sean Conway and Cory Gardner for bringing this one back up. The leftists had swept it under the rug, and it’s one they would rather ignore.
The greedy green energy fat cats win.
Where’s the name calling? These are one per-centers who feed off of public emotion, to win financially.
In 2008 Al Gore said that the polar ice caps would be gone by now. That sudden economic change was necessary. This contributed to zero’s election that year. Where are the reminders of this prediction?
Certainly Governor Chickencooper will charge in to save the day. He truly cares about the well being of Colorado citizens doesn’t he?
Whatever local government agency processed the permit and did not make provision for clean up in the event the company failed did not do its job properly.
No doubt there was excitement and euphoria over the new venture and people did not do their jobs.
I think it is a safe bet they are pressing for clean up of the site.
Probably, but quietly. They won't protest over "Big Solar," or try to publically discredit the industry.
The conservation movement is most certainly NOT in favor of large scale solar. Where did you get that notion?
Large scale solar has a big impact on lands that are considered sensitive by conservationist. Realtor associations, btw, are also linked up at the local level to oppose solar projects where they will impact home values.
There is fallow abandoned agricultural land where solar plants could be located as acceptable to the conservation groups but the industry is looking to BLM land that is much less expensive for them to use.
Again, you have it very wrong if you think environmentalist are happy with the direction of solar development in this country. The pejorative they use is Industrial solar.
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