[ProtectOurFreedom]

The "industrial policy" geniuses in Washington pumped a half billion of our tax dollars into this dog and now it's going belly-up, just like Evergreen Solar in Massachusetts. No matter how much Obama and his ilk command things to happen, the old law of supply and demand always trumps them. The untold amounts of our money poured into the toilet infuriates me to no end.

[BenLurkin]

There shouldn’t even be a Federal Department of Energy.

[edpc]

Well, they can always re-invent their business and go into roofing. Oh, wait......

[downtownconservative]

If bureaucrats invest in it, short it!

[Oldpuppymax]

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.

[chimera]

The problem here isn't markets or financing or public policy, it's just plain basic physics. The sun doesn't always shine. Even if you have a 100% efficient solar panel, you're still going to get 0% output when the primary energy source is absent. That means your capacity factor is inherently limited. The primary energy source is very diffuse. That means you have to work harder (i.e., costs more) to gather energy in sufficient quantities to make it economically viable. And when the primary source is available, it tends to be variable. That means you need downstream systems (i.e., storage) to manage the variability. That also adds to cost.

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.

[Grampa Dave]

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.

[RC2]

Put tariffs on all imports from China. That should equalize the prices.

[hinckley buzzard]

"We're not yet cash flow positive, but we've adjusted our spending and slowed the rate of cash we are consuming," he added.

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.

[proudpapa]

Half a Billion here, half a Billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money...

...or greater debt.

[depressed in 06]

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.

[zbogwan2]

.Many low-cost Chinese manufacturers, which benefit from massive government support, are manufacturing at costs in the $1.10 to $1.20 a watt range. Thin-film leader First Solar, based in Tempe, Ariz., manufactures at 75 cents a watt and aims to be at 53 cents a watt by 2014. Solyndra says its current manufacturing costs are about $3 per watt..

No wonder Obama didn't mention this catastrophic Green Boondoggle in his most recent SOTU?