New SolarCity deal will double U.S. rooftop solar power (BASE HOUSING - Solyndra 3.0!)

http://money.cnn.com ^ | 09-07-2011 | By Steve Hargreaves

[Red Badger]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Residential solar power provider SolarCity and the U.S. government announced a deal Wednesday to put solar panels on military housing units, a move that could double the number of rooftop solar power installed in the United States.

The complex plan calls for SolarCity to receive a $344 million Department of Energy-backed loan from financiers U.S. Renewables Group and Bank of America.

SolarCity will then use the money to put up to 160,000 rooftop solar installations on top of privately run military housing complexes at 124 military bases across 34 states.

SolarCity will own and operating the solar panels, and the companies that own the housing unites will send a monthly check to SolarCity for the electricity.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

The ‘companies’ -try UNCLE SAM- that own the housing units will send a monthly check to solarcity? This is Peter paying Peter again.

[lwd]

BOA was probably told they would be “protected” if they give this loan. Quid pro quo.

[lwd]

It stinks to high heaven!

[RobertClark]

The ‘companies’ -try UNCLE SAM- that own the housing units will send a monthly check to solarcity? This is Peter paying Peter again.

Base housing is NOT government owned. Yes, they are located on a DOD installation but they are not rented nor maintained by the DOD.

[Osage Orange]

I will predict right now...that IF the project even get’s completed...it will cost more to operate than it’s worth within 3 or 4 yrs...at the max.

[businessprofessor]

I'd like to see the math on this. Solar City runs ads around here to put this on your house. I don't see how it pays out except for being subsidized.

Solar City is heavily subsidized at the federal and state levels. The combination of federal tax credits, utility payments, and forced utility purchases of excess electricity generation make the solar business lucrative. I believe that some major players (such as Google) are involved in this scam, essentially being provided essentially guaranteed rates of return of 10+ percent.

[businessprofessor]

Here is a reference about the scam.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/14/google-solarcity-investment-home-solar_n_876574.html

Here are some key elements of the investment scam:

Google's investment generates returns three ways. Google gets a tax credit from the federal government of 30 percent of the cost of the solar projects, in this case $84 million. It also can write off the total value of the systems in the year they are built, an accounting benefit called accelerated depreciation. The value of state and local tax credits also flow to Google.

Google investors have questioned investments that have little to do with the company's main Internet businesses and that may be potentially risky or generate lower returns. In a meeting with investors last month, Google CFO Patrick Pinchette said tax benefits of these projects can generate high returns.

[MileHi]

That is my understanding, it fails as a stand alone business. Not to mention the equipment often fails before the break-even point on the investment.

I don't have data to prove that but no one has ever showed me why I am mistaken.

Thanks

[LucyT]

.

> Ping.

The SolarCity news comes after a tough spell for the industry, with solar companies Solyndra and Evergreen going belly-up in the last couple of weeks.

The Energy Department also backed Solyndra, and the 0bama administration has been taking heat for both that bad loan and for focusing too heavily on green jobs that some say haven’t panned out.

-

How did Solyndra get a sweetheart interest rate?

ABC News discovered that the solar-tech firm Solyndra got unusually low interest rates on its federally-guaranteed loans before it collapsed last month, sending 1000 workers to the unemployment line in California.

Other green-tech firms receiving loans paid as much as three and four times the interest rate Solyndra secured for its $535 million from Barack 0bama’s 2009 stimulus bill from the Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank. ABC notes that other green-tech firms didn’t have the connections that Solyndra had to 0bama (payoff under the table?)

More at Link:

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/09/07/how-did-solyndra-get-a-sweetheart-interest-rate/

[hinckley buzzard]

Government buildings across the nation have uncounted acres of flat roofs, often in environmentally hostile but sunshine rich real estate. There is no good reason not to mount solar collectors on these expanses of flat roofs, if one could rule out the ever-threatening potential for corruption hovering around their margins.

[Lady Jag]

One after another they go bankrupt and refinanced. There was a solar rage back in the early 70s around here.

Obviously Obama doesn’t give a damn that it’s a major fail; he’s just giving payoffs and weaving webs.

[GOPJ]

If this is such a great idea why do they need a $344 million loan guarantee, a guaranteed multi-year contract and huge government subsidies?

Union goons don't like "sob's" asking logical questions... Janet might find you 'extreme' too...