Free Republic

When taxpayers lost more than a half-billion dollars on the failed solar manufacturer Solyndra, they were understandably upset. But Solyndra isn’t the only corporate body in the graveyard of green bankruptcies. And more are surely on the way. Over a decade ago Congress created a loan-guarantee program that allows the Department of Energy (DOE) to gamble taxpayers’ money to promote “clean” energy projects. The 2009 stimulus package created a new loan-guarantee program that expanded the pot of money available. Many of the companies taking advantage of the program also rake in a wide assortment of other state and federal tax...

Abengoa, a renewable energy multinational company headquartered in Spain, has been a favorite of the Obama administration in getting federal tax money for clean energy projects. Since 2009, Abengoa and its subsidiaries, according to estimates, have received $2.9 billion in grants and loan guarantees through the Department of Energy to undertake solar projects in California and Arizona—as well as the construction of a cellulosic ethanol plant in Kansas. But in the space of less than a year, Abengoa’s financial health has become critical, leading investors to worry whether the company can survive. The company’s stock price on NASDAQ has swooned—from...

Federal tax credits, loan and grant programs that expired at the end of last year have plugged the financial flow that made so-called “renewables” and electric vehicles viable, so they are now shedding employees and going bankrupt, illustrating that the “clean” industry owed its existence solely to government. Even with the government money, they are failing. Yesterday Indiana-based Ener1, an energy storage company thatreceived $118.5 million from DOE, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Despite plans to have 1,400 employees in Indiana by 2015, the company had downsized in the state from 380 to approximately 250 since March. Ener1’s stock...

As the U.S. government Venture Capitalist-in-Chief (and President) Barack Obama and his Department of Energy investment guru (and Energy Secretary) Steven Chu pour other peoples’ money into their favorite “clean” technology schemes, private backers appear to be following them off the cliff, “as publicly traded battery makers watched their stocks tank and their businesses stumble,” according to a Dow Jones report late last month. According to a Dow Jones-owned industry tracker called VentureSource, private investors put $372.7 million into 14 battery deals over the first three quarters of 2011. Whether they would have transferred so much cash into the...

Two “clean energy companies” which Barack Obama and Harry Reid have touted as creators of “green energy jobs” have joined Solyndra on the growing list of federal loan recipients facing financial turmoil and default. And a new poll indicates that voters don’t support the idea of agenda-driven federal loans to chosen corporations. Beacon Power Corp., a Massachusetts based energy storage company, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, just one year after the company received a $43 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. And The New York Times reports that Nevada Geothermal Power, another recipient of millions in DOE loan...

A Daily Caller investigation has found that in addition to the failed company Solyndra, at least four other solar panel manufacturing companies receiving in excess of $500 million in loan guarantees from the Obama administration employ executives or board members who have donated large sums of money to Democratic campaigns. And as questions swirl around possible connections between political donations and these preferential financing arrangements, the Obama White House suddenly began deflecting The Daily Caller’s questions on Wednesday to the Democratic National Committee. Asked Wednesday to comment on the connection between large Democratic donors and Obama administration loan guarantees to...

Obama Fundraiser Llnked To Loan Program That Aided Solyndra The revelation is likely to spur new inquiries about the solar company's political influence. Separately, California lawmakers seek investigation of a state tax break the firm received. By Matea Gold and Stuart Pfeifer September 17, 2011 The White House faced mounting political complications as a second top fundraiser for President Obama was linked to a federal loan guarantee program that backed a now-bankrupt Silicon Valley solar energy company, and as two California lawmakers called for investigations of a state tax break granted to the firm. Steve Spinner, who helped monitor the...

Link only - Questions Raised After DOE Hides Costs Of Energy Projects Each project is listed in detail on the DOE's website, but the costs were recently taken down.

In this May 26, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, with Solyndra Chief Executive Officer Chris Gronet, looks at a solar panel, during a tour of Solyndra, Inc., a solar panel manufacturing facility, in Fremont, Calif. Solyndra received a $535 million loan from the U.S. government has announced layoffs of 1,100 workers and plans to file for bankruptcy. (WaPo) Top Obama bundler George Kaiser made multiple visits to the White House in the months before the company was granted a $535 million loan from the government. iWatch News reported, via Free Republic: The i Watch News investigation confirmed that at...

President Obama faces political catastrophe in the form of Solyndra -- a San Francisco Bay area solar company that he touted as a gleaming example of green technology. It has announced it will declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy. More than 1,100 people will lose their jobs.

Solyndra, a major manufacturer of solar technology in Fremont, has shut its doors, according to employees at the campus. "I was told by a security guard to get my [stuff] and leave," one employee said. The company employs a little more than 1,000 employees worldwide, according to its website. Shortly after it opened a massive $700 million facility, it canceled plans for a public stock offering earlier this year and warned it would be in significant trouble if federal loan guarantees did not go through. Solyndra Worker Speaks The company has said it will make a statement at 9am California...

The Department of Energy announced Thursday that it has awarded First Solar, America's dominant solar manufacturer, nearly $4.5 billion in conditional loan guarantees to support the construction of three solar power plants in Southern California. With the latest awards, First Solar, headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., has nabbed a third of the $16 billion in loan guarantees the DOE has granted for solar generation to date. In January, First Solar was awarded a nearly $1 billion loan for its 290-megawatt Agua Caliente project in Arizona. First Solar expects the three projects, which should begin delivering electricity in 2014, to create 1,400...

In the airline industry's dark months after the September 2001 attacks, the federal government, banks, aircraft lenders and others came forward to help, giving the wounded companies plenty of leeway in the face of extraordinary circumstances. But three years later, the benevolence is gone. In a form of tough love that is quickly spreading, these same backers are putting the clamps on the still-troubled airlines, particularly those operating under bankruptcy protection. The backers are giving chief executives at United Airlines, US Airways and ATA Airlines their marching orders: enforce strict timetables, conserve cash, reduce spending and eliminate jobs - or...

Last Update: 27/10/2003 22:40 U.S. calls tenders for West Bank housing units 'provocation' By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and News Agencies The United States government has issued a harsh condemnation of Israel's decision to issue tenders for 153 housing units in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron, calling the move a "provocation." U.S. officials relayed the government's warning, adding that Washington was likely to get the impression that Israel is not fulfilling its commitment regarding the settlements, and said this could lead the U.S. to cut the loan guarantees to Israel by the amount of money Israel...

IASPS - News Behind the News May 21, 2003 New Economic Plan Not too long ago, in a dramatic televised address to the nation, the new Finance Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israel of his plans to revolutionize the economy: no more, he pledged, would the hard-working private sector be forced to carry on its back the largest public sector in the developed world. His reforms would cut many thousands from the government payrolls, many billions from the state budget, privatize everything in sight and change the very structure of the heretofore statist economy. And if need be this would be...

Feb. 20, 2003 PM Bureau chief: US not linking roadmap plan to aid request By JANINE ZACHARIA Senior Israeli officials met their US counterparts Thursday to continue discussions on Israel's request for a $12 billion aid package that would include $4 billion in direct assistance and $8 billion in loan guarantees. Prime Minister Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass, who led the delegation, said he expected "to conclude the information parameters of the negotiations." Asked whether the US administration tried to enforce a linkage of its demands of Israel according to President George W. Bush's 'roadmap' plan for Palestinian statehood with...