Unconventional energy is certainly an interesting concept, it's just not ready for the market yet. And the repeated failures of companies that have been given cash by Uncle Sam are continuing to pile up. And, it turns out, that the Solyndra debacle is continuing to get even more embarrassing:
Item: Turns out the Treasury Department was given just one day to review the $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra before the Energy Department was going to go public with the splashy announcement. Contrasts rather sharply with the months/years of review necessary for the Keystone pipeline, which doesn’t require taxpayer dollars in any case.
Item: A123 Systems, a battery maker to whom the Obamanauts shoveled $279 million taxpayer dollars, has filed for bankruptcy, after losing $257 million last year, and after having delivered defective batteries to the Fisker Auto company, concerning which, Fisker isn’t looking too hot these days either.
Item: One of Germany’s largest solar manufacturers, Q-Cells, has filed for bankruptcy—the fourth major bankruptcy in the German solar sector. As my pal Ken Green comments: “It seems that the whole ‘subsidize green tech and capture the markets of tomorrow’ thing isn’t working out so well with the early adopters.”
Item: The German insolvency is spilling over to the US: “Solar Trust of America LLC, which holds the development rights for the world’s largest solar power project, on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection after its majority owner began insolvency proceedings in Germany.”
