(Photo credit: Mary MacFarlane) A Colorado-based free-market think tank located in Denver challenged the state’s paper of record when it launched a media blitz that included a billboard (seen above) accusing the media outlet of ignoring one of the state’s largest green energy failures this year. Jon Caldara, president of …
It is no secret that President Obama’s and green energy supporters’ (from both parties) foray into venture capitalism has not gone well. But the extent of its failure has been largely ignored by the press. Sure, single instances garner attention as they happen, but they ignore past failures in order …
Bankrupt solar module manufacturer Abound Solar, recipient of a Department of Energy loan guarantee of $400 million, and the subject of an official investigation in its home state of Colorado, now faces additional scrutiny in the form of a document probe from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The letter …
Bankrupt DOE Loan Recipient Abound Solar Under Investigation, Panels Suffered “Catastrophic Failure”
Abound Solar, a Department of Energy $400 million loan guarantee recipient that went bankrupt earlier this year, is under investigation by officials in Weld County, Colorado. The company, which received nearly $70 million in loan funding before payments were cut off by DOE in 2011, also received a $100,000 tax …
Abound Solar’s June bankruptcy could leave the residents of Weld County, CO, on the hook if court proceedings do not deliver the projected business personal property tax receipts anticipated before the company’s demise. The Greeley Tribune reports: Abound owes more than $950,000 in property taxes this year and will owe …
One of Abound Solar’s venture capital investors blamed election-year political games for the collapse of the Colorado-based thin film solar panel manufacturer, according to a new interview. John Hill, discussing the demise of a company and technology he invested in both financially and emotionally, acknowledged that the company’s troubles could …
Solar-cell manufacturer Solyndra became a household name when it collapsed, taking $627 million in American taxpayer dollars with it. It’s the poster company for the government picking winners and losers—or really, just losers—in the energy market. But there are 12 more “green energy” losers that have declared bankruptcy despite attempts …
Proponents of taxpayer support for green energy are touting a new study claiming that tax credits for solar companies will pay for themselves over the long run. The problem: the study, conducted by the U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance, assumes that solar companies that enjoy the tax breaks in …
Chinese government subsidies—as much as $35 billion—were responsible for the downfall of Abound Solar, not a flawed federal government loan-approval process, according to testimony delivered before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. Executives from the bankrupt solar panel manufacturer pointed to predatory pricing by Chinese solar companies underwritten …
At a Friday visit to the Golden, Colorado, campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar characterized the bankruptcies and delays that have plagued the solar manufacturing sector as “just minor (and expected) blips for the industry.” Salazar told Denver’s alt-weekly Westword, “Any time you’re dealing with an …