GREEN IS IN THE RED

And we taxpayers are stuck for $535 million of Obama’s ‘brighter and more prosperous future.’

SOLYNDRA FOLLOWS EVERGREEN SOLAR, FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY; STIMULUS QUESTIONED
By Andrew Dodson

mlive.com
September 2, 2011

Three major solar companies filed for bankruptcy in the month of August, and government stimulus for the emerging industry is being questioned.

Privately held California-based Solyndra LLC announced this week it would file for bankruptcy and lay off about 1,100 workers, Bloomberg reported. Evergreen Solar, which operated a plant in Midland, and Spectrawatt also filed for bankruptcy this month.

Evergreen filed for bankruptcy citing heavy competition from China and intense competition in the industry.

Evergreen was awarded $5.7 million in state and city tax incentives, but never hit certain employment or investment targets to realize it.

Bloomberg reported that solar panel prices have dropped about 42 percent this year, mostly due to Chinese competition.

According to a press release from Solyndra, "Global economic and solar industry market conditions have forced the company to suspend its manufacturing operations."

In May 2010, President Obama said "Companies like Solyndra are leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future." The company received a $535 million loan guarantee from the government in 2009. It was the first company selected under the President's clean-energy stimulus program.