Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-energy

[apdst]

Is this the green industry that we'er supposed to depend on for jobs?

Congress has now confirmed the waste in a letter from the House Energy and Commerce Committee to Energy Secretary Steven Chu:

Solyndra, Inc. was supposed to have showcased the effectiveness of the Obama administration’s stimulus and green jobs initiatives, but instead it has become the center of congressional attention for waste, fraud and abuse of such programs.

Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-energy turkey « Hot Air

 

[justabubba]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

wow
one company in an evolving industry

having been around during the infancy of the space program, you would have been one of those naysayers who insisted were were wasting our money each time a rocket launch failed
no vision
to go with no patience

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

wow
one company in an evolving industry

having been around during the infancy of the space program, you would have been one of those naysayers who insisted were were wasting our money each time a rocket launch failed
no vision
to go with no patience

The green industry is in it's infancy? And, we're supposed to depend on it to replace millions of jobs?

How about we let the industry grow up, before we kill jobs? Make sense?

 

[Aunt Spiker]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

Is this the green industry that we'er supposed to depend on for jobs?

:rofl

And Solyndra’s auditor declared that “the company has suffered recurring losses, negative cash flows since inception and has a net stockholders’ deficit that, among other factors, [that] raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a growing concern” in a March 2010 amendment to its SEC registration statement.

Oh - that smarts!

 

[Whovian]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

The Obama administration really ****ed that up, huh. Wonderful judgement as to where to spend 'our' money.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

So no need to ever try anything new. Sometimes you gotta spend money to make money and it doesn't always work.

But hey its ok, lets cut taxes, have "smaller Government" whatever the **** that means, stop gays from getting married, drill in Alaska and the gulf of Mexico, keep importing our oil from the Middle East, shop at mall of America, eat 40 big macs a week and wonder why nothings been done when we keep voting the same dumbasses into power over, and over, and over again.

/facepalm

 

[Boo Radley]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

So no need to ever try anything new. Sometimes you gotta spend money to make money and it doesn't always work.

But hey its ok, lets cut taxes, have "smaller Government" whatever the **** that means, stop gays from getting married, drill in Alaska and the gulf of Mexico, keep importing our oil from the Middle East, shop at mall of America, eat 40 big macs a week and wonder why nothings been done when we keep voting the same dumbasses into power over, and over, and over again.

/facepalm

No ****!!!! I need another cup of coffeepap :coffeepap

 

[whysoserious]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

I wish I could read the article without a giant ad coming across my screen. Aside from that, I am wondering how the company is doing since receiving the money. Anyone know? I did find this:

Solyndra Generated Over $100M in Revenue Last Year

According to the document Solyndra brought in revenues of $100.47 million for the fiscal year that ended on January 2, 2010, up from $6.01 million for the fiscal year that ended on January 2, 2009.

That is quite a nice jump in revenues but it says nothing of profit. Also, the company was trying to turn public according to that article (but they still haven't). Actually, the article goes on to say:

At the same time that Solyndra is boosting manufacturing capacity it also seems to be successfully shoring up its losses. The company’s latest 2010 financials show a loss of $172.50 million for fiscal year that ended January 2, 2010, compared to a loss of $232.07 million for the fiscal year that ended January 2, 2009. However, Solyndra still has an accumulated deficit of $557.7 million as of January 2, 2010.

So it appears that they still had a net loss, but they turned up manufacturing and revenues have jumped causing net loss to also fall. So it's not all bad news but it's not great news, that's for sure.

By all accounts, it appears that Solyndra is trying to go public (they wanted to last year and are pushing for it again this year). If they manage this, it could prove beneficial. However, as we all know, the market is not great right now for finding investors, and this seems to be hindering them from going public.

They appear to also be raising funds so that they can start producing commercially. Right now, things are not great for Solyndra, but I believe they are a start up company from 2007 - and we all know what happened to most companies that started in 2007 (what a bad time to start up a company lol). So if they can make it through this tumultuous time, they might have a shot!

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

So no need to ever try anything new. Sometimes you gotta spend money to make money and it doesn't always work.

But hey its ok, lets cut taxes, have "smaller Government" whatever the **** that means, stop gays from getting married, drill in Alaska and the gulf of Mexico, keep importing our oil from the Middle East, shop at mall of America, eat 40 big macs a week and wonder why nothings been done when we keep voting the same dumbasses into power over, and over, and over again.

/facepalm

You have to be smart about it. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on, "alternative energy", and no one has been able to make it work, or at least work at the level that we need it to work.

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

I wish I could read the article without a giant ad coming across my screen. Aside from that, I am wondering how the company is doing since receiving the money. Anyone know? I did find this:

Solyndra Generated Over $100M in Revenue Last Year


That is quite a nice jump in revenues but it says nothing of profit. Also, the company was trying to turn public according to that article (but they still haven't). Actually, the article goes on to say:



So it appears that they still had a net loss, but they turned up manufacturing and revenues have jumped causing net loss to also fall. So it's not all bad news but it's not great news, that's for sure.

By all accounts, it appears that Solyndra is trying to go public (they wanted to last year and are pushing for it again this year). If they manage this, it could prove beneficial. However, as we all know, the market is not great right now for finding investors, and this seems to be hindering them from going public.

They appear to also be raising funds so that they can start producing commercially. Right now, things are not great for Solyndra, but I believe they are a start up company from 2007 - and we all know what happened to most companies that started in 2007 (what a bad time to start up a company lol). So if they can make it through this tumultuous time, they might have a shot!

You link is a year old. :lamo

 

[Jetboogieman]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

You have to be smart about it. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on, "alternative energy", and no one has been able to make it work, or at least work at the level that we need it to work.

So? thats how it goes sometimes, even private companies waste money on R&D, it happens, but if you never even begin to develop these technologies you can never improve them and eventually make them sustainable.

Or as I said we can keep importing oil from the Middle East and just ignore the whole thing until its a giant ****ing disaster... which is what we always do cause we're humans.

Green Technology ain't perfect yet, but I'd rather have my government waste money on something that could be highly beneficial in the future, and could make the nation independant on foriegn energy sources, then spending billions on a cruise missile to fire at a camel...

I dunno, that's just me dogg.

 

[whysoserious]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

You have to be smart about it. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on, "alternative energy", and no one has been able to make it work, or at least work at the level that we need it to work.

The reason alternative energies have trouble getting off the ground is because they are trying to enter a market that has many barriers to entry (that's an economics term if you'd like to look it up). Energy markets require massive amounts of capital to enter into and it is also hard to raise demand and may be one of the hardest markets to enter. Unfortunately, we have the ability to get a ton of energy for cheap enough that we don't want to convert. However, as we all know, that will be changing in the near future.

So, we can do two things. We can try to adapt, beat the curve, and start changing our energy infrastructure over before it is required. Or, we can wait, and then try to do it all at once. Either way, it is going to be painful. However, I think what you have shown is that if we want to make a difference, we actually need to invest more. Otherwise, it would be better not to invest at all.

Economies of scale plays a large part in this issue since without having massive funding and the ability to mass produce, the product becomes too expensive and too scarce for the public to invest in.

 

[whysoserious]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

You link is a year old. :lamo

I am just trying to find more information about the company since the stimulus money was given. What's your point? Did you even read what I wrote?

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

So? thats how it goes sometimes, even private companies waste money on R&D, it happens, but if you never even begin to develop these technologies you can never improve them and eventually make them sustainable.

Or as I said we can keep importing oil from the Middle East and just ignore the whole thing until its a giant ****ing disaster... which is what we always do cause we're humans.

Green Technology ain't perfect yet, but I'd rather have my government waste money on something that could be highly beneficial in the future, and could make the nation independant on foriegn energy sources, then spending billions on a cruise missile to fire at a camel...

I dunno, that's just me dogg.

Not with my taxes...dawg!

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

The reason alternative energies have trouble getting off the ground is because they are trying to enter a market that has many barriers to entry (that's an economics term if you'd like to look it up). Energy markets require massive amounts of capital to enter into and it is also hard to raise demand and may be one of the hardest markets to enter. Unfortunately, we have the ability to get a ton of energy for cheap enough that we don't want to convert. However, as we all know, that will be changing in the near future.

So, we can do two things. We can try to adapt, beat the curve, and start changing our energy infrastructure over before it is required. Or, we can wait, and then try to do it all at once. Either way, it is going to be painful. However, I think what you have shown is that if we want to make a difference, we actually need to invest more. Otherwise, it would be better not to invest at all.

Economies of scale plays a large part in this issue since without having massive funding and the ability to mass produce, the product becomes too expensive and too scarce for the public to invest in.

No, the reason they're having trouble getting off the ground, is because they have a weak product (that's a marketing term if you'd like to look it up). If they had a strongeer product, then billions in private capital would come rolling in...just like oil in the early 20th Century.

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

I am just trying to find more information about the company since the stimulus money was given. What's your point? Did you even read what I wrote?

The point is, the company was given a half billion, revenued a hundred million and now it's going belly up. It's not clock surgery.

 

[whysoserious]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

Here are some more "up-to-date" sources for you:

Fremont's high-flying Solyndra hits a rough patch - San Jose Mercury News

One reason for its woes is that low-cost Chinese manufacturers are building massive factories that have rapidly driven down the price of solar panels and shifted more than 50 percent of production to China. But Solyndra's technology may also be a problem -- several analysts question whether it will ever capture more than a narrow niche of the market.

I found this to be interesting. I never knew it, but it appears that communist China may actually beat the U.S. to the punch on solar energy. This will be just one more thing that China out produces America on. Awesome.

Solyndra canceled its plans for an IPO in June, citing "adverse market conditions." Then in July, Chris Gronet, the company's founder, was replaced as CEO by Brian Harrison. Gronet remains at the company and chairs the board of directors.

Like I said, they would like to go public but the investors just aren't there. Going public would help take the need for government support off our shoulders, but it's not looking great for that.

However, one must wonder why First Solar was invested in instead:

Many low-cost Chinese manufacturers, which benefit from massive government support, are manufacturing at costs in the $1.10 to $1.20 a watt range. Thin-film leader First Solar, based in Tempe, Ariz., manufactures at 75 cents a watt and aims to be at 53 cents a watt by 2014. Solyndra says its current manufacturing costs are about $3 per watt..

Perhaps they were trying to create competition, but clearly Solyndra needs much more capital before it can reach those kinds of production values.

Again, it's not great news but it's not all bad news.

 

[whysoserious]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

No, the reason they're having trouble getting off the ground, is because they have a weak product (that's a marketing term if you'd like to look it up). If they had a strongeer product, then billions in private capital would come rolling in...just like oil in the early 20th Century.

You think energy is a weak product? :lamo

America will have to change its energy consumption at some point. Again, the question is how long do we wait? Do you have an answer?

Here is another good article on Solyndra:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/18/idUS328954443520110218

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

You think energy is a weak product? :lamo

Green energy is a weak product. If it weren't, private investors would be climbing all over each other to get a piece of the pie.

America will have to change its energy consumption at some point. Again, the question is how long do we wait? Do you have an answer?

When circumstances force us to make a change, not when the government thinks it's a good idea. Obviously, the latter is having a negative effect on the economy.

Necessity is the mother of invention, not the government.

 

[whysoserious]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

Green energy is a weak product. If it weren't, private investors would be climbing all over each other to get a piece of the pie.



When circumstances force us to make a change, not when the government thinks it's a good idea. Obviously, the latter is having a negative effect on the economy.

Necessity is the mother of invention, not the government.

The free market will change, but it will change only when it has to. So, yes, it will change when oil prices are so high that people are not willing to buy them. Then, there will be a market shift and people will be willing to buy other products. Unfortunately, the public will find that they can't buy these products because no infrastructure to produce them has been built. So there will be years of waiting as new plants, turbines, panels, etc are being produced - and the scarce availability of them will cause prices to skyrocket as well.

So if you want to wait for the free market to shift, that's fine, and it appears you aren't alone. However, if you wait too long, I think you might find that China and other countries will have beat us to the punch and then we'll be at their mercy.

*Edit:

As you said, necessity is the mother of invention. Using foresight, we can see necessity in our future. We can either use this foresight as an opportunity to be ahead of the curve and innovate, or we can wait until the last possible second to adapt. The choice is ours, of course, but as long as we aren't kidding ourselves about the necessity that awaits us then I think we are on the same page.

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

The free market will change, but it will change only when it has to. So, yes, it will change when oil prices are so high that people are not willing to buy them. Then, there will be a market shift and people will be willing to buy other products. Unfortunately, the public will find that they can't buy these products because no infrastructure to produce them has been built. So there will be years of waiting as new plants, turbines, panels, etc are being produced - and the scarce availability of them will cause prices to skyrocket as well.

So if you want to wait for the free market to shift, that's fine, and it appears you aren't alone. However, if you wait too long, I think you might find that China and other countries will have beat us to the punch and then we'll be at their mercy.

*Edit:

As you said, necessity is the mother of invention. Using foresight, we can see necessity in our future. We can either use this foresight as an opportunity to be ahead of the curve and innovate, or we can wait until the last possible second to adapt. The choice is ours, of course, but as long as we aren't kidding ourselves about the necessity that awaits us then I think we are on the same page.

And, the government needs to stay out of it. Let the market regulate itself.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

And, the government needs to stay out of it. Let the market regulate itself.

This argument is absolute insanity.

A combination of the two have to be used to tackle problems. The free market on its own cannot solve all, an energy crisis is looming for all of us, and eventually the government is the one everyone turns to in those times anyway because it is a great irony for many conservatives who say less government this, less government that, and then when there's a crisis like Katrina or the oil spill "GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT"!

As so when the coming energy crisis comes and prices go through the roof, who will be to blame? The government who allowed themselves to be bought off as well as the private sector for keeping everyone on the oil teet and dickheads claiming mandatory fuel efficiency standards is "SOCIALISM!"

So whether its oil companies bribing car companies to not go electric or make their cars more efficient to keep America on the oil teet or claiming clean coal is the way of the future :doh

We're all ****ed, and it's all our faults.

 

[apdst]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

This argument is absolute insanity.

A combination of the two have to be used to tackle problems. The free market on its own cannot solve all, an energy crisis is looming for all of us, and eventually the government is the one everyone turns to in those times anyway because it is a great irony for many conservatives who say less government this, less government that, and then when there's a crisis like Katrina or the oil spill "GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT"!

As so when the coming energy crisis comes and prices go through the roof, who will be to blame? The government who allowed themselves to be bought off as well as the private sector for keeping everyone on the oil teet and dickheads claiming mandatory fuel efficiency standards is "SOCIALISM!"

So whether its oil companies bribing car companies to not go electric or make their cars more efficient to keep America on the oil teet or claiming clean coal is the way of the future :doh

We're all ****ed, and it's all our faults.

I think that's where you're going wrong. You see a crisis that doesn't actually exist. You want people to believe that there is a crisis, so you can push your green energy agenda. Doing so is no worse than the global warming hoax.

The only crisis that exists now, is the government's over-reaching interference in the private sector.

 

[Jetboogieman]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

I think that's where you're going wrong. You see a crisis that doesn't actually exist. You want people to believe that there is a crisis, so you can push your green energy agenda. Doing so is no worse than the global warming hoax.

The only crisis that exists now, is the government's over-reaching interference in the private sector.

So you're saying that we aren't going to eventually face an energy crisis?

I'm not doing this to fit any kind of Agenda or tax you more or take over your life apdst, I'm worried about this because it's a genuine threat to all of us.

 

[whysoserious]

Re: Confirmed: Obama administration sunk $535 million in Porkulus funds in green-ener

I think that's where you're going wrong. You see a crisis that doesn't actually exist. You want people to believe that there is a crisis, so you can push your green energy agenda. Doing so is no worse than the global warming hoax.

The only crisis that exists now, is the government's over-reaching interference in the private sector.

You don't think peak oil is a crisis? If we don't have other options for energy when oil begins to become scarce, what do we do then? How will your trucking business work?