Updating Obama's Failed Green Energy Company Subsidy Program

Back on 6 March 2012, I discussed the topic Government Directed Green Energy Spending Hurts Economy.  I can add a few failed green energy companies funded with grants and loans and/or whose energy use was mandated by the Obama government to the list I provided then.  Some companies that had been reported to be bankrupt had not actually gone bankrupt, so I have made some corrections on that issue.  I have added some further information about government loans, grants, tax credits, and subsidies.  It has been noted that the owners of these companies are most commonly major campaign contributors to Obama and that the practice of company executives receiving bonuses or pay increases shortly before the companies go bankrupt is distressingly common.  Examples of the bonus/pay increases include Solyndra Solar, Beacon Power, A123 Systems, and Ener1.

In numerous cases, government funding has disappeared in a whirlpool of company bankruptcies and very poor investment results.  Among the problem companies are:

Solar:

• Solyndra Solar, $535 million DOE loan, bankrupt
• Evergreen Solar, $5.3 million loan, bankrupt
• Spectra Watt, bankrupt
• Energy Conversion Devices and United Solar Ovonic or UniSolar, bankrupt
• Amonix, laid off employees, losing money, stock held by Warren Buffet
• SunPower, stock price has fallen greatly
• Abound Solar, laid off nearly half of employees, Fitch rated highly speculative investment, DOE loaned it $400 million
• NRG Energy, solar, wind, electric vehicle, stock price less than half of 2008 price, $1.2 billion DOE loan.
• First Solar, stock price less than 10% of 2008 high, fallen badly since early 2011, DOE loans of $5.35 billion, cutting 2,000 workers, closing plant near Berlin, Germany, lost $39.5 million in 2011, Germany and Italy cut subsidies for major on-grid utility scale solar installations.
• Bright Source, withdrew IPO

Battery and Electric Vehicle:

• Mountain Plaza Inc., truck stop electrification, bankrupt, $10 million loan from state of Wisconsin under Recovery Act
• A123 Systems, batteries, $300 million from Recovery Act, $135 million from state of CA, verge of bankruptcy
• EnerDel and Ener1, Lithium ion batteries, $118.5 million of DOE grant, bankrupt
• Beacon Power, energy storage, $43 million DOE loan, bankrupt
• Fisker Automotive, electric vehicles, made only 40 cars two years late in Finland, only 40 mile range, $7500 tax credit with vehicle purchase
• Tesla Motors, electric vehicles, DOE loans of $465 million, $7500 tax credit with car purchase
• GM Chevy Volt, suspended production, layoffs, failure to meet production goals, $7500 tax credit with purchase
• Bright Automotive, hybrid fleet trucks, bankrupt, claimed DOE told them they were close to winning $450 million loan for 3 years, counted on Obama pledge to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015

Geothermal

• Nevada Geothermal Power, Harry Reid favorite, $98.5 million DOE loan, $66 million in grants, struggling, auditor says “significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Storage of Corn for Ethanol:

• Olsen's Crop Service and Olsen's Mills Acquisition Co. (bankrupt, $10 million loan)

In consequence of Obama's efforts to bankrupt coal-fired electric power plants and perhaps due to the falling price of natural gas, AES Eastern Energy LP filed for bankruptcy.  AES Eastern Energy owned six coal-fired power plants in New York.