Another solar company crashes into the sun – Solar Trust of America
Less than one year ago, the Obama administration’s Department of Energy offered – at that time – the second largest loan guarantee evah for an energy project. Solar Trust of America – a joint venture of two German solar companies – filed for bankruptcy yesterday.
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.
The Oakland-based company has held rights for the 1,000-megawatt Blythe Solar Power Project in the Southern California desert, which last April won $2.1 billion of conditional loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy. It is unclear how the bankruptcy will affect that project.
That’s right, less than one year ago, the federal government said …
… it’s offering the largest loan guarantee commitment yet for solar to what is the world’s largest proposed solar farm for now. Blythe Solar Project is set to get a $2.1 billion loan guarantee to build half of the 1,000MW plant in California’s desert.
The guarantee, if finalized, will be used to build 500MW, from which 484MW will be delivered to Southern California Edison. The developer, Solar Trust of America, is designing the project to be made up of four, 250MW units, a company spokesman told med. But the power each needs to produce to fulfill the company’s contract with Edison is less than the full capacity.
The loan guarantee will cover not only half of the solar farm construction but also eight miles of transmission lines and other related power delivery infrastructure, said the U.S. Department of Energy. The $2.1 billion is the second largest loan guarantee offered by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Steve Gilbert at Sweetness & Light asks.
Is anyone keeping an official list? By our count, so far we have seen the following ‘green energy’ companies go under: Solyndra, Abound Solar, Energy Conversion Devices, Bright Source, LSP Energy, Evergreen Solar, Ener1, SunPower, Beacon Power, Ecotality, A123, Uni-Solar, Azure Dynamics. And now, Solar Trust.
Still, it beats wasting our time and money drilling for new oil.
11 Comments
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The important question is how much was bundled for the ’12 Campaign by the ‘names’ at Solar Trust?? Or are German nationals now ‘contributing?
I think you have something here. Wasn’t it candidate Obama who complained about foreign money in the Presidential campaign? I think I smell a little “Opocrisy’? here. Sorry, Dims I don’t have the naught sign on my computer, or is it the null sign?
The money wasted on these politically connected solar flimflam firms literally could have been burned in a high-efficiency furnace and produced more energy than the solar firms ever did.?
Stoked with the methane from political flatulence from Congress, of course!
HEY! Good point!
Hopefully, this waste of our tax money will forever prove that solar energy is not a cost efficient energy alternative, no matter how much the industry contributes to campaign funds.? Compressed natural gas and the Keystone Pipeline…….Let’s get it on!?
If we look deep enough we will probably find John Corzine, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd behind this.
Add solar start ups?to the list of? taxpayer subsidized/ bail out?debacles:??car companies and banks that were too large to fail,? the mortgage industry and next the student loans.???
And one wonders? –?? where is the money going ?
Even when these companies have some validity as soon as government money gets involved it’s doomed.
It is becoming accepted fact that we have CENTURIES-worth of oil right here in the U.S. Someday, solar, wind or something not even thought of yet will replace fossil fuels, but it has to be when the chicken-little government allows capitalism to do what it does best: identify a need and create a product to fill that need. This whole world runs on fossil fuels, but the Obummer administration will never admit that, and will continue to pursue pie in the sky at ridiculous costs.
? BTW, great post, Tim!
Funding doomed solar or electric car companies is an excellent way for the Democrats to extract campaign contributions for the DNC.
Follow the money . . .