The Phony Solyndra Solar Scandal

[SecularMotion]

Well here's a surprise: conservatives and oil interests are pushing deceptive and destructive stories about President Obama and clean energy. Imagine that! Their intent (as always) is to turn people against President Obama, clean energy, national energy policy, stimulus to help the economy, and government in general. It's what they do. Here is some information to help you push back on the latest whipped-up, anti-green, anti-government, anti-Obama "scandal."

Solyndra was a startup solar-power equipment manufacturer based in Fremont, California that went bankrupt at the end of August. The company's solar collectors used a special tubular internal design that let it collect light from all directions, and were made with a copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) thin film that avoided using then-expensive silicon. It was one of several companies that received assistance from the government, in an attempt to push back on China's strategic targeting of green-energy manufacturing.

The company, partly backed by the conservative Walton family had received a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. The loan, which was originally pushed by the Bush administration, was 1.3% of the DOE portfolio.

The economy tanked and cut demand, and at the same time Solyndra could not compete with subsidized companies located in China as they rapidly scaled up. So Solyndra ran out of money. Conservatives and oil interests are using the bankruptcy as a platform to attack green energy and the idea of green jobs in general, solar power in particular, President Obama as always, stimulus funding and the idea of developing a national strategic industrial policy to push back on China and others who have their own national policies to win this key industry of the future.

http://www.truth-out.org/phony-solyndra-solar-scandal/1316098873

[hunter]

1. Spreading poisons...

... it's what the right wing does.

Poison the land, poison the water, poison the air, poison the people, poison the public discourse...

[FarCenter]

2. Scandal or not, the last half-trillion dollar subordinated loan was terrifically stupid

By that time, it was clear that Solyndra had a failed product and a failed manufacturing plan.

The least that the government should have done is lent the half trillion as super-senior debt with first call on assets in case of bankruptcy.

[Historic NY]

5. You mean million.

[FarCenter]

6. Sorry, should have said "half billion" -- it was $535 million.

[underpants]

3. a. we under subsidized it b. since when do we have access to White House emails?

The news clearly skips over the part of the story when they should remind us that 10's of thousands of Bush era White House emails were declared "None of your damned business".

That being said it looks like the OMB was pushed to approve the loans without due diligence being completed.

[Coyote_Bandit]

4. Solyandra got several hundred million stimulus dollars

and created about a thousand jobs that lasted less than a year.

I believe it is one of 3 alternative energy firms that got substantial stimulus money and has since filed for bankruptcy. The other companies are Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt.

Smebody failed to do their due diligence and determine whether or not these companies had a chance of suceeding in this economy given the foreign competition they face.

Me thinks the economic geniuses in the White House are pretty damn stupid.

[Zax2me]

7. What a spin. This is a colossal scandal and waste of half billion.

Backed partly by Walton family?
There were so many donors to Obama at the top of this company it is tipping over into the White House yard.
Furthermore, once the White House found out it was crumbling, they lied, said it was doing fine, all the while restructuring the deal so private investors - many Obama supporters - get to bankruptcy funds before the taxpayers - that's you and I - do.
Fuck our half billion.
I personally don't think Obama knew anything about this but those around him had to.

[gulliver]

11. I think the OP has it right.

Government backed loans are supposed to encourage investing by reducing investment risk. Solyndra probably could not have gotten the loans and investment it did without government backing. The investors being paid back first makes perfect sense. That was the deal they made.

It also makes perfect sense that investors in a solar energy company would also be big Obama backers.

The "scandal" is just another Republican deception.

For comparison and perspective, consider the Republican company Enron and the Iraq War. If you put them on the scandal radar so that they fill the entire screen, Solyndra would be too small to merit a pixel.

[Bigmack]

8. And the bailouts...? And the $16 Trillion in loans to the banks.... ... nt

[SecularMotion]

9. Kick

:kick:

[Zax2me]

10. Obama admin reworked Solyndra loan to favor donor

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gND7FZUj8f4AdPFLEBfrJ8d8wbMw?docId=cc50c693e45a449eb8b005d88ccc44a9