Amonix: Another Obama-Subsidized Solar Company Fails

Another "jolt" for solar energy Obama style !

I wonder how they stole the money This time ?

Breitbart -- July 18, 2012

Here we go again.

Yet another example of the Obama White House's failed attempt to pick winners and losers and doing so by gambling with our our tax dollars, this time to the tune of $6 million in tax credits and $15.6 in grant money from the U.S. Department of Energy.

This company, Amonix, is only 14 months old.

How in the world did it qualify for that kind of tax dollar windfall without any kind of track record?

Answer: Donkey politics and corruption as usual.

Oh:

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Gov. Brian Sandoval were among the political leaders who lauded the company when it announced it would start making solar cells in the Golden Triangle Industrial Park.

And naturally, Obama has his fingerprints all over it:

The Amonix solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, heavily financed under an Obama administration energy initiative, has closed its 214,000-square-foot facility 14 months after it opened.

Officials at Amonix headquarters in Seal Beach, Calif., have not responded to repeated calls for comment this week. The company today began selling equipment, from automated tooling systems to robotic welding cells.

A designer and manufacturer of concentrated photovoltaic solar power systems, Amonix received $6 million in federal tax credits and a $15.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build the plant in North Las Vegas.

And here is the likely reason why Obama had to rush in where venture capitalists feared to tread:

"I don't think they had a lot of training," Kenerly said. "There were a lot of quality issues. A lot of stuff was coming back because it had some functionality issues."

Amonix: Another Obama-Subsidized Solar Company Fails


Oh well...what's another 20 mil

Horrah for "spray and pray" crony capitalism I am sure after spending 100 billion dollars they are sure to hit something, and never fear they can always nickle and dime the rich to pay for the tax dollars the current adminstraion has blown.

After all money grows on trees and those successful people did get their on their own etc.

Sorry to rain on your parade with facts, but here it is:

I don't really mind, considering we subsidize oil companies to the tune of billions yearly.

We need to keep funding alternative energy sources in this country. If one company doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world. If we can't get off of our oil dependence, it very well may be the end of the world as we know it.


Edit: Pirhanna beat me to it.

reply to post by drwizardphd


They see it as just another way to crucify Obama.. They dont want to talk about Oil, many are big supporters of it.

reply to post by pirhanna


Facts like how the US federal government gets paid every single day for every gallon of gas sold, and then more facts like how those evil oil corporations pay for leases and cleanup and everything else.

Consdiering there are over 380 million gallons of gas sold every day 365 days a year 7 days a week

380 multipled by .24 cents a gallon 91,200,000 per day multiplied by 365 which equals 33+billion per year right off the top then multiply that by that "5 years" equals over 150 billion dollars.

Really do love pictures that are claimed to be fact which is nothing but the church of climatology's dogma.

seems like the company has been around for some time not the 14 months the article says.

The venture firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and other investors are making a big bet on Amonix, a company in southern California that has spent 20 years developing concentrating photovoltaic power systems that resemble gigantic solar panels.

green.blogs.nytimes.com...

I also have to wonder what the death of the company's CEO had on this decision.

Last month, Amonix CEO Brian Robertson was killed in a plane crash in Pennsylvania. An Amonix spokeswoman said the layoffs were in process before he died.

and from the same source it seems amonix was working together with another company in Las Vegas.

Flextronics Industrial, the Singapore manufacturing service provider that partnered with Amonix to staff the new $18 million, 214,000-square-foot plant, laid off about 200 of its 300-plus employees Tuesday.

www.lasvegassun.com...

reply to post by pirhanna


We can talk about solar vs oil until we are green in the face.

The fact that many "policies" like Germany's are working has absolutely nothing to do with the theft and corruption that clearly exists in "our" policies.

There are quite a few solar projects here in the U.S. that are in fact very successful.

But it sure looks obvious that Obama's are motivated by campaign tactics.

Politicians use grants and whatnot to get money back into their campaign accounts, and to make people rich off taxpayer money.

It's the Corruption, not the energy concept.

They always use emotionally sensitive issues to suck in the money.

As we can see, a lot of people fall for this game.

Some say it's not the govt's role to pick and choose winners or losers in private enterprise, and a minority few paid shill economists will claim as much, even qouting ancient history to support such theories.

Thing is, one must take into CONTEXT of success stories of historical evidences, and not just simply it worked at that time, meaning it will work now.

1. The world was far simplier back then, unconnected as today, nor money flowing in light speeds. It was a time of tyrannies, cronyism, and enslavement of the uneducated masses, authoritatively told on what to do and not to do, so that a few of the priviledged classes can live in splendour, such as ancient Greece, 15th century Venice, 18th centuryPrussia, France Sun king Louis, etc, etc.

The good prophet Muhammad had 4 wives. Today, many muslim claimed that right, but the CONTEXT of it was that women faced discrimination during those days, and widows had no one to fend for them and their kids. Worse still, wars raging wars then left many women destituted and unprotected.

He kindly took them and look after them so that NONE be left behind. It was the era then, but most certanily not today. Is it applicable still? Only society has that moral right to decide as one over that issue for today's progress and evolution.

Many disapprove of our Messiah having a prostitute in his entourage as follower. But he never minded nor care about their comments, yet allowed her near him, and to washed his feet, for he knew it was not the protitute's fault that resulted her profession, but only the apathy and disconcern by SOCIETY then for women during his era.

There is more to history than one can simply use it as evidence of something right or wrong. May true and honest economists be aware rather than to be the elite's mouthpiece. Enough of using academic credentials to fool the masses yet again.


2. The reason why govts have to pick and choose winners or loosers right now is simply because money HAD hidden under personal vaults and under the beds. There are no longer anymore investors in sight, for each selfish one had deemed it not safe to invest under current financial crisis.

But lives still goes on around the world. Resources had not dried up, nor mankind had given up on its needs. Even oil, the most precious commodity had to cut back production in order to maintain and monopolise their profits as the capitalist factories stopped or slow down manufacturing.

Thus, in such such conditions and current situation, the ones with access to money are govts through current or future taxpayers funds to keep enterprises going on.

Govts that do this have no special gifts in biz enterprise foretelling, but only taking on a gamble akin to honest casino house style - place bets against a few, and in the LONG run, one or two good ones will turn up as winners and the house gains it all.

Solar or clean energy had been one of the losers, simply because the China CCP govt had robbed such tech from foolish companies operating in their slave labour country, heavily subsidizing and by cutting corners, sold it cheaply worldwide.

They make more money by fooling others with their inferior products - the poor are glad to get it cheaply, unaware that it will break down within months if not days,resulting in buying more again of such products, and the rich are only rich because they are penny pinching over products that they do not wear or use on person.

Such are are ways the CCP govt, unaccountable to anyone, got its money, through corrruption and cheating others. In another age, such manufacturers would have been shunned, if not hanged on a tree in village square of a community, for producing shoddy goods, but yet, they are treated as economic super-power today. They are a super-power indeed - super in corruption and cheating humanity.

Ultimately, the elites and their boot-lickers cannot have it both ways. Either they come out with funds now to pick their own winners and quit bashing, or the People have to. Elites or People, we share the nation, none can do without the other. There is enough wealth to be shared by all.

The more alternate fuels there are allowed, the more competition, the more gas prices will go down.

That's the real reason why gas prices are so high is because there is no real competition and they pretty much have the monopoly.

reply to post by xuenchen


So losing $6 million in taxes from some small business PV factory is bad but losing billions in taxes to banks, oil companies, natural gas and coal companies is acceptable?

reply to post by xuenchen


I work for a solar company in Arizona that does not have anything to do with Obama. Business is booming, so much so that I earned myself over a thousand dollars in bonuses just this week.

The people who purchase our solar products are the ones that reap the benefit of government incentives and credits.

It's a shame that the company's who are associated with Obama are giving others in the industry a bad name. Poor management should not be a judgement for all solar companies.

The products do work, and save people a lot of money.

All utility companies hate us!

Originally posted by links234
reply to post by xuenchen

 

So losing $6 million in taxes from some small business PV factory is bad but losing billions in taxes to banks, oil companies, natural gas and coal companies is acceptable?

Again,

It's about the corruption in these specific "green energy" examples.

Your examples are just as unacceptable when corruption is present.

reply to post by xuenchen


The corruption is present though! Did we already forget about the Gulf Oil Spill? How the corrupt MMS was both underfunded by the government and paid off by the corporations it was meant to oversee?

The difference between the two is that Big Oil corruption is systemic and we've allowed ourselves to grow use to it. The Green corruption you attempt to point out is new and associated with someone you dislike, somehow making it more worthy of discussion and debate.

I have yet to see any actual corruption from any of these green energy companies. They get a few tax breaks and you call that corruption. But anyone else getting a tax break is ok?

As soon as Solar Energy become responsible for wars in the middle east, mass pollution and ecological disasters, then I'll get on the hate-Solar bandwagon. Until then....

Pushing solar production now is epic fail... it is not an efficient mechanism and requires large swaths of land to even glean a fraction of the power that another form of production would generate all the time unaffected by clouds, night, and and last but not least- storage of energy during that night. Also the panels degrade over time...

the reason china is kicking our butts in the green economy is they subsidize the industry

which is against international treaties

so we try to fight back, and help. A few greedy scumbags then work the system

how is this a knock on obama ?

retarded