Bankrupt solar panel firm took stimulus money, left a toxic mess, says report

A Colorado-based solar company that got hundreds of millions of dollars in federal loan guarantees before going belly-up didn't just empty taxpayers' wallets - it left behind a toxic mess of carcinogens, broken glass and contaminated water, according to a new report.

The Abound Solar plant, which got $400 million in federal loan guarantees in 2010, when the Obama administration sought to use stimulus funds to promote green energy, filed for bankruptcy two years later. Now its Longmont, Colo., facility sits unoccupied, its 37,000 square feet littered with hazardous waste, broken glass and contaminated water. The Northern Colorado Business Report estimates it will cost up to $3.7 million to clean and repair the building so it can again be leased.

SOURCE


Oh at the irony of it all.

The 'Green Energy Project' was created to help keep Mother Earth cleaner.
However, the building that the so-called 'Green Plant Project' was used for, has now been deemed toxic as it can no longer be used due to hazardous cancer-causing agent that is used to produce the film on the solar panels and remains empty. Not to mention broken glass and contaminated water.

And to top it off, not only did the company go bankrupt and cost taxpayers millions, but now it will cost nearly $4 million to clean and repair the building so it can be used again.

"While solar energy is touted as clean, The Associated Press reported that many panel makers are grappling with a hazardous waste problem. Fueled partly by billions in government incentives, the industry is creating millions of solar panels each year and, in the process, millions of pounds of toxic sludge and contaminated water."





[ETA: Wasn't sure which forum to place this in......MODS please move if needed]

wats the point?
buizniss as usual...winners and loosers

Alaska oil spill
gulf oilspill
fukushima
ect...ect....

Another thought that maybe some one with knowledge can address

If it has cancer-causing agents with the panels lying around in an empty building, what's to stop the same panels from emitting toxins in a house?
Or is it just only the manufacturing part of it in the company building alone?
And are the workers there at risk too?

Just curious