Taxpayers Lose Another $118.5 Million As Next Obama Stimulus Pet Project Files For Bankruptcy
Remember that one keyword that oddly enough never made it's way into the president's largely recycled SOTU address - "Solyndra"? It is about to make a double or nothing repeat appearance, now that Ener1, another company that was backed by Obama, this time a electric car battery-maker, has filed for bankruptcy. Net result: taxpayers lose $118.5 million. The irony is that while Solyndra may have been missing from the SOTU, Ener1 made an indirect appearance: "In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries." Uh, no. Actually, the correct phrasing is: "...positioned America to be the world's leading manufacturer of insolvent, bloated subsidized entities that are proof central planning at any level does not work but we can keep doing the same idiocy over and over hoping the final result will actually be different eventually." We can't wait to find out just which of Obama's handlers was may have been responsible for this latest gross capital misallocation. In the meantime, the 1,700 jobs "created" with the fake creation of Ener1, have just been lost. Yet nothing, nothing, compares to the irony from the statement issued by the CEO when the company proudly received taxpayer funding on its merry way to insolvency: ""These government incentives will provide a powerful stimulus to a vital industry and help ensure that the batteries eventually powering millions of cars around the world carry the stamp 'Made in the USA'." Brilliant - and no, they are laughing with us, not at us.
From The Hill:
An Indiana-based energy-storage company that received a $118.5 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department filed for bankruptcy Thursday.
Ener1 is asking a federal bankruptcy court in New York to approve a plan to restructure the company’s debt and infuse $81 million in equity funding.
“This was a difficult, but necessary, decision for our company,” Ener1 CEO Alex Sorokin said in a news release. “We are extremely pleased to have the strong support of our primary investors and lenders to substantially reduce the company’s debt.”
The Energy Department in 2009 approved a $118.5 million stimulus grant for EnerDel, a subsidiary of the company that develops lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. The grant was part of a broader program aimed at promoting the development of electric-vehicle battery technology.
At the time, EnerDel said the grant would help the company double its production capacity and create 1,700 jobs. But the company has faced major financial problems in recent months.
Ener1’s decision to file for bankruptcy will likely draw the attention of House Republicans, who are investigating the bankruptcy of Solyndra, the solar panel maker that received a $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee in 2009.
We are extremely confident that the company's primary investors and lenders are also delighted to have just wiped out $120 million in costless equity value and to have complete control over the company at this point.
And some hilarious selections from the company's then proud announcement of procuring US taxpayer funding that as of today is no more:
The White House today announced that Indiana-based automotive lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel, Inc., will receive $118.5 million in federal grant funding under the stimulus package passed last spring. The funds will help double the company's U.S. production capacity, creating approximately 1,700 new jobs in the state. Word came in separate speeches by President Obama in Elkhart, Indiana, and Vice President Joe Biden in Detroit, Michigan.
EnerDel, the lithium-ion battery subsidiary of Ener1, Inc. (Nasdaq: HEV - News), is one of nine companies selected to receive funds for cell, battery and materials manufacturing grants in a broadly subscribed solicitation managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). EnerDel received the full amount it requested. In all, 48 companies in the electric and hybrid vehicle sector received a total of $2.4 billion in awards today.
"This is about planting the roots of a critical industry firmly in American soil," said Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer. "The economic benefits associated with this government investment will stretch far beyond the battery industry. Carmakers in North America, foreign and domestic, are counting on advanced battery systems to power an entire new generation of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles."
The grants will work together with the applied for long-term, low-interest loans under DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program (ATVM), in unleashing private capital flows to companies in this sector. EnerDel is in advanced stages of discussions with DOE regarding its ATVM application.
"These government incentives will provide a powerful stimulus to a vital industry and help ensure that the batteries eventually powering millions of cars around the world carry the stamp 'Made in the USA,' Gassenheimer said. [ZH: too fucking rich]
EnerDel is the first and so far only company in the industry to have built facilities in the United States to produce automotive lithium-ion batteries on a commercial scale, and recently unveiled one of the most advanced battery cell production lines in the world at its plant in Indiana. The company also recently announced partnership projects with Volvo and Nissan, as well as with plug-in and electric vehicle makers Fisker and Think Global.
"We are in a race today that will decide who will make the technology to power future generations of fuel-efficient vehicles around the world," said EnerDel CEO Ulrik Grape. "Korea, Japan and China are doing everything they can to win it, but with these new resources, the Obama administration is helping America's best, most innovative players move ahead of the pack."
"Economic growth is not a Democratic or Republican issue. This effort has been a model of bi-partisan cooperation by Senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, and by Governor Mitch Daniels," Grape said. "Their support has been tremendously important."
The funds will help EnerDel in mass producing a high-quality automotive product with a wide range of engineering capabilities for multiple automotive requirements, including high-speed, automated production lines for cell electrode manufacturing, and lean-manufacturing techniques for battery assembly.
Good work US taxpayer - through your selfless loss of money you have managed to splatter yet another egg of infinite humiliation on the face of the world's most incompetent central planning administration, which would make even Stalin green with envy.
And, heeeeeere's Joe Biden. One wonders if his favorite advisors Jon Corzine was responsible for this brilliant investment idea.
At least the propaganda video has dramatic music. How much did that cost taxpayers?
And here is the now former Board of Directors. To our huge surprise the company is headed by former GM execs, with the non-exec chairman having worked at not one but two bankrupt companies including Remy. Well, make that 3.
Thomas J. Snyder
Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
With an in-depth background in both the automotive industry and the energy sector, Thomas J. Snyder brings a wealth of pertinent experience to the board of Ener1, chairing the Nominating and Corporate Governance committee. He currently serves as the President of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, a leading midwestern educational institution with an enrollment of more than 100,000 students. Prior to that, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Remy International in Anderson, Indiana, and most recently as the Chairman of the Flagship Energy Systems Center (FESC) in Anderson. FESC is Indiana's first energy-focused center of excellence working on leading technologies, including hybrid systems, lithium-ion batteries, solid oxide fuel cells and alternative fuels.
Following a distinguished career at General Motors, Mr. Snyder spent 11 years with Delco Remy International, where he established a new business model and diversified the company from a captive General Motors supplier to a global leader in truck, off road and aftermarket products, increasing the company sales from $500 million to over $1.2 billion and worldwide employment from 1,500 to 6,000. While at Delco Remy, Mr. Snyder also led their management buyout from General Motors in 1994.
Mr. Snyder graduated from Kettering University, formerly General Motors Institute, in 1967, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and also holds an MBA from Indiana University. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Executive Council of the Saint Theodore Guerin High School in Noblesville, a Board member of the Paramount Theatre restoration in Anderson, Indiana and a past member of the prestigious World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Kenneth R. Baker
Director
Kenneth R. Baker is a long-time automotive industry executive with a focus on the development of alternative energy. Mr. Baker has most recently served as President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Trustees of the Altarum Institute, a leading nonprofit research organization recognized for advanced informatics/decision support applied to the areas of national defense, healthcare, homeland security and the environment. Previously, he served as the Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Energy Conversion Devices.
Mr. Baker also served as an executive at General Motors for more than 30 years until his retirement in 1999, after which his achievements included serving as Vice President of Global Research and Development and as Program Manager of GM Electric Vehicles. He was also the first Chairman of the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, the public/private partnership that has partially funded EnerDel's lithium-ion battery development.
In addition to his membership on Ener1’s Board and Chair of the Compensation committee, he currently serves in the following capacities: member of the Board of Directors and the audit and compensation committees of Millennium Cell, Inc.; member of the Board of Directors and the audit committee of AeroVironment, Inc.; serves on the Board of Directors of the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing; serves on the Board of Governors of Cranbrook Science Institute; and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Automotive Research. Mr. Baker graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University.
Elliot Fuhr
Director
As a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Inc., Elliot Fuhr specializes in assisting senior management and boards of directors in the areas of performance improvement, financial and operational restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, business planning and rapid implementation projects. His broad industry experience includes engagements with automotive, apparel, retail, technology, manufacturing, services, chemical, and oil and gas companies. Elliot has led or is leading several FTI firm-wide initiatives, including Business Quality, Learning and Education, Business Performance Improvement and Key Client programs. He has more than 24 years of experience in consulting and restructuring businesses and was previously a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC in the Business Recovery Services division. In addition, he has held several chemical engineering positions at Exxon.
Wilber James
Director
As an energy entrepreneur for more than three decades, Mr. James pioneered the unregulated marketing and trading of crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity as chairman and CEO of Citizens Corporation. Building on that success, he expanded into oil exploration and energy conservation. He created Citizens Lehman Power, a joint venture between Lehman Brothers and Citizens that was the nation’s first electricity trading and asset acquisition/restructuring company and successfully sold it to The Energy Group Plc.
Prior to co-founding RockPort Capital Partners in 2000, where he currently serves as the managing general partner, Mr. James was non-executive chairman of Citizens Power and a member of the executive committee of Peabody Energy, and was instrumental in the LBO of Peabody and Citizens from The Energy Group in 1998. Mr. James currently serves on the board of directors of Peabody Energy Corporation and MicroSeismic, Inc.
He is co-founder and member of the advisory board of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-founder and member of the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative. Mr. James is an alumnus and member of the advisory board of the National Peace Corps Association (Kenya) and also serves as director and former acting chairman of the African Wildlife Foundation, trustee of the Cape Ann Museum, and governor of the Colby College Museum. Mr. James is a graduate of Colorado College with a bachelor’s degree in history.
Greg Kasagawa
Director
With nearly 30 years of experience in the fields of aerospace, defense, information technology, electronics and Asian business management, Mr. Kasagawa has extensive experience in the area of new product development and marketing strategies for emerging markets.
Mr. Kasagawa currently serves as chief operating officer of the aerospace and industrial systems division of ITOCHU Corporation. He leads a 1,000-person business unit that provides aerospace and defense solutions to the Japanese government and industrial customers, as well as machinery and equipment to industrial customers around the world.
Since joining ITOCHU Corporation in 1981, Mr. Kasagawa has held various management positions primarily in the aerospace and defense segment, including 10 years of assignments in the United States. During his tenure at ITOCHU, he has served three years in his current role and four years as general manager of the aerospace department.
Mr. Kasagawa graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in engineering with an emphasis in naval architecture and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Cornell University. He has served on the board of directors of Ishikawa Seisakusho, Ltd., a Japanese machinery and defense equipment manufacturer. He has also been a member of the advisory committee of Satellite Positioning and Application Center of Japan since 2007.
Nora Brownell
Director
Nora Brownell was the founding partner of ESPY Energy Solutions, LLC, a woman-owned independent energy consulting company, which provides strategic planning, marketing, business, regulatory and technical expertise to energy utilities, energy equipment manufacturing and supplying companies and financial institutions evaluating investments in the energy sector. Prior to founding ESPY in 2009,
Ms. Brownell spent three years as the sole proprietor of BC Consulting, an energy consulting company.
Ms. Brownell served for five years as a commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. As commissioner, she was an advocate for the development of regional transmission organizations, markets for wholesale power and national energy infrastructure development. Prior to her appointment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Ms. Brownell served one year as president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and five years as commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. From 1992 through 1996, she served as the senior vice president for Meridian Bancorp, Inc.’s corporate affairs unit.
Ms. Brownell is a visiting scholar at Vermont Law School and a guest lecturer at the University of Idaho. She has also previously lectured at New York University Law School. She is a member of the board of directors of Oncor, Inc., Comverge, Inc., and Spectra Energy Partners. Ms. Brownell also serves as an emeritus member of the GridWise Architecture Council and serves on the advisory board of Starwood Energy Fund. Ms. Brownell attended Syracuse University.
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Larry Summers Memo (recently uncovered - fact, not fiction), which, among other things, unveils Obama's agenda to ply 'green industry' with as much low interest loans as possible:
The Summers Memo
I am submitting my request for a grant for my Unicorn Farm Clean Energy Project, whereby unicorns are bred and fed pixie dust, resulting in incredibly high levels of methane gas, which is captured at the point of emission (i.e. anal orifice) by elves (thus preventing the methane from escaping and damaging the ozone layer) using rubber tubing, with such gas being piped to huge underground storage tanks.
So obviously Buffett was not an investor.
Buffett politely declined, saying that he was late for his bubble bath/Bank of America special warrants investment brainstorming session.
I saw so much diversity in that vignette...how could the company have failed with all that strength?
This really is Grifter Nation anymore...
Atlas Shrugged meets Trading Places. Who's been putting out Kools on my carpet?
That's serious lol stuff!
Companies like ENER have been soaking the government for money to make first magic batteries, then hydrogen fuel cells, now solar wafers, for decades now-maybe 50yrs- and have to yet to make one cent profit.
I have to LOL quite a bit, the POS is up 30% today, I guess thanks to the recent state of the union performance.
It took me 6 months to teach the chubby Hamster to yell "row!," and that's when I said screw this noise; I'm going into the Unicorn-Methane Clean Energy business.
I tried to find a decent link with exec salaries this is the closest I got:
http://insiders.morningstar.com/trading/executive-compensation.action?t=HEVV®ion=USA&culture=en_US
this is better:
http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHtmlSection1?SectionID=7789373-506703-583166&SessionID=ISpnHWRLX2G7oA7
Looks like getting a govt loan means you can pay yourself exorbitantly with that govt loan. Hmm... Dear President O i need a 1 billion dollar loan to finance a new energy replacement for fossil fuels. It is not proven but I am positive it will work.
PS - Please don't limit my compensation package though govt regulations on the loan and I will contribute heavily to your campaign with these funds. How does 1 mill sound.
Yours truly,
Dewey, Cheatem and Howe
"The purpose of a System is what it does." Looks like you've figured out what it's doing...
Henry Ford is rolling over in his grave.
My green project is a biotech hybrid.
I want to surgically implant wire coils in every taxpayer’s rectum with an attached electrical cord that can be plugged into the grid.
The other part involves condoms with magnets embedded in little bumps that will be bought by the government and distributed to politicians, lobbyists and government employees.
Phase two is an undersea power transmission cable to China to export the quads of terawatts of surplus electricity that will be generated.
I agree with Trav. If we were a nation of white people, we wouldn't be struggling so much.
<heel stomp>
WHITE POWER!
Ron Paul 2012
I told you guys but you didn't listen! If the lesser of two evils McCain had been elected, we would have only lost $117 million on this project. Fools!
now that you mention it, the almost all-white nations are doing pretty much better than anyone else...their biggest threat seems to be from misguided policies to import africans. Surely, Sweden's prosperity was built on slavery, right?
The white states in the US do well, the white cities, even fucking PITTSBURGH, industrial central, are doing great. Meanwhile, black cities, even if they are the capital, are in a constant fight to avoid having to be taken over due to incessant corruption and decay. And they have astronomical crime rates that EVERYONE flees.
White schools still graduate high percentages of students and don't need metal detectors and razor wire.
Detroit 100 years ago was 90% white..it was the Paris of the West. Just LOOK at the architectural marvels there. Now, it is 90% black. And it is destroyed. Cabrini Green was a modern marvel when it was constructed as well.
.....the almost all-white nations are doing pretty much better than anyone else....
What the fuck are you talking about? By all-white nations, I'm assuming you're referring to Europe and America, rather than African and Asian countries. Both Europe and America would have totally collapsed had both not cheated by printing more money. Your beloved Iceland went bankrupt, and there's not a nigger in sight. The Soviet Union is all white and it imploded on itself a few decades back and it still sucks. ZeroHedge has posted articles that Canada is on the verge of collapse, too.
If you're marveling at the Scandinavian countries like Norway, I would argue that it's not too difficult to manage a country with a population less than Indiana that also happens to be one of the world's largest oil producers. How difficult is that?
Some of your racist and bigoted shit makes sense. Other stuff is just nonsense.
Acclinis falsis animus mellora recusat
Max Fischer
Iceland's doing just fine. They told the money changers to fuck off. Nobody's starving.
How about finland and Sweden? No oil and they're doing fine
Somewhat off subject MAx but God bless Indiana they are in the process of becoming a "right to work state". Ahhh... I love to see the unions in decline. I apologize but that is about the only polarizing subject in my life.
Union Salaries - "Sure" they are looking out for the little guy
http://www.unionfacts.com/lu/14796/LIUNA/0/
BTW - the white guys exported all the jobs to China and India. The yellow/brown guys are thanking you lots right now.
Oh yeah, and you know how the US is dependent on foreign oil? Another bunch of brown dudes are thanking you for that!
Oh yeah, and also, them brown illegal immigrants? Yeah, white dudes happily use them in construction, meatpacking, agriculture, service industries etc.
And the Israelis thank the white dudes for funnelling money to them!
In fact, it sounds like you white dudes are your own worst enemy.
Dude, seriously. The rebuttal wrote itself the minute you clicked the mouse button.
Another great example of why government should have no decision in handling money.
http://ericsprott.blogspot.com/
Reminds me of Bruce's stories on the "bank" of the Treasury. I believe he found the long term 1% loans to Solyndra. Probably find HEVs name along side Solyndra.
This is what happens when you make emotional investments.
Sure, it feels good, but it is economically stupid .
Western society is drowning in its own political correctness.
PC isn't western. PC is a meme pushed by marxists and media and racial agitation groups...the primary actors in these just so happen to not be "western"
This is what happens when you have an Idiot in the whitehouse with a bunch of hopey-changey, global warming, keynesian fuktards that don't know anything about the economy and/or capital markets surrounding him as his "Administration". this is the kind of shite that just drives me absolutely up a fuking wall. Any fool could have told you that alternative energy is not economical and that once the collapse happened, all of it could be shorted to zero. Experience in the markets and with the business cycle makes this completely fuking obvious. We have seen this before.
BTW, you can still short FSLR..........
This is what happens when you elect a "community organizer" (aka shake-down artist) who is more familiar with the writings of Marx and Alinsky, and the racist ideology of Jeremiah Wright, than the Founding Fathers.
It's no accident what is happening; these people aren't just incompetent, they are venal also.
Are there no CEO's with half a brain? A quarter of the work and ten times pay in the financials, and if you fucked that up, you go into politics.
Rockefucker preferred "40,000 workers over 40,000 thinkers". For shit and giggles, where are there at least a couple thinkers, outside zero hedge? The plan must be to mentally torture us and turn us into zombies.
$119 MM of loses accrued to the taxpayer.. No big deal.. Has no impact on the currency of the clique
I get to steal your wealth and and distribute to keep the farce going.. As long as it is no skin off my nose
Hence my earlier point
Debt ceiling? doesn’t matter.
We have been on a dual currency system for some time, 16T or 16Q whatever it takes to keep the ... as long it does not dilute the wealth of the clique
OH, I see the plan. The Unicorn horms, vary rare, are going to make a ton of money..
Sorry Sunny, the 'Unigas' name is already taken... http://unigas.com.au/ And I'm pretty sure the FDA has outlawed Pixie Dust or was it Pixie Straws?
These companies are falling fast and faster. In a few weeks we'll probably hear about another one.
Can I be Obama's pet? All I'd want is say $20mill... :)
Check out your handle there Cheesy. You already are his #1 pet. You gotsta go getz paid.
much better to be the pentagon's pet. how much did the tax payers lose when the army corp of engineers failed to maintain the levees prior to katrina?
or, how about boeing being awarded 3.5 billion for continued work on a missle defense system that so far is not accurate enough take out a flying duck.........
or the 70 catastrophic mishaps air force drone mishaps in the past 10 years at 2-3 million a piece?
obamas failed pet projects ARE A DROP IN THE BUCKET COMPARED TO THE BLOATED WASTEFUL PENTAGON SPENDING THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR DECADES..............
What? You don't like the ROI of Afganistan?
You can't have Total Spectrum Dominance, kito, without spreadin' a little cash around! How will we ever know if an anti-matter-powered death ray (or even better, fifty! yeeeeehaaaww!!!) orbiting the Earth is even possible if we don't spend a few trillion or so in R&D? Gosh, it sounds like you want our fightin' boys headin' into battle against those brown-skinned evil-doers with nuthin' more'n pointy sticks and some Hershey bars. Now what do you suppose the odds are of takin' over the world with pointy sticks and Hershey bars, kito? Not very fuckin' good, I'll tell ya that right now, my friend. Think about that.
Something Bitchez!!!
Oh, yeah. Batteries Bitchez!!!
Assuming it wasn't a complete scam from the get-go, does anybody actually know anything about the company, the situation, the circumstances?
I'm having a hard time turning any real news other than the BK story.
Edit--
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-31/ener1-becomes-latest-energy-dep...
Tother day came across Li-on 12v 325amp batteries, read the specs, sounded great....rang the local Awstralian agent. A mere $6000.00 per each.
He sounded puzzled when I said gold was cheaper....Thank god for Lifeline.....
Can't they just raise their debt ceiling? This seems unnecessary.
Just sayin'
Hey, we'll get it right sooner or later!
(truck backs into loading dock at Federal Reserve)
Looks like green Sumthin needs a jump start.
ori
I am tempted to apply for federal funding of my skittle-pooping unicorn ranch.
Doesn't sound very 'green'. Request DENIED!
They're green skittles.
Green Skittles from their Green Shutes? Request granted. See the Pay Master.
If they only produce "green" one's I think you've got a winner!
Donate heavy to the Obama campaign, and the funding will come...
Screw it, I'm applying for funding.
AIR CONDITIONED UNDERWEAR - heat from the undercarriage powers a low profile condenser motor that circulates coolant around the balls and keeps you cool. Eliminates need for having the A/C running all summer, hence saves energy, and its green (or brown)!
Hit me up Hopey, I'm sure DHS has my info...On 2nd thought, I might run this one by Mittens (magic underwear and all).
And it all cycles back into Obama's pockets via campaign donations...who cares if the enterprise is a complete flop that pisses most taxpayers funds away, think big picture man!
@#&% SCoaMF &#$% pile of steaming $#@%!!!
That's also the Democrat Party-Labor Union symbiosis, in a nutshell.
not just them but the entire immigration policy of importing democrat voters to the dole...it just recycles more money into particular hands.
NOTHING is better for wealth stratification than socialism conducted by people who are dishonest parasites.
Dear Mr ObaMao, can I haz $120 million for my new energy company? It collects high energy unicorn farts.
Thanks.
I have received DARPA funding for a unicorn fart liquefaction plant. Now all we need is administration approval for a pipeline from your unicorn ranch to the facility.
Green. The color of envy, and now the color of fraud!
Green means they wantz my moneie$.
just another jew boy sucking off the taxpayers tits. gassenheimer...makes me fill bloated just by his name
Absolutely disgusting. We have insane amounts of debt... so Obama takes out a loan against the taxpayers of this country and gives away MILLIONS of dollars to these companies who blow through the cash and file bankruptcy. Taxpayers get screwed, workers get screwed, and the investors get screwed.
It's a tri-fuck-ta destruction of wealth.
Those bankruptcy court judges should just say "no". Don't let them restructure, let them simply close the doors so we can get this poison out of our system.
Sure, 1700 jobs lost, but how many jobs were saved?
Just the ones for converting the lead from batteries into bullets...
Govt. bureaucracy jobz related to promoting green technologie$. ;-D
Edit: Is the printing press a green technolo-g (as in g note, I do think so).
Don'tcha know that bankruptcy law is now a "green" job? /sarc.
USA! USA!! USA!!!
FUCK YEAH my good sir!
America, Fuck yea! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZdJRDpLHbw
And our government continues a fantastic job of being the worst investor in the history of forever.
$118 million $$$?
so what's the bad news?
New electric charging stations opening up in a city near you:
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/298932/97/First-electric-vehicle-statio...
This Coloumb company or whatever was given millions also from Obama's Green Dream money tap. They are an Indian company.
That should really help us here domestically, yeah... good times.
Gee, its comforting to know that an Indian company will be installing electirc charging stations, since most of their wiring looks like a hairball that was coughed up by a cat.
Note to self: Do not go near one of these charging stations in a thunderstorm.
You mean like this? http://electricianmariettaga.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/india-wiring1.jpg
Yikes! (a technical term, known to Electircal Engineers everywhere!) :>D
in 1979, i went to check out a shop that was making electric cars in sanJose
the place is full of car batteries, which the guy was reconditioning and then putting banks of them in the vehicle~~also recycled, of course
the guy shows me a hatchback w/ the batteries midships so you could still use the back at the grocery or for your golf clubs (he sez) and sit in the front with a child, perhaps...
so i asked him: what kind of a mill has she got?
well, she's got a rolls royce electric motor that they use to start jet engines on the airliners (also recycled, and he'll warranty it, too!)
fast, eh?
unbelievable!
how much?
$2900
you know, i once had a hydrogen explosion by my boat battery when i lit a...cigarette. is this thing vented?
nope
would you consider $2500?
nope
i told him that a gas Pinto was dangerous enough, but he should name this fuker "The Hydrogen Bomb"
it was pretty cute though
Actually, if you look at it sideways it does help us here domestically. Most Indian engineers are educated here in the United States. By providing jobs for them back in their own country the U.S. administration is reducing the salary competition for U.S. born engineers who pay more in taxes than their foreign born counteparts. The hit on domestic corporate tax revenue due to increased labor cost is negligable as we all know corporations pay little to no taxes anyways.
I imagine the ROI is marginally positive but for government that is actually impressive.
To answer your rhetorical question, $118.5 million, and another lodestone for our president, Barry Soetoro.
That music is scary! It's almost like listening to a Disney movie. We we we we we we.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand, its gone! Poof!
Heck, hardly left a carbon foot print...
Kinda smells funny, though...
We're they selling below their COGS too? I thought that was the standard for treasury "investing" in this bullshit.
Our firm did the underwriting for a solar project that was guaranteed 800k from Obama last year during the green give-away. The borrower has yet to receive the $$$ as he is requested to jump through hoop after hoop. The facility can cover the debt 1 to 1 without the grant, but borrower needs the cash to cover unforeseen expenses etc..... It's just a big fuckin' mess. Anything that can be infused by the govt. takes forever if at all and some projects, believe it or not, are worthy. Solyndra was a complete FAIL as seems this ENER1 project.
I'm sure a pledge to contribute some portion of the grant to O's campaign will move things along.
Not sure where you're at, in CA a number of these projects were blindsided by changes to the rate the utility pays for consumers who sell into the grid. Most of these projects are government or municipal, large scale projects which were built to be revenue neutral but are now running the redk. We also bought a solar system, and I kick myself for not overbuilding by at least 10%. The problem is the rather wide bid and ask for consumer electricity. Consumers groups complained that the utilities were subsidizing solar projects (duh, did you want you local government to save money and not raise your rates?)
A few years ago we had a candidate for mayor who wanted to float enough bonds to make San Diego energy self sufficent. It was a beautiful idea of how to use muni bonds to defer energy costs for private consumers and industry. The guy who won is more interested in a new sports stadium for our NFL franchise. That's the real problem in a nutshell.
My thought is the electric car is huge fraud, a liberal fantasy. These massive solar projects are at least designed to take advantage of long term interest rates and the current bond market. I've seen a lot of corporate welfare that doesnt' pass the smell test, but our leadership prefers to raise the tax base, rather than lower it, which is what using bonds to fund energy savings would do.
If the President has two brain cells he could use one of them to promote Natgas, and he would still have one to figure out how to get reelected. It will clearly have to wait for the next guy to figure this stuff out.
The consumers groups are full of shit. They're complaining really that these companies are paying less capacity because they're shaving their peaks. Yeah, no shit. But because California's capacity market is so broken, the plant costs got socialized into the grid. They shoul have completed deregulated the wholesale and retail sides and the trading shops would have been left holding the bag on the overbought capacity.
All retailers on the east coast have a behind the meter and bandwidth provisions in the contract for solar lowering captags.
The Volt I drive every day - charged off the wholly owned by me solar system for free, seems like neither a fraud nor a fantasy. Most of the entire system was built in north america, creating jobs here. YMMV, but I'm driving with no cost for gasoline OR electricity, since I didn't wait around for the government to do it for me, like an entitlement addled idiot - I've been off the grid since '79 and it's paid for itself a number of times over.
Yeah, it was an expensive car. For this level of luxury and sportiness, it's not out of line, actually. It's not a Cruze for twice the price, it's a BMW for half the price.
No counting the free fuel.
The liberals might have an electric car fantasy, I wouldn't know. The Volt was launched under Bush.
Your not free yet.
Your next step is to get off the Government Motors grid.
Well, let's carry the "your (sic) not free yet" sovereign man bs to it's logical conclusion with a question: "Is he supposed to drive a horse?"
Of course then you would accuse him of of being dependent on Government Horse because at one time it might have been wild, roaming and grazing on public lands.
My pre-2009 Trek touring bike was actually made in the USA. I'm dead certain at sometime in its history Trek got a fed or state tax break, subsidy etc...So I suppose I'm dependent on Government Bike?
Stop re-enforcing the mythical sovereign man douchebag meme. If it weren't so pathetic, it would be funny.
...unless you plan on living in a cave.
I was hoping he would get a non-taxpayer subsidized car like a ....uh, maybe there isn't one. He could build his own out of genuine free range scrap!
OT- I bet your Trek has plenty of non-US components on it. I know my Cannondale, with its "Made in USA" sticker, does.
Sadly, there is no non subsidized car, but isn't it still better for me to get some of my tax money back than give it in blood in some desert somewhere? I mean, if it's there and I don't take it, someone less deserving will. I may not approve of the subsidy myself, but heck if its there - you're just dumb not to get it because you're paying for it yourself too.
And yes, quite a lot of the car is made by Bosch - which is why it drives like a beemer - same parts from the same factory! So? Almost nothing is pure anything anymore, that's globalization.
I did have some fun with a Chinese go kart that I modded to be road worthy and which gets 200 mpg or thereabouts. But that's all non-us, at least until I mod it with a Johnson Controls battery and the P-51 motor/generator from WWII surplus...which I haven't gotten around to yet.
http://www.coultersmithing.com/OldStuff/kart.html is the kart stuff. I actually got a sticker on this and forced them to waive the junk about crash testing so I could drive this on the roads. It's a lot of fun in good weather, but not real comfortable.
I think you're right in that there likely is NOT a non-taxpayer subsidized car.
When you come up with a free range vehicle scrap design from non-taxpayer subsidized auto parts let me know. It will at best be some pre-1960 monstrosity that would never pass an emissions test.
Well, at least my Trek touring was "assembled" in the USA. Trek moved that part of the operation to Taiwan.
natural gas is about half the price of gasoline, and adapters kits are affordable for just about any fossil fuel driven engine. and home sized natural gas compressors are available. most electric car users are on the grid, and that depends on coal probably and half the energy put in the grid is lost. at the end of the day what do you do with the battery your Volt runs on?
the common complaint about natgas cars is the size of the tank, but when you compare cruising range with electric i think the comparisons are more equitable. i don't think it would take much to change the huge propane tank at the Chevron where i go to Natgas. problem is demand would take off faster than the infrastructure, i think the pols all know this, but very quietly all the public transports, school, trash pickup, country transit, have switched to natgas, but so far the consumer has been cut out of the deal. and public transport is never going electric is it? the personal car is a huge part of american mythology, and that's tough to turn around.
I'm shocked they couldn't find a way to linger on for awhile and perhaps suck up another round of taxpayer funding. Only $118 million, almost feels like we got off cheap.