Solyndra Solar raided by FBI

Updated details from ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/obama-officials-sat-solyndra-meetings/story?id=14476848
Officials from the Department of Energy have for months been sitting in on board meetings as “observers” at Solyndra, getting an up-close view as the solar energy company careened towards bankruptcy after spending more than $500 million in federal loan money.
Word of the Energy Department’s unusual arrangement came as federal agents on Thursday converged on the California headquarters of the failed solar company, focusing fresh attention on the first corporate beneficiary of President Obama’s stimulus program to create new clean energy jobs.
… [Story continues]

“”””” Jeremy says:
September 9, 2011 at 7:23 am
Solyndra failed because Chinese manufacturing and exporting costs completely trumped Obama’s stimulus spending. Seriously, that’s what happened. The Chinese simply filled the need for solar panels faster and cheaper than a “subsidized” American company did. Those loan guarantees (which, btw are much preferred to simply granting money, at least there’s a chance taxpayers get paid back with interest with a loan guarantee) likely would have worked if the labor and regulatory costs in this country weren’t so comparatively high. Of course now that the company is folding, that loan guarantee has likely turned into a loss for taxpayers. “””””
Not so Jeremy; you can’t blame this on the Chicoms
Solyndra went “down the tubes” literally, because their technology was a “pipe dream”.
Where did they get the idea that a round tube will get you more than the 1 kWm^-2 that the sun will deliver to a flat plate. So Solyndra, had to lay down pi times the solar surface, that their competitors have to.
In solar cell power, pretty much nothing matters except solar energy to Electricity conversion effiiency. Solyndra could have made their solar sensitive arrays for zero cost, and they still would have failed; becaue anybody with any common sense, who was planning on buying solar cell arrays, would make a beeline for the highest conversion efficiency producer, who was making a reliable product. Because land area is far more expensive that solar cells, and they aren’t making any more land area.
Actually, Sunpower Systems, and a very few others, have quite respectable products, and where solar PV makes sense; they will do quite well. I am not a fan of PV solar energy, except for niche applications; usually where the land has already been ceommitted for use, and solar arrays can be added without interrupting the primary land use. Several Silicon Valley companies (Applied Materials for example) have built carport structures on their former parking lots, and put solar arrays on top. Employees now park their cars protected from the sun, and the company recovers some solar energy.
I’m opposed to taxpayer moneys being used to subsidize, and select for success, politically selected companies; rather than let normal market forces determine the winners and losers. Solyndra was a loser from the start, and selected to fail big time by Obama cronies, possibly with Energy Secretary Chu’s blessing.
There are NO economic barriers to PV solar energy; it is the technology which is falling short.
With only 100 Watts per square foot maximum to begin with, you cannot afford to waste any of it, on low efficiency PV conversion, even you could sprady the active material onto the substrate out of a garden hose.
The economic test of ANY so-called “alternative energy” process is simple.
Using just the energy that your favorite plant produces for availability in a useful form; plus all the in situ raw materials in the universe; and nothing else, simply duplicate your plant, and then sell any excess energy you have left, at market prices, and make yourself a fortune.
Of course, if you have no energy left over, and your duplicate plant is not finished; then your process is an (available) energy losing process, and should be nipped in the bud, before you waste even more of our precious energy from current sources.
The Chicoms too will fail, if their “cheaper” solar panels, consume more energy to make, than they make available during their operating lifetime..
Try putting up some other “value added” structure on a piece of “waste” land, that you own, and see how long it is before the propety tax collector, comes after you for his pound of flesh. Why would it be different for your solar farm panels.

@P Walker says:
September 8, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Yep!

The Department of Justice has replaced Military Intelligence as the ultimate oxymoron under Obama’s reign. Political Lawyers, gads.
The FBI are usually fair brokers. Ultimately most of them are just cops trying to do a job.

The government losses are worse than portrayed above. The scandal is enormous and White House involvement is undeniable. The FBI seizure indicates that criminal activity is likely. The basic facts are set forth in this ABC News Article: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/solyndra-lowest-interest-rate/story?id=14460246&singlePage=true
Solyndra is a thinly capitalized company. George Kaiser’s foundation, Argonaut Ventures, provided the necessary working capital in the form of a loan of $73 million. This was parlayed into $535 million in a DOE guaranteed loan that appears to have involved White House involvement in exchange for prior political contributions to Obama’s 2008 campaign.
Apparently, the government lawyers overseeing the loan failed to have the Argonaut loan subordinated to the government loan. This is standard when the borrower’s working capital was loaned by shareholders rather than paid in exchange for the purchase of capital stock. This failure is catastrophic because the Argonaut loan is superior (paid first) to the government loan in the bankruptcy proceedings.
Worse, Solydra probably has no assets other than those acquired with borrowed money. Its plant, equipment and inventories will in the end be sold at for fire sale prices. This presumes that even brand new solar panel plants in the US cannot compete in domestic or global markets. For example, GE just made arrangements to build a new plant is China employing 5000 to replace plants it closed in the US.
We the taxpayers will take it in the shorts for $535 million as the consequence of what appears to be a classic “pay to play” scam. How else can the sweetheart interest rate for the Solyndra loan and the failure to subordinate the Argonaut loan be explained?
We can expect delays and non- labout the progress of the investigation. The DOJ will stall matters until after the 2012 elections, just as they are trying to to with Fast and Furious/Gunwalker investigations. I my opinion either one of these scandals is enough to destroy Obama’s presidency. Time will tell.

Pull My Finger says:
September 9, 2011 at 12:21 pm
The FBI are usually fair brokers. Ultimately most of them are just cops trying to do a job.
Far from it!
They impress jurors with their hightech scientific analysis. Problem is, their hightec science is not available for peer review (shades of climate science).
So we have people sent to prison, because the lead in a bullet in the box matches the crime scene (but so do over a billion other bullets).
The OKC expert testified he knew it was ammonium nitrate and a wood sliver picked up in the gutter in a downpour had ammonium traces. He left it on his lab bench, and he had the sole key to his lab. ( anyone familiar with the chemical knows it goes into solution if a cloud passes over head). Also not mentioned was that the janitor comes in every night and washes the lab down with ammonium cleaners.
All the FBI does is serve as conviction salesmen for the AG, so they can maintain their 97% conviction rate. Truth has no bearing on how they operate — as witness the Boston trio who spent 30 years in prision (originally a death sentence) over a murder that was committed by a FBI witness. Everyone all the way to Hoover felt that protecting their witness was more important than the lives of 3 nobodys.

Solyndra for dummies. Heh.

Bryan C says:
September 10, 2011 at 11:44 am
I hate being pessimistic about our governing bodies, but I’m afraid I have to agree with several posters….this raid was a “clean up” of incriminating evidence. This investigation will simply wither away.
——————–
They may –make that will– be able to avoid any criminal prosecutions, but I’m sure the republicans will pound this mercilessly in next year’s elections. Who knows, it might even influence some of those California dreamers.

The New Deal era introduced the big project “Cost Benefit Analysis” concept which was enacted into law. I would assume that the Economic Environment should require an Environmental Impact Statement and possibly a Free Trade Legislation, (market manipulation) might also come into play. There is a reason shovel ready projects are on hold? They are not yet viable.
We do not make Lesson Plans in school so why make a Business Plan?
Fail to Plan…………………. Plan to Fail.
Herbert Hoover, ………………..he’s back.
You cannot Impeach the Very First African American President of the United States. That’s just not an Option.
I met this Japanese student while I was working at a site for Habitat for Humanity. I was cracking goofy one-line jokes all day. Finally he say’s “that I am too old to tell jokes”. Then I asked him what he was studying in College. He responded he was in his first year of studying Economics.
Now who is the comedian?