From WSJ:
The financial pipeline was cut short before engineers could begin operating the Blythe Solar Power Project, a 1,000-megawatt system with capacity to power 300,000 homes, according to the company.
…
The company filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday, the day after it was scheduled to make a $1 million rent payment to the U.S. Department of Interior for the acreage. Company officials said that the bankruptcy case would also protect the transmission-rights agreements it made with utilities.
“Without the [agreements], the Blythe Project would be unable to deliver electricity to market and would be rendered near, if not completely, valueless,” said Chief Operating Officer Edward Kleinschmidt in documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.
From Reuters,
April 2 (Reuters) – Solar Trust of America LLC, which holds the development rights for the world’s largest solar power project, on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection after its majority owner began insolvency proceedings in Germany.
The Oakland-based company has held rights for the 1,000-megawatt Blythe Solar Power Project in the Southern California desert, which last April won $2.1 billion of conditional loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy. It is unclear how the bankruptcy will affect that project.
…
Solar Trust of America and several affiliates filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. It estimated to have as much as $10 million of assets, and between $50 million and $100 million of liabilities.
Blythe is about 220 miles (354 km) southeast of Los Angeles.
“We have been working with Solar Trust of America for a couple of years in getting this project going,” David Lane, Blythe’s city manager, said in an interview. “Although the project is not in the city limits, we are the only city within 100 miles. My sense is that with the large investment in what was to have been the world’s largest solar power plant, someone somewhere will buy it and build it.”
Here’s the big PR sheet for USDOI: doi_blythe_solar_power_project
Between acres of decaying solar panels, and as far as the eye can see dead wind turbines, our future will be filled with monuments to our stupidity.
A new arena was built near me in our small town. They spent 1.8 million on solar panels on the roof. Fixed type. The best part is they screwed up the orientation. They are all facing south east, with the orientation of the building. In the morning the sun rises right in front of them. By 3PM the sun is off to the side.
The worse of this is we taxpayers has footing the bill.
Isn’t this somehow like the Solyndra debacle?
Its amazing that the USA has so much money to throw away at starry-eyed political projects like this, while their schools and roads fall apart.
I guess when you are printing money like the US Fed is printing money right now, there are wheel-barrows full of money available for anything.
It seems somebody has to clean up that mess, that could be more green jobs. Quite possibly, by building stuff we don’t need and then tearing it down, we could double the number of green jobs in this country.
Something to think about.
~More Soylent Green!
/sarc, duh!
Where is the Monkey Wrench Gang when we need them?
this was NOT taxpayer funded, they turned down the doe loan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/some-clean-energy-firms-found-us-loan-guarantee-program-a-bad-bet/2011/09/13/gIQA9n5J0K_story.html
But when the department offered him a $2.1 billion loan guarantee, Schmidt turned it down. It would have been one of the largest stimulus-funded clean-technology projects, and Solar Trust had been negotiating the deal for roughly a year. But Schmidt decided it was too risky.
ANWAR has a footprint of less than 2,000 acres and each 1 million barrels of daily oil production (could be substantially more than 1 mm bopd) will generate roughly 60 times the energy of the Blythe project.
That’s a great place for a bunch of mirrors, putting them next to an airport. My back-of-the-map calculation is that the solar reflectors on the west side can’t quite align to that runway. If they had ever been built, and were functioning properly, that is.
Tom in Florida said at 4:21 am
This is just another pilfering of the U. S. taxpayer by a corrupt government. … This is the new way to redistribute wealth, stealing money right out in the open using climate change as the distraction.
Yes Tom, that is/was the plan all along. And the Administration has actually gotten away with it. Why do you think the “stimulus” didn’t work in creating jobs? The money didn’t go to “workers” – it went to “contributors”!!
Keith Battye said at 5:23 am
… there is some maniac in Her Majesty’s Government (who) also mentioned that the plan is to remove the carbon dioxide before combustion ! I mean really, how dumb can you get?
ROTFLOL!! Seriously? Remove it before it exists… ?? THAT’S A FRIDAY FUNNY!
It seems to be a disease of the liberal/left to throw other people’s money at stuff that only helps their buddies rather than the population at large.
Well Keith, you hit that nail right on the head! And speaking of heads, in their heads, the liberal/progressive thinker doesn’t even need to justify that because they REALLY do not see it as other people’s money, they see it as their own.
hunter said at 5:25 am
… Perhaps part of being an envirocrat is to set aside one’s ability to think critically.
Not at all, Hunter. Just – follow the money. The ones that do not, (like the Occupy Wall Street pawns) are the ones who have set aside (or never had it at all) their ability to think – – period. Most “envirocrats” (as well as others) know who fills the trough. And unfortunately, here in the US, we are at about 40% of the population that are feeding at the trough, one way or another. What the vast majority of these people have no clue about, is the billions of dollars that is going into foreign (non US) “troughs” and I do not mean (or include in that number) foreign aide – dollars that go to foreign governments. I talking about money that goes out (under the table?) almost unseen as grant money for projects or studies that are really no more than (as Keith said above) a way to throw US tax dollars to somebody’s buddies somewhere else in the world. And it is billions! Here is one example:
Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement Grant
Category Explanation: Funding is available for projects that increase the scope, capacity, and participation of civil society in building up the media and communications sectors in Pakistan, that support and develop Pakistani voices and new leaders capable of increasing community engagement, and that support civil society and boost institutional capacity. Grant proposals should aim to create or extend the community of reform-minded individuals and groups and should meet one or more of the following U.S. embassy public affairs priorities: 1. Expanding Media Outreach. 2. Strengthening People-to-People Ties. 3. Increase community engagement.
Estimated Total Program Funding:
Award Ceiling: $500,000
CFDA Number(s): 19.501 — Public Diplomacy Programs for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No
http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=114273
That plus UN funds, real foreign Gov. aide to buy “loyalty” (which works about as well as trying to buy Love), the cost of our military that protects most of the world (and I’m not saying we shouldn’t) and, and, and – – one doesn’t need the ability to think critically as to why we are not only broke, but also why our infrastructure (like bridges & roads & electrical grid/system) isn’t being fixed or upgraded – – BECAUSE WE’RE GIVING HALF A MILLION TO SOMEONE IN PAKISTAN TO “Increase community engagement”! If this isn’t idiotic, then I do not know what is….
To Kadaka:
“How can this be “24/7 Baseload”? Every day must be a sunny day that recharges the system, or the power runs out. Base load must be far more reliable and consistent than that.”
There are numerous technical challenges for these liquid salt systems. Some of them include: Difficulty of the supply chain for the salts themselves, since they must be replaced after a given number of use cycles. What to do with waste salts. Heat stress on the mechanical systems. Corrosive effects on mechanical systems. The salt must be kept liquid inside the mechanical systems or you end up tearing the whole thing apart to get it going again (which means that the salt system must have a grid power feed to keep it warm when the sun isn’t shining for more than 24 hours.) The whole darn system has to be taken off line for regular maintenance due to the above. There are several industries that have used liquid salt heat transfer systems for years, but the people in those industries always balk when you ask them about the feasibility of using a liquid salt system on this scale. The maintenance costs and safety issues are huge.
From powerlineblog.com
A Narrow Escape For Taxpayers
The collapse of the “green” energy industry continued today, as Solar Trust of America LLC filed for bankruptcy. Solar Trust was, it claimed, carrying out the world’s largest solar energy project in California. Two things make Solar Trust’s bankruptcy especially newsworthy: first, Barack Obama’s Department of Energy offered the company a $2.1 billion loan guarantee just last year. Fortunately, Solar Trust turned it down:
It would have been one of the largest stimulus-funded clean-technology projects, and Solar Trust had been negotiating the deal for roughly a year. But [Solar Trust’s CEO Uwe] Schmidt decided it was too risky. …
The Obama administration’s vaunted initiative to catalyze the U.S. clean-energy industry — under attack for betting half a billion dollars on the solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra, which closed last month — has become a case study of what can go wrong when a rigid government bureaucracy tries to play venture capitalist and jump-start a nascent, fast-changing market.
Schmidt concluded in early 2011 that the influx of inexpensive flat solar panels was undercutting his company’s year-old proposal to use a field of parabolic mirrors that focus the sun’s energy to heat liquid-containing tubes. Despite market changes, however, the terms of the federal loan guarantee wouldn’t let Solar Trust switch in midstream to flat panels. So Solar Trust sought private financing.
So the Obama administration’s proposed loan guarantee was so dumb that the prospective borrower decided not to take it! That tells you all you need to know about the Obama administration’s ability–actually, the ability of any administration–to execute an industrial policy that doesn’t fleece the taxpayers.
more here: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/04/a-narrow-escape-for-taxpayers.php
LOL…. From the picture, it looks like they are hastily burying the body….
I hope someone, somewhere is keeping a running tally of lost and wasted treasure. GK
Lets hope that Southern Cal Edison (SCE) didn’t build the Transmission infrastructure to this now defunct facility. If they did then someone is going to pick up the costs. The only question is who picks up the costs 1) SCE ratepayers with an allocation on their bills (under transmission). 2) CASIO allocation for use of the grid which then roles up under all ratepayers who use the grid. In any case it will be interesting to see how the sunk costs are allocated.
The theoretical output of the facility was for generation at the plant. During the summer months it gets kind of hot out in the desert. Transmission and distribution line losses go up with heat . I wonder what line loss value(s) was used when figuring out what the actual output of the facility was going to be- was the loss estimated at 5%, 7%, 10%, 15%?
perhaps california plans on buying their electric power from enron again since it worked out so well the last time.
i never thought there could be so many, so crazy at one time…
apparently it doesn’t hurt enough to stop. or maybe they just love pain.
Well,
didn’t I say it?
http://www.letterdash.com/HenryP/fracking-for-gas-is-okok
(before)
Obtaining corresponding commercial capital and competition from China are major factors.
The Reality of China’s Billions in Solar Loans
“Capital flows for cleantech in China are not well understood.”
China has provided some where between billions and tens of billions of dollars to solar companies, with uncertainty as to actual loans vs lines of credit etc.
The far greater waste of precious taxpayer resources is the extraordinary US Federal budget deficit which is approaching 10 trillion dollars. ie 5,000 times larger than this Blythe solar project. At least the Blythe project would have been a revenue generator.
Most of the Federal deficit is NOT going into productive investment but is being squandered on Washington bureaucrats and lawyers etc. Budget deficits per administration. This is imposing enormous debt on each taxpayer.
Call your legislator!
I am shocked, shocked, that there is so much gambling going on with public funds!! And it was such a great idea with all of the potential socially responsible, politically correct goals! Plus, it could be funded by taking the tax incentives away from those filthy oil companies. Oh, wait, more costs for oil companies might mean higher gasoline prices? No, that will never happen, just cheaper, clean solar power to charge those electric cars that no one wants. Hard to believe people still want to vote for these folks. But many do.
@ur momisugly P. Solar:
The Spanish can produce base-load Solar power??? Wow, that must be precisely why their entire country is bankrupt!
And in related news:
Mitsubishi To ‘Mothball’ $100 Million Fort Smith Wind Turbine Factory
At least this is with private money.
gnomish says:
April 3, 2012 at 8:51 am “perhaps california plans on buying their electric power from enron again since it worked out so well the last time.”
Gnomish, we are still paying for the long term contracts that former Governor Davis had the Department of Water and Power secure for us during the peak of our energy crisis (partly caused by Enron’s market manipulations). My cost allocations from PG&E (as delineated in my yearly 2011 True up bill) for the electrical energy I used looked like this:
1) Generation- 24.7%
2) Transmission- 22.3%
3) Public Purpose- 23.9%
4) DWR Bond – 8.95%
5) Ongoing CTC-12.7%
6) Energy cost recovery- 6.2%
7) Distribution- a credit as I send electrons to the grid at peak time from my little PV system. PG&E applies the economic benefit from the 1200 +/- kwh I send to the grid at peak times to distribution. In my case this equated to a reduction in my total cost (charge from PG&E) of $117.50. The dollar total of items 1-6 above (plus a few small allocated charges not noted
above) = $518.
Last year was a good year for PG&E’s generation costs overall as it was very wet last year (lots of hydro) and their natural gas costs have dropped a bunch. My generation allocation charge was just a tad over 36% the two years earlier
to Jim G:
“I am shocked, shocked, that there is so much gambling going on with public funds!! And it was such a great idea with all of the potential socially responsible, politically correct goals!”
Is this really so different from the concept of DARPA? I actually like the idea of doing prototypes and feasibility studies on a whole array of different ideas and only moving forward with the ones that look like winners. The problem with the Obama administration’s approach to the energy problem is clearly demonstrated in the above story though. DARPA would never approve a project of this size with unproven technologies. Solar energy plants are still in the early-adopter stage of R&D. They should be doing small to mid-sized pilot projects and technology demonstrations, rather than the “world’s largest solar plant”. Obama is a headline hawk though, and pilot projects don’t make the headlines. Unfortunately for him, when those big projects fail, the headlines are equally large but negative.
You know, I just can’t figure out the political strategy in regard to Obama’s energy policies. Releasing the new EPA co2 rules on an election year? That seems wreckless, unless you seriously doubt your re-election chances, and you’re trying to rush things in before you get kicked out of office.
Gary Swift says:
” You know, I just can’t figure out the political strategy in regard to Obama’s energy policies. Releasing the new EPA co2 rules on an election year? That seems wreckless, unless you seriously doubt your re-election chances, and you’re trying to rush things in before you get kicked out of office.”
One can only hope. They rushed obamacare through and it rushed their demise in the 2010 elections. No one ever accused these folks of being smart. Look at Joe Biden, for instance. But they have always been considered politically astute, at least much more so than the Republicans. But even that is in doubt, in my opinion, as I believe they are just much more able to keep their people in line and get them to march to their tune. After all, the poorest places in the US have been that way for 60 years and for 60 years they have continued to vote Democrat. Dha! My smart dog is the one that is less likely to obey my commands, my dumb one obeys quickly but needs to be reminded often of what we are doing as she forgets quickly. Of course they are Chessies and very, very stubborn as well, while being almost immune to pain of any kind. I guess they are Republicans.
Nice move, they are trying these types of electricity supply types in my country, but it will fail as the demand for electricity is so high, bigger coal powered stations are being build.
richardscourtney says:
April 3, 2012 at 2:31 am
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
Further to the point made by Richard.
There is a scandal going on in Spain.
The feed in subsidies are so generous that some use diesel generators to produce electrity at night and claim the ‘solar’ feed in tarriff 24 hrs a day!!
And the hits just keep on comin’…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-03/q-cells-files-for-insolvency-as-solar-bankrupcties-rise.html