solar energy

To be filed under “chutzpah:”

Via Fox News: World’s largest solar plant applying for federal grant to pay off federal loan

After already receiving a controversial $1.6 billion construction loan from U.S. taxpayers, the wealthy investors of a California solar power plant now want a $539 million federal grant to pay off their federal loan.

“This is an attempt by very large cash generating companies that have billions on their balance sheet to get a federal bailout, i.e. a bailout from us – the taxpayer for their pet project,” said Reason Foundation VP of Research Julian Morris. “It’s actually rather obscene.

The Ivanpah solar electric generating plant is owned by Google and renewable energy giant NRG, which are responsible for paying off their federal loan. If approved by the U.S. Treasury, the two corporations will not use their own money, but taxpayer cash to pay off 30 percent of the cost of their plant, but taxpayers will receive none of the millions in revenues the plant will generate over the next 30 years….

…the plant has not lived up to its clean energy promise….

….A NRG spokesman blamed the weather, saying the sun didn’t shine as often as years of studies predicted.

…birds see the mirrors as water. As they approach, the 800º F solar beams roast any bird that happens to fly by. A recent study released by the California Energy Commission conducted by the Center for Biological Diversity called Ivanpah a “mega-trap” that will kill up to 28,000 birds a year….

So, our tax dollars were given as a loan to two giant corporations, who now do not want to use their own money to pay back the loans, and therefore our tax dollars will be given as grants to pay the loans?

Got it…

This section is for comments from tammybruce.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Tammy agrees with or endorses any particular comment just because she lets it stand.
13 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. Rob_W says:

    Thanks, Shifra. What we TAMS know should happen (but won’t):

    If the owners fail to make timely payments, the U.S. Government should promptly foreclose and auction off that bird-killing menace (cash only) or sell it for scrap and hopefully recover most of our investment.

    Time for our newly-empowered Republicans to start doing their jobs.

  2. strider says:

    Can you Google how much energy this thing delivers per year and how much was used up to build it? How to keep mirrors parked in the desert shiny? How many and what species of critters killed per year by it and its massive footprint in habitat that is difficult enough without 800 degree mirrors? Sounds like someone wants their cut for participating in the charade.

  3. Alain41 says:

    How can this be? The Ivanpah solar plant was just named Power magazines, Plant of the Year. http://www.powermag.com/ivanpah-solar-electric-generating-system-earns-powers-highest-honor/?printmode=1

    Article names plant’s principal investor companies. The second largest private investor; Google. Obviously, Google has no money and needs to be bailed out. Did I just hear the Shifra bell go Ding Ding Ding or was it Bing Bing Bing.

  4. sandyl says:

    I’m no scientist, but before i started a solar company to the tune of billions of dollars, I might have asked if there would be a problem …..IF THE SUN DIDN’T SHINE ENOUGH….Wow that’s a tough one nobody thought of…maybe that was too technical for these wizards of technology.

    • Los2000 says:

      Sandy, it’s not scientists doing this. Its crony capitalists (aka fascists) whose prefer to make money by dipping into the country’s tax base. When your focus is how to get paid from the government, then actually producing something worthwhile takes the back seat.

    • ancientwrrior says:

      Sounds just like Wind Power generation. The wind always blows right (NOT). The only wind that seems to blow nonstop is all that Hot Air that comes out of Washington.

  5. Los2000 says:

    It’s so frustrating because solar power is so close to being viable. I know, I know, that’s what we’ve all been hearing for the past 30 years. However, there are new solar cells on the market that have all but doubled the efficiency of previous generation cells. That being said, even with these new cells a collective model where power is generated at one central location and then distributed to customers is not viable; the numbers just don’t compare to the megawatts that can be produced in a coal fired, or nuclear plant. However, a decentralized model where you put solar cells on your roof is indeed workable, if and when the cell prices drop. The frustrating thing is that financial debacles like this only serve to discredit the concept of solar power, and ultimately keep the prices too high to make sense.

    • Maynard says:

      I would love to build a solar-powered world. But the devil is in the details. These monster projects tend to consume vast resources and produce relatively little. That’s not “green”, it’s “brown”. The insiders know how to work the system, and they make their fortunes, and the politicians get lots of publicity, and some workers get paid. But at the end of the day, we’ve run up the debt and wasted precious treasure, and our overall energy situation is unchanged. These projects will always be counterproductive when they’re controlled by politicians rather than businessmen and engineers.

  6. Joe says:

    Can anyone say that this is a surprise? Outside of Fox you won’t see this reported anywhere else.

  7. PopArt says:

    Talk about taking Obama’s “smart power” and “leading from behind” memes to a whole new depth.

  8. Kitten says:

    Hey, it’s simple. You have not, cuz you ask not. These fat cats have no problem asking for the gubmint to bail them out for the same reason Hillary will run for President, she thinks she will win. These deep-pocket investors believe the gubmint will erase their debt.

  9. Cathode Rays says:

    Hmm, those rich investors can’t find a market for scorched birds and make it pay? Surely they have the secret formula for turning scorched birds into an infinite supply of energy. These wealthy Obamites that have sooo much more W*I*S*D*O*M than we do and are so B*R*A*I*N*Y they fart brain gas? Partake of the gas, says the media, and be forgiven and B*R*A*I*N*Y. Nope — you’ve mistaken brain-power for something lower.

You must be logged in to post a comment.