“Solyndra’s solar power solutions offer strong return on investment and make great business sense. Our cylindrical technology was designed for the rooftop and offers the benefit of lightweight, low cost and the fastest, easiest installation of any solar technology. In more than 1000 installations in the world our customers are converting underutilized rooftop space into clean energy from the sun.” - Solyndra URL Home Page, 2011. (http://www.solyndra.com/)
Did Solyndra really expect to "offer strong return on investment"? It didn't even "make great business sense". As Mary Kissel, editorial board member of the Wall Street Journal, put it, "If this was a money making venture, the private sector would fund it."
Admittedly, Solyndra is a company that revolutionized the solar panel construction module. As opposed to flat solar panels, Solyndra developed a tube shaped installation that contained solar panels on the outside and the inside. These panels were divided into cells and layered akin to scales on a reptile: thus increasing surface area, receiving more sunlight. This design was fresh and needed in the specialized field, but wasn’t quite as lucrative as it should’ve been. Its designs were dependent on demand for a novelty shape, using supplies that were more expensive than regular panels. Foreign competitors’ prices dropped significantly due to China’s state-run banks handing out billions of dollars in loans to homegrown solar companies. The result of this international interaction delivered the end of Solyndra.
As the poster child for President Obama’s green initiatives, Solyndra was given a $535 million loan in 2009 from the United States Department of Energy. Solyndra promised to make solar energy as cheap as coal production within 2-3 years. Instead of delivering exciting profits in that timeline, Solyndra declared bankruptcy on August 31, 2011. The risk was worth it in the eyes of Obama, who detailed his point of view in the claim that if the U.S. abandons clean energy such as advanced battery manufacturing or electric cars, "then we aren't going to be able to make stuff here in the United States of America” in a televised press conference October 3rd.
Republican judiciaries probing the deal are investigating claims that Solyndra won favoritism because its largest owners included investment firms linked to George B. Kaiser, a major Obama fundraiser. This speculation is backed by numerous links between the Office of Management and Budget, officials from the Department of Energy, and Solyndra investors. Solyndra had been denoted as a bad venture capital to invest in by numerous members of Obama’s economic council in 2009; however, it still got a loan which investigators theorize was fast tracked by those in the government.
The following web pages can offer further information on Solyndra's failing and the repercussions:
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20111003&id=14340894
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2011/10/03/white-house-knew-solyndra-investment-risks/
http://energy.gov/articles/solyndra-facts-vs-fiction-cash-flow-modeling
Soyndra's technological advancement is a good example of the shift of consumer behavior towards more green energy strategies. The fact that President Obama endorsed this company really emphasizes the country's overwhelming support for green energy, despite the expense of this specific Solyndra product. The fact that Obama provided this aid to a failing company, especially since this company isn't one of the leading company's in the industry such as Exxon Mobil or Chevron, this could've been a huge step in a favorable direction for Solyndra if they did not encounter the problem of affordability with their new advancement in the solar panel industry. It is seen here that the support for this type of green energy did not withstand the economic pressures of consumers.
ReplyDeleteThis is so disappointing....If Solyndra had come through on their promise to make solar energy as cheap as coal production it would have been a huge step forward in the renewable energy world. People want renewable energy that's affordable and accessible and solar panels are a great place to start. Hopefully we'll see some breakthrough developments from some other companies in the near future.
ReplyDelete